I had major foot pain — on my heel and now on my big toe knuckle.
It hurt so badly that I woke in the night wincing. So a few mornings ago, I went to the podiatrist. Dr. Rottenberg thinks it might be a running injury or the early stages of arthritis. It is also, as I self-diagnosed, plantar fisciitis. She gave me steroid pads and anti-inflammatory pills to take nightly. I’ll go back in a week.
Dr. Rottenberg advised me to stop running or I will have to have surgery within the next two years. So after my huge HUGE success of running a 5K. Yes, a 5K without stopping. I’m being a little sarcastic, but also, yes, I’m proud of myself — I came in 150th in my age group (out of 180). I think I have to find a new sport. I need to do something for cardio.
I ride my bike almost every day in nice weather, but the bike has really failed me. One of the pedal’s fell off and the bike’s just given up on life. (See last year’s post on how my bike fell in love: http://runningaground.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/damn-you-gary-fisher/) I’ll probably get a new bike. That’ll be good.
Swimming might be good. I love the smell of chlorine. (I know, I know, it’s not good.) And I LOVE taking a steam bath after swimming. The steam room’s a great place to pray and think and simply be.
A couple of days a week, there’s also my workplace Pilates and Yoga classes. I love these. But they’re so woven into the fabric of my life that they don’t feel like I’m doing much. But as my gorgeous podiatrist Dr. Rottenberg said, “They’re the best.” Yet they’re not cardio. In college I loved Afro-Caribbean dance. Maybe I’ll go back to that. I love tennis, but that’s probably hard on the feet too.
Oh, one more thing, the doctor advised me to stay off high heels. Easy for her to say. (She got to wear them!) I like a little height. I like a little run. I like feeling healthy and fit.
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Good luck with the foot pain. Plantar take a long time to heal, and I still have issues with it sometimes. Hope you heal quickly and can get back to running.
sorry to hear that – i know foot pain sucks.
i’ll bet a second opinion doctor wouldn’t tell you to give up running entirely – that seems like an extreme comment for having just met you one time. that’s ridiculous, in fact. pf is so common among runners. did she give you any instructions for physical therapy? did she xray it for other possibilities? do you have high arches?
why not try to treat it and see how it goes? and surgery only comes after about 26 treatment options for pf anyway.
– i’ll give you some pf tips this weekend, there’s a lot you can do. custom orthotics really cured me of over a year of pf problems. i know several people who run with various levels of pf.
i know i sound like a crazy person – but there was a good article in the NYTimes about pf within the last 6 months. lots of good insight in the comments section.