Ahhh the foot. I may have mentioned the foot. Well... or the leg. It's all the same issue really.
I thought I should give you the low-down on my foot before I set off, not because it's sexy or amazing but because I have a sneaking suspicion it's going to cause me some grief.
Anyway, be it my lack of experience, inadequate training, or cheap shoes, (or (d) all of the above) ten miles or so into the half marathon my right leg gave up and crumpled under me. (I still finished the race, albeit with a limp.)
Since then my leg has been all kinds of pain and my foot has been puffier than a bloated penguin. But I don't actually know what I did to it. I had X-rays (two in fact) and it's clearly not broken.
In fact, since October last year I've tried:
- Two hospital X-rays
- Two osteopath treatments
- Three months of rest (no exercise)
- One session of reflexology
- Five sessions of physiotherapy- Blood tests
- One sports injury therapy massageAll of this, and no change. My foot is still penguin-esque. The ache shifts from the foot, to the ankle, to the leg, and back again, like a little dance. And so far, nobody actually knows what's wrong it. Doctors try to hazard a guess (oh, lots of guesses have been hazarded my friends) and the unanimous medical consensus is:
"Possible tissue damage in the foot... which should have mended by now. Hmmm."
I don't want to whinge about it though. Yes, it's so frustrating that there are days I want to shout. But the only thing more dull than hearing someone bang on about an injury is being someone who bangs on about an injury. It's not cool. It's reminiscent of girls at school who wanted to get out of PE class. There is nothing Chuck Norris about that. (Fact: Chuck Norris doesn't even feel pain - pain feels Chuck Norris.)
So, as I'm unable to fix it, I just deal with it. I sleep with my foot elevated, I wear a compression bandage, I ice it regularly, and I do many stretches to improve mobility in my ankle. I won't let it stop me being active. I just have to get on with things. (Even if I AM stuck with one foot bigger than the other.)
However, I've never pushed myself as hard as I'm going to over these coming four days, so I'm preparing for this foot to protest. All I can do is arm myself with painkillers, deep heat and a compression sock and hope for the best! It's what Chuck Norris would do. (If he felt pain, which he doesn't.)
Hi! It's me Ryann from Twitter! First I think it's awesome that you are cycling to Paris! So cool! And I am also not crazy, I went to college for sports medicine and I worked with athletic injuries for more than half of my life! Since you start your ride tomorrow, this treatment would be best once you got back. But I will say you should try to ice when you can on your ride. That will keep it from swelling any more than it is. I am willing to bet that a good bit (if not most) of your pain is coming from the swelling. Gravity gets in the way of treating foot injuries because the swelling just pools in the foot and squishes things because there is no where for it to go. You probably sprained your ankle pretty bad in the half marathon, and sometimes there is so much swelling that it has a hard time getting back out, and you have to help it out a bit. SO that said, I think you should try a contrast bath. You will need 2 buckets, one with ice water and one with hot water-when I say hot, not scalding water, but hot enough without burning you, you start in the hot water. Put your foot in the hot water for 4 minutes, then put your foot in the ice water for 1 minute. Repeat that cycle 4 times for a total of 20 minutes. ALWAYS END ON THE COLD. This will make your foot like a pump, the hot opens everything up, and the cold closes everything and pushes the sweeling up and out. You should do this every day for at least 7 to 10 days. Since your swelling has been there there a while, it may take a little longer. Also, a pressure wrap will help alot. The wrap in the picture above will help, but the swelling is going to get trapped in your foot towards your toes and that isn't good. I will post a youtube link with a good wrap demonstration later on tonight after I get home from work. You should wear that EVERY day ALL the time! You can take it off while bathing and icing, and sleeping if you want, but when you are upright and your feet are down towards the ground... you should have the wrap on. But a quick description of a pressure wrap is you get an elastic bandage (we call them Ace wraps or just elastic wraps) start right at the base of your toes, and make it tight, I always say tight just before you cut off circulation. DON'T CUT OFF CIRCULATION- blue toes are bad! But start at the toes, and just wrap around your foot, keeping it tight, overlapping so there is no part of your foot showing. Keep wrapping, cover your heel, and as you go past your ankle gradually make it a little looser. It should still be a little snug, but not as tight as in your foot. THat way the swelling cannot get in to your foot and the elastic will help start pushing what is there out. If you were here, I would put money on it that I could get the swelling out of your foot in a few weeks. I was joking yesterday with a friend that if I was rich, I would come to London for the weekend to see the dress. I could just wrap your foot while I was there. :) Alas, I am not rich! So no weekend dash to London for me! Like I said, I will look for a pressure wrap video for you when I get home tonight, so you will have it when you get back. I am sure you have tried these before, but the key is to KEEP DOING IT! The wrap needs to stay on as much as possible, and ice everyday and try that contrast bath. I promise it will help! I will DM you my email address if you have any questions. But I will also keep thinking of anything else that may help. Good luck with the ride to Paris!! You are gonna do GREAT!
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