Fiddlesticks

Remember that nagging case of post tibial tendonitis? After four more months of decreasing activity and increasing pain--ice massage, anti-inflammatories, and rest didn't do a damn thing--I finally caved and went to a doctor. We talked about all my attempted treatments, he poked around the ankle for 2-3 minutes, and offered his thoughts.

Doc: This isn't tendonitis.
Me: Ugh! So the sports medicine folks were wrong?
Doc: I'm pretty sure. You don't flinch at all when I mess with the tendon. The pain is inside the ankle, right?
Me: Yeah. Right under here (points to place where tendon runs).
Doc: Right. But I don't think that's the source of the problem. Let's get some x-rays. If that doesn't show anything, we'll go with an MRI.

So I trudged off to the x-ray lab, had some photos taken (5 minutes total--I love living in a small community--our hospital is part of the Mayo Clinic), and returned to Dr. Footwork. He turned on the light and took a quick look at my ankle.

Doc: Hmmmm
Me: Huh?
Doc: Hmmm. Just want you want to hear when a doctor looks at your x-rays, right?
Me: Uh, sure.
Doc: There's something showing up right here. This is fairly unusual, but not unheard of. I think you've damaged the deltoid tendon. See that spot right there? That's usually a sign of damage. I'll consult with the radiologist just to get a second set of eyes, but I'm thinking that's the problem.

The deltoid tendons are the ones that, in very basic terms, connect your leg to your foot.

It looks like I've damaged the posterior deltoid--that's the one on the inner part of the ankle. The damaged area looks to be right where the tendon connects to the ankle bone. So, I've been running on a damaged tendon for months. Figures. The good news is that this isn't something terribly serious like a tumor or damaged bone structure. If the diagnosis is confirmed--I should hear something today--I'll probably have to go for an MRI to get a crystal clear picture of what's going on. After that, we're more than likely looking at arthroscopic surgery to get things cleaned up.

What was my first question to the doc after he mentioned the probability of surgery?

Me: So, will I be back on my feet and ready to run when the weather warms up?
Doc: Are you training for an event?
Me: Well, I'd like to run the local 15K in July and a half marathon in August, maybe another in October.
Doc: I don't see any reason why you couldn't be ready for a race by the end of July. You should be ready to run by April, no problem.

Good news, good news. Let's keep the fingers crossed that the doc is right. ::crosses fingers::