Master Injury Thread

[alowe007]

For help with injuries

[alowe007]

I'll start... So I had a stress reaction in my tibia last spring... didn't take more than a week off at a time since I wanted to run well at state. That was stupid. 3 weeks off after the season. Then trained fine for most of summer until August. Started hurting again. Had a stress fracture. So I was in a boot for 7 weeks. No running except on an underwater treadmill for 8. Built up incredibly slow. Like weeks of 8 12 14 12 17 20. On and on like that. Was at 45 for a few weeks and it started hurting again. Whats the deal.

[Walph Roolard]

Originally posted by alowe007@Apr 28 2010, 01:34 PM
I'll start... So I had a stress reaction in my tibia last spring... didn't take more than a week off at a time since I wanted to run well at state. That was stupid. 3 weeks off after the season. Then trained fine for most of summer until August. Started hurting again. Had a stress fracture. So I was in a boot for 7 weeks. No running except on an underwater treadmill for 8. Built up incredibly slow. Like weeks of 8 12 14 12 17 20. On and on like that. Was at 45 for a few weeks and it started hurting again. Whats the deal.
There's obviously something else wrong to me. I don't know anything about how stress reactions are caused (other than by, well....stress) but whether it's in your diet or in your muscles, somethings gotta give. Assuming your injury was on the inside of your leg, (posterior) then a lot of doctors have told me to look towards strengthening the anterior tibialis and all other muscles in the lower leg / ankle / foot. Honestly get every test done if you can and get as many opinions as possible. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your mileage and recovery time.

Could be a form issue as well, but I'm also going on the assumption that you aren't an incredibly bad runner, Mr. Bond.

[Jalszors]

Originally posted by Walph Roolard@Apr 28 2010, 10:20 PM
There's obviously something else wrong to me. I don't know anything about how stress reactions are caused (other than by, well....stress) but whether it's in your diet or in your muscles, somethings gotta give. Assuming your injury was on the inside of your leg, (posterior) then a lot of doctors have told me to look towards strengthening the anterior tibialis and all other muscles in the lower leg / ankle / foot. Honestly get every test done if you can and get as many opinions as possible. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your mileage and recovery time.

Could be a form issue as well, but I'm also going on the assumption that you aren't an incredibly bad runner, Mr. Bond.
This is correct. There is either a dietary or biomechanical issue playing a role in the continuation of symptoms. After my fourth stress fracture, I and my doctor had the same questions you had, and so I underwent a bone mineral density scan to determine whether or not I had adequate levels of Calcium. I did, and so I was sent to the Runner's Clinic at UW Madison, wherein they video-recorded & evaluated my stride. They found a number of problems with my biomechanics as I was running - I had weak hips, weak knees, etc. all leading to excess stress on my tibias.

Another issue related to the calcium deficit is simply a caloric intake deficit. If you burn more calories than you take in, the bone will not be able to regenerate in response to stress, and thus the breakdown of bone tissue and development of the stress fx.

Whatever the issue is in your case. can either be something small that just needs tweaking, or it can be major. I'd suggest talking to a sports med doc and seeing if they have suggestions for further testing as I mentioned above.

[kick'em.down]

Not really an injury, but I figured I'd post this up in hopes that it might come in handy to someone since I haven't seen this posted anywhere on the interwebz so this may well be a track talk exclusive.

I've been running all my life with a cavus foot. Basically, that means my arch is really ridiculously high. So much so that an insert cant really help me. Whatsmore, when I stride, my third and fourth toes splay apart creating an open space that bears the brunt of most of the shock generated by every stride. After a while, my foot hurts like excruciating, and I can only run for a mile or so before the pain is too much. Two months ago is when the episode started, so I tried icing, cutting my miles, taping my toes, ibuprofen, and finally stopping running for two weeks. Nothing worked. Two weeks ago I went in to Marathon Sports in Minneapolis because they had a visiting podiatrist. He took a look at my feet for five minutes or so, and aid (1)you need orthotics really bad, and (2) he gave me a meditarsal pad. Not like these deals (http://www.amazon.com/Spenco-Performance-Gel-Metatarsal-Pad/dp/B000P188I0) that I had previously experimented with, but they were like half eggs almost that stick on the insole of your shoe just below the ball of your foot. THe podiatrist said that I could get them here. (http://www.hapad.com/hapadonline/home.php?cat=278) So, bottom line, if you happen to have a cavus foot, these things are the way to go. For the first time in two months I'm running 60+ mile weeks pain free.

[Jalszors]

Originally posted by kick'em.down@May 2 2010, 06:08 PM
Not really an injury, but I figured I'd post this up in hopes that it might come in handy to someone since I haven't seen this posted anywhere on the interwebz so this may well be a track talk exclusive.

I've been running all my life with a cavus foot. Basically, that means my arch is really ridiculously high. So much so that an insert cant really help me. Whatsmore, when I stride, my third and fourth toes splay apart creating an open space that bears the brunt of most of the shock generated by every stride. After a while, my foot hurts like excruciating, and I can only run for a mile or so before the pain is too much. Two months ago is when the episode started, so I tried icing, cutting my miles, taping my toes, ibuprofen, and finally stopping running for two weeks. Nothing worked. Two weeks ago I went in to Marathon Sports in Minneapolis because they had a visiting podiatrist. He took a look at my feet for five minutes or so, and aid (1)you need orthotics really bad, and (2) he gave me a meditarsal pad. Not like these deals (http://www.amazon.com/Spenco-Performance-Gel-Metatarsal-Pad/dp/B000P188I0) that I had previously experimented with, but they were like half eggs almost that stick on the insole of your shoe just below the ball of your foot. THe podiatrist said that I could get them here. (http://www.hapad.com/hapadonline/home.php?cat=278) So, bottom line, if you happen to have a cavus foot, these things are the way to go. For the first time in two months I'm running 60+ mile weeks pain free.
Thanks for sharing! That will come in handy.

[alowe007]

So got somethings checked out. Turns out I was heel striking an incredible amount on my left foot (the injured one) so the injury makes sense. When you strike hard on the heel all the stress goes through the shin instead of having the spring action of the midfoot. Gotta focus on running on my toes. I also got some heel lifts and I'm getting some stability shoes

[Jalszors]

I'm glad you figured out what is probably the problem. Are they going to have you do any sort of PT or will you be on your own for this? Good luck either way!

[kick'em.down]

Originally posted by Jalszors@May 4 2010, 09:35 PM
I'm glad you figured out what is probably the problem. Are they going to have you do any sort of PT or will you be on your own for this? Good luck either way!
I'm not sure, I don't think so, just because my feet are a complicated issue. In a nutshell, I had an arteriaovenus malformation in my brain which led to a massive stroke. The AVM pushed on my cerebellum and my brain stem; pretty much destroying my cerebellum. FYI, the cerebellum, along with the inner ear canal control your sense of balance. Its destroyed to the point that if you were to look at a scan of my head, you would think I couldn't walk. Doctors theorize that my high arches compensate for my lack of balance due to a lack of a cerebellum. So its more complicated than just my feet being weird. You probably didn't need to know that, but whatevskis. I'm going to an Orthopedist on the 25th, so I'll jeep you guys updated

[alowe007]

Originally posted by Jalszors@May 4 2010, 09:35 PM
I'm glad you figured out what is probably the problem. Are they going to have you do any sort of PT or will you be on your own for this? Good luck either way!
if that was talking to me... I have a full training staff at school and an Uncle who is a PT at home. So in terms of rehab I've always been in good shape

[Shlotchky]

ive been having some achilles discomfort, feels like some tendonitis maybe coming on. luckily the tomorrow may be my last meet so ill have some rest time after this week.

besides that are there any stretches/strength things that i can do to help?

[kick'em.down]

Originally posted by Shlotchky@May 6 2010, 08:30 PM
ive been having some achilles discomfort, feels like some tendonitis maybe coming on. luckily the tomorrow may be my last meet so ill have some rest time after this week.

besides that are there any stretches/strength things that i can do to help?
Well, I had an achillies thing that I pushed too hard and I had to spend a couple weeks in a boot, so definitely would back off the milage and intensity if you can. Um, one stretch that was recommended was to stand on a stair or something just so your heel area is hanging off. Ideally you want to have half your foot on the stair and half off. Just stand normally like that and hold it for 20 seconds per rep. Does that make sense? I have a bunch of pages of stretches like that at home, but I won't be going home anytime soon

[Shlotchky]

Originally posted by kick'em.down+May 6 2010, 08:12 PMQUOTE (kick'em.down @ May 6 2010, 08:12 PM) <!--QuoteBegin-Shlotchky@May 6 2010, 08:30 PM
ive been having some achilles discomfort, feels like some tendonitis maybe coming on. luckily the tomorrow may be my last meet so ill have some rest time after this week.

besides that are there any stretches/strength things that i can do to help?
Well, I had an achillies thing that I pushed too hard and I had to spend a couple weeks in a boot, so definitely would back off the milage and intensity if you can. Um, one stretch that was recommended was to stand on a stair or something just so your heel area is hanging off. Ideally you want to have half your foot on the stair and half off. Just stand normally like that and hold it for 20 seconds per rep. Does that make sense? I have a bunch of pages of stretches like that at home, but I won't be going home anytime soon [/b][/quote]
thanks, and luckily for me i have to suck it for 2 more days until my last race and then i can take a nice break from running when i plan to really get a jump start on my core strength. ive just been icing a lot and taking anti inflammatories. hopefully it doesnt get worse

[kick'em.down]

On the topic of anti- inflammatories, I've heard a lot of criticism, mostly from medical professionals and not runners, that running after taking them is generally a bad thing. Why? I realize that there are some side effects, for example, I've experienced a racing heartbeat after taking them (not while running, thank God), but thats been the end of that. I've been taking 1,000 mg of acetaminophen off and on for the past three months to deal with my foot issues, usually no more than an hour before running. Opinions? Good? Bad? Ugly?

[Jalszors]

Originally posted by kick'em.down@May 9 2010, 03:43 PM
On the topic of anti- inflammatories, I've heard a lot of criticism, mostly from medical professionals and not runners, that running after taking them is generally a bad thing. Why? I realize that there are some side effects, for example, I've experienced a racing heartbeat after taking them (not while running, thank God), but thats been the end of that. I've been taking 1,000 mg of acetaminophen off and on for the past three months to deal with my foot issues, usually no more than an hour before running. Opinions? Good? Bad? Ugly?
I don't know a lot about this but the ibuprofen and so on cause a dilation of your blood vessels which increases blood flow in the periphery. I believe this may place more stress on your heart. pain relievers in general, taken before exercise, generally aren't recommended because they obviously have a numbing effect on your senses. This can be dangerous if you injure yourself in some way while you're running and can't feel it when it happens.

In general, though, too much anti-inflammatory is bad because it destroys your liver and kidneys - but that can be it's own topic for discussion in and of itself.

[Shlotchky]

I only use ibuprofen at night if i have really sore muscles. it decreases inflammation and speeds recovery. I dont ever use it before i run though because im really paranoid about hurting myself by not being able to feel anything