My life is all about RICE: Rest, ice, compression, elevation.
I’ve been staring down recovery road for a while now. My latest detour of plantar faciitis had me couched for two weeks, despite regular physiotherapy, shockwave treatments and my thrice daily homework of stretching and icing. I had slowly started to swim and cycle again but I still couldn’t put weight on my heel so it was time to seek out more answers. After an inconclusive doctor’s appointment, the only thing left to do was wait or get an MRI. Frustrated by the thought of more uncertainty, we opted for the later.
Getting down to the root of the problem was going to take 30 minutes the MRI technician told me. I sat down in front of the MRI and inserted my foot into what looked like no more than a washing machine. The technician proceeded to explain how everything worked while she packed my foot in the tunnel of the machine with sponges for support. As I settled down in my chair, she gave me ear plugs, a blanket, some pillows, and a stack of magazines. After so much stress, reading magazines under a cozy blanket for half an hour seemed like a holiday. I felt like ordering a cocktail!
The washing machine, the doughnut, or MRI.
My mai thai never did come but as I flicked through how to “get a flatter stomach in 6 moves”, I realized sitting still wasn’t as relaxing as it sounded. Despite my position and the loud noise of the machine, I was pretty comfortable but tell my mind one thing not to think about and guess what it obsessed over? I swear my foot had a life of it’s own down there in the doughnut scanner. It would flinch or twitch all on it’s own! I tried to keep my mind off it it, focusing instead on the “3 ways to get bikini ready.” Apparently drinking more water and sitting up straight will have me looking like a Swedish swimsuit model in a matter of weeks.
When the scan was over and the technician was unpacking my foot, I confessed the 4 timesI failed to keep my foot motionless. To my relief, she told me the images were all very clear and not to worry, I had been still enough. Afterwards, the technician gave me a sneak peak of the footage but I would have to wait until a doctor assessed the film to get a diagnosis.
Sneaky preview.
Two long days later the call came. After a careful assessment, the doctor could find no evidence of a stress fracture! Half filled with relief, half filled with excitement, the doctor continued to say there was no evidence of major tearing in my plantar fascia and no evidence of bone bruising. Music to my ears! The doctor emphasized, however, that MRI’s can’t see pain and that I would have to wait until I was 100% pain free to run again. Until then, cycling, swimming and continued dedication to rehab would remain the plan. All of my fears disproved, I could finally imagine myself on a starting line again.
It’s been almost a month since this injury all started and finally my pain is decreasing every day. I’ve had to ditch my racing flats for a pair of Adidas Energy Boosts with heel cups (you can’t get more heel cushion!) and I’m limited to cycling, swimming and rehab but, finally, I’m not just staring down the road to recovery, I’m actually walking it.
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