Injury Report! A Broken Foot Bone Bummer

Injuries. Just about all of us experience them at some point – especially those that lead a super active lifestyle. I’ve only had a few of them in my life, but they seem to come back to haunt me…

Two weeks ago I found out that I have a new foot injury – well, a new old foot injury that is. It was a couple of years ago that I initially went to a doc to figure out why my foot kept feeling achy, and was diagnosed with sesamoidiitis. I explained it in this post awhile back, but basically it’s the chronic inflammation of these small bones within tendons by my big toe called sesamoids.

(source)

Back then, I reluctantly wore a boot for a good 6 weeks to let it rest and went to physical therapy to strengthen my foot, ankle, achilles, and calf (which is also an issue), and initially it felt better. But, there’s a reason why it’s referred to as a chronic situation, and the pain started to come back awhile ago.

Honestly, I was just kind of ignoring it because I had been told that it’s a chronic overuse injury that I’d have to deal with. The sports medicine doc suggested removing one of the bones if it kept being a problem, but I am not a fan of elective surgeries. I mean, bones always serve a purpose right?!

The dull throbbing started to get worse while I was doing my HIIT studio challenge in January & February. I think that I was just doing too much jump training for what my sesamoids and calf could handle. Finally, I went to the podiatrist to figure out what was happening.

As it turns out, both of my sesamoid bones are broken. X-rays showed that one had healed from a fracture (likely when I rehabbed my foot the first time) but had another break, and the other sesamoid was broken – “crushed” as the doc put it.

It’s not so much the fact that I have broken foot bones that bums me out – although I don’t think anyone ever wants their doc to refer to bones in their body as crushed – but the fact that it’s a chronic condition. I tore my calf 6 years ago, and it still gets aggravated and sore. I think it’ll always be a weak point for me, and when that happens, it leads to my Achilles Tendon and foot getting sore, my sesamoidiitis flaring up… and apparently to bones fracturing. As my doc put it, “This is something that’ll prevent you from running marathons and going on 100-mile hiking trips.”

That’s the bummer, because damn it, I want to go on 100-mile hiking trips! In thinking more about it, I realized that this was already preventing me from endurance feats. When I hiked 23 miles around Catalina Island in one day, I limped for a week. It’s clear to me that endurance athletics is just not doable for me without injuries flaring up.

What’s also clear to me is that I need to be mindful about resting when my foot and calf are sore. Resting has never been my strong suit, and when I have a goal in mind – like finishing a fitness challenge strong or completing my 9 mile run (how I tore my calf), I have tunnel vision to do it. I believe that being focused is an attribute, but in this scenario, it can also be a detriment.

Since I’m an optimist, let’s talk about the bright side: I’m not in crazy pain. It’s more a dull aching and annoyance. Also, my podiatrist did not make me wear a boot. I hated wearing one, so yay for that! Another good thing is that while I’m limited with activity, I haven’t been told that I can’t keep leading an active life. My doc said, “You can resume your normal activity… Well wait, no boxing… and no 6 hour hikes… and no jumping around on your foot too much.” Basically, no more being my usual maniac self for now!

So what now? Here’s how I’m working on healing those broken bones and getting my sesamoidiitis and calf feeling pain-free:

• No high impact exercise. I love plyometric exercise like interval training and kickboxing, but for now, I’m taking a break from it. I’ve only been doing yoga, strength training, and taking my pup for walks.

• Ice, ice baby. I’m icing both my foot and calf at least 2x a day.
• Stretch it out, roll it out. I’m stretching my calf and foot often. Besides stretching before and after workouts, I’ve started a habit of doing calf stretches while I’m brushing my teeth and on the phone… every little bit counts! I also am using my foam roller and RAD Roller Muscle Flushing Kit daily.

• Monthly deep tissue massages. I’ve said that I’ve needed monthly massages for my calf for a really long time and had been trying to go around every other month, but now I’m going to stick to a monthly routine. Because of that old muscle tear, I can just feel knots forming in my calf as the weeks go on, and if I don’t address it, they just get worse and affect my foot more. I found a place that does inexpensive massages, and last time my therapist was great at listening to my requests to focus on certain parts of my calf, ankle and foot. Monthly massages sound nice but trust me, it isn’t as relaxing as you may think! I am cringing most of the time, but I can feel how much it helps afterwards.

Other treatments I’m doing include:

• Getting a custom orthotic. My podiatrist wants to create a custom orthotic that cushions my sesamoid bones, so that’ll probably be happening soon.
• Cortisone injection. Two weeks ago I tried getting a cortisone injection in my foot to reduce the inflammation. I usually go the most holistic route possible, but I had heard about people with sesamoidiitis getting great results with injections, so I decided to give it a try. Thus far the result hasn’t been drastic, but I haven’t decided if it’s helped yet or not… so stay tuned for more on that.

So, that’s the story as of now! I’ll be sure to share an update next month to let you know how I’m progressing.

Tell me… Are you dealing with any injuries? What’s the worst injury that you ever had?