If you have followed along with my running journey, you know that it has been a long
seven months starting the year. I got hurt back in October, and I tried to run with the injury
without much success until January. After January 1st , I did not start to run again until the first
week of March. I had/have posterior tibial tendonitis, a horrible ailment that I still have not heard
of any of my other running friends ever having, and I hope they never do have it. Due to limited
blood flow, it takes a long time to heal. Now, although I do not feel completely healthy, I am
back to training like normal. Of course, as a runner, this was not my first injury to come back
from, but it was the longest road back I have traveled injury wise, so here is how to come back
from injury.
What started out as a
mile a day slowly grew to two or three miles a day, to five miles a day to six or seven, up to my
normal eight. Sadly, this did not happen overnight. I started out with single digit milage weeks.
Then very low double digit mile weeks, before slowly climbing up to thirty- and forty-mile
weeks, then I made the jump up to 60ish mile weeks again, about my normal range. The whole
time though, I was cautious. I was listening to my body and trying to feel if I was pushing too
hard, and there were days when I thought, okay, I am not ready for that yet.
The first few times I did speed work, I paid for it. I would go backwards, so despite being
really excited to run workouts again, I continually had to push that benchmark back. Also, I
really love doing mile repeats once a week as my workout, and specifically doing six of them,
but I had to build this up super slowly as well. I did not even start with one mile repeat, I started
off with 200s, then 300s, then 400s, then 800s, before finally getting up to four-mile repeats, then
I worked up to six. It was such a slow process, but I listened to my body, and I stayed cautious,
because I knew what I wanted to do. Run. And to be able to run consistently again, I needed to
be smart.
There have been a couple of times when I have had running related injuries, that were
probably bad enough to go to the doctor for, but honestly, I try to resist that at all costs. So this
was the first time for me that something lasted long enough for me to go and visit. Normally, I
just do a symptom search, and I try to narrow it down to what I think the problem is, and then I
will watch different YouTube videos explaining exercises and stretches to do to make it better,
and normally this is a successful method. Shout out Bob and Brad the two most famous physical
therapists on the internet, they are a staple of my research.
I ended up going to Syracuse Podiatry, and they confirmed my research that I had
posterior tibial tendonitis, and they gave me stretches to do and told me to limit physical activity,
and I did my best to, but I still ended up going back to them a few more times, because nothing
was making it feel better. They suggested PT, but I tried to resist that, I was doing different
activities to try and make everything better, but it never quite worked, so eventually I relented.
Once in PT, there was definitely a shift. Funnily enough I think part of that shift came from one
of the stretches that the podiatrist said that she did not consider helpful, so I did not do that one
then, but then the PT said to do it, and I still do it every day now. Also, there was something
about being on the Bosu ball with the bad ankle that felt like it loosened it up more, so it honestly
made me upset that I had not agreed to try to go to PT sooner.
Also it is important to ask questions whether at the doctor or at the PTs office. Like I
mentioned, I do my own research, so if I read about something that has worked, or if I heard of
something working with someone else, I will ask the doctor if that is a viable option. So from
asking, I got to try a higher level anti-inflammatory, which did not help, and some other
medicine, but that did not help either. I even asked if I could get a cortisone shot, but the
posterior tibial tendon is apparently too small for that, but it does not hurt to ask! This includes if
you are unsure about the guidance or exercises that you are being given. There were multiple
times when they would say to do something, but my interpretation was completely different from
theirs, like do not exercise. What does that even mean?
Sadly, one thing that is likely to happen is setbacks. There were many days when I would
start to feel good, but then all of a sudden, the next day, everything would feel worst. The
strangest thing about this injury is its ability to jump around. There was some term the PT used,
but I do not remember it, but what initially felt like the problem was down by my ankle shifted,
and it started to hurt below my knee, then more in the middle of my calf, so each time I started to
figure out what helped solve one problem, it would creep into somewhere else. It was like
plugging a leak, but then a new hole opens somewhere else, then you have to try to plug that hole
while still keeping the other hole plugged. It was a mess, but do not let setbacks discourage you!
One thing that I am guilty of is staying positive, which sounds like a good thing. The vast
majority of the days, I would wake up and think okay today is the day, where I will wake up and
everything will feel better. I even had dreams about running again like normal. This mindset is
not necessarily a problem, but it can lead to constant disappointment, so it is important to stay
realistic. Sadly, I am writing this a week after I fell on a trail and banged my knee on the
ground/a rock, and I thought for sure that this would not be a problem, but here I am a week later
without a real run, and every day I woke up and thought, I can do this. So being realistic is hard,
and injuries are so fickle, it is so hard to tell when you might actually be ready, so stay positive,
but not overly optimistic, otherwise, you might have to go through the stages of grief multiple
times. While I was sidelined for months, there were like three big races that I missed, and each
time I figured I would be ready by the next for sure, and then I was not, and it was so hard
mentally, so be careful with your mindset, and do not sign up for races until you are healthy. I
think over the past few years, I have ate at least $1,000 between races and lodging from being
injured, and that is not great.
When things do start to go well, it is important to celebrate the little things. If you are out
for a long time, it is important to keep things in perspective. You might have been able to do
much more before the injury, but now just being able to go on a run can be an accomplishment,
even one mile can be exciting, and that should be celebrated. So while going through the
comeback, get excited about the little milestones, it will help the process be enjoyable. Set little
goals, so you know what the next step is in the process.
Finally, let’s be real, you are a runner, so you are going to get injured again. I literally got
injured while writing this paper, so it is important to make mental notes along the way, just
because the injury is gone now, does not mean that it is gone forever. Make sure to note what
made the pain go away, and to stay on top of that. Maybe it came from a weak muscle or a weird
knot. Remember the exercises you did or the spot that hurt, so that if a problem arises again, you
are prepared to go at it again, and hopefully this time it will take less time to fix. I know I
definitely have a toolbox of ideas, so if my knee is hurting, I will try x, or if my lower back is
hurting, I will try y, and then I can go from there. Strengthening is important, both mentally and
physically. Keep your head up, be smart, and build yourself back up!
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