Good morning friends!
I was recently thinking that often I find myself blogging about events in my life when I’m in the thick of them. I mean it makes sense to cover the down and dirty, the nitty gritty things. Like the dreaded plantar fascittis, for example. I’ve dealt with it twice since we started this blog three years ago.
This is my unimpressed face.
While I’m hurting and doing things to make the hurt better, you get to hear about that dang ligament so much I’m sure you feel sympathy pain.
I lament those first steps in the morning, rolling my foot on a golf ball, rolling my foot on a frozen water bottle, and most importantly, not being able to do what I want to do when it comes to running!
(Some might consider walking more important but you know… not me.)
Anyway, I talk, talk, talk about the pain and then it finally subsides… I never really mention it again. But for something that’s such a big part of my life and affects not just me but so many people, I feel like I need to write a little follow up.
So, a quick recap… this last bout of PF started during a training run for last year’s Broad Street run and lasted throughout the summer before I decided that ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH. I put my foot down (see what I did there?); I wasn’t going to deal with it’s shenanigans any longer. I had training runs and races to do, PRs to hit, and I’d be damned if I was going to let a pesky ligament get in the way of my goals.
After three and a half months of just waiting for it to get better on its own (it did not), I started going to the chiropractor for treatments.
At first it was a few times a week, then weekly, then bi-weekly and now it’s monthly. There was a rest from running, Aleve to reduce the inflammation, and lots of tweaking and prodding to figure out what needed to be fixed.
Now it’s a monthly maintenance visit, to make sure I’m aligned (yep, like a car) and my body is working the way it’s supposed to. Each visit starts with about 15 minutes of intense physiotherapy.
When I first started going there, at times I thought that I wasn’t going to make it out of that room. The therapists actually complimented my pain tolerance but maybe I just wasn’t vocal enough because I promise you, it hurt! You put up with the pain if you know it’s going to be fixed in the long run. At least, I do.
I don’t think the therapists have changed the intensity but my foot has become more malleable, more able to handle the manipulations.
Yes, Wesley. Yes.
After my visit with the therapist, I get adjusted by the chiropractor. I always give him a rundown of what runs I’ve been doing, my training (we train with the same personal trainer), and all the other fun in my life.
The once a month visits keep me fairly loosey goosey and I’ve been feeling really good for the past 4-5 months with minimal amounts of plantar fascia pain. Which is exactly what we want!
I’m going to continue with adjustments because the less injuries for me, the happier I am. And the happier I am, the happier everyone around me can be. See how that works?
My goal from here on out is to consistently visit the chiropractor each month and be steadfast with my training. I know that I can’t always be 100% all the time but if I can do things to assist in remaining uninjured, I’m going to do them!
There you go, folks, that’s the scoop. Foot pain is much better, training runs are going very well, and I’m expecting good things to come during my spring races!
Have you ever dealt with plantar fasciitis? What did you do to relieve the pain? Have you visited a chiropractor to help? What races are you training for?
