I finally broke down and visited the sports medicine clinic regarding the continuing to ache ankle. The physical therapist agreed with my most excellent lay opinion: I have post tibial tendonitis. More valuable than the diagnosis itself is the most excellent list of treatments/remedies passed on by helpful PT: ice massage, ankle strengthening exercises, and more rest. He also informed me that the clinic does videotape gait analysis for a ridiculously low $20. I'm so in! I also got honest with my friendly neighborhood PT and asked, "What happens if I keep running on it? I have a race I'd like to run at the end of the month. Am I in danger of any severe damage?" His answer: "You're in danger of prolonging the tendonitis and possibly aggravating it even further. Anything serious? No. Painful? Probably."
So, the question of the hour is whether I continue to run while the weather is beautiful and convalesce for a month when the weather is crappy or convalesce now and run, indoors, through the crappy months. Other than a constant background pain, the tendonitis doesn't really affect my quality of life. It's more irritating than it is debilitating. If the weather wasn't so incredibly beautiful right now--80 degrees, leaves beginning to change, the smell of an early fall in the air--I'd hang up the shoes for another couple weeks.
I'm leaning toward running now and paying later, of course.
2 comments:
Just a word of advice...be careful not to overdo it. You don't want ankles like mine if you can help it.
Yeah, I'm taking it easy compared to my regular routine. I'm only doing two "real" runs a week; the rest of my training is on the exercise bike and treadmill. Ice massage and ankle strengthening via resistance band are also on the menu. Ice massage is WAY more effective than an ice pack, but ZOINKS is it a shock to the system for about the 1st 30 seconds or so.
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