Doctors Can Get Hurt Too!

Confessions of Myrundoc: Do as I Say, Not as I Do.....

Time to come clean. Yes, I too can fall victim to a running injury. And yes, of course it's a foot related issue. Turns out the old adage is true that doctors are the worst patients, just like plumbers often have leaky pipes at home :) in fact, I think doctors are the worst patients only trumped by pilots. Yes, it's a control issue!

Because I'm the local authority on running injuries I of course started to treat my injury when it was in its mild form....Not! No, I did like most of my patients and ignored it until my foot hurt so bad the day after a race that I could barely out my heel on the ground. Yes, I suffer from the dreaded and incredibly common plantar fasciitis in my left foot. Why? A combination of the perfect storm.

I would like to blame it on the White Rock Marathon, you all remember that glorious day.....45 degrees, pouring rain....but if I'm honest, it started way before that. I ran the DRC Half in November with bronchitis (also a brilliant move) then barely trained the rest of that month as I was getting over my upper respiratory infection. Couple that with an incredibly busy November and December in the office and the OR; you get poor training schedule, exhausted body and depressed immune system. Oh yeah, I also ran the White Rock Half marathon in the pouring rain and had to run the Bold in the Cold Half marathon because my running club was putting it on and the medal was cool.

Long story short, what started as a little tightness at the Phoenix Turkey Trot over Thanksgiving (oh yeah, ran that too, then climbed Camelback Mountain the next day), became a swollen, sore foot by the first weekend in January.

So what do I do? I stopped running. This wasn't really a choice since I could barely put my foot on the ground the day after Bold in the Cold. I started icing, taking Advil and lots of stretching. I looked at my shoes and realized I had five pairs I was working on and all of them were dead. My orthotics were 3 years old and needed replacing. I started wearing nothing but a brand new pair of running shoes to work and clogs on the OR. I even let my partner give me a steroid injection. And I got in the pool and on the elliptical and bike so I didn't gain a million pounds!!

A month went by and I was somewhat better. Maybe 50% but still couldn't run. I was now starting to get annoyed and my staff wanted me to get back to running so I would stop being cranky! Onto EPAT....why have technology if you aren't going to use it? What is EPAT. Yes, I had the EPAT procedure performed the first week in February and yes, it hurts like hell but way worth it. I was about 70% better after the first treatment and 80% after the second. I still did the night splint (incredibly annoying but effective for the first thing in the morning owie), had gotten a brand spanking new pair of custom orthotics and still wearing nothing but running shoes, clogs and a two inch heel when necessary.

I went for my first run in 6 weeks yesterday in Napa Valley, CA. I was in wine country for a conference and my foot was feeling so much better. I did 4 miles of walk run and did pretty well. Tight but not painful! I'm going to have my third EPAT this week and I think that should do it. Maybe I will let the staff video it so you can all join in.

What did I learn? Listen to my own advice. If I had started stretching, icing and looked closely at my shoes and orthotics at Thanksgiving; this whole saga probably could have been avoided. Stubbornness and the fact that when I close my eyes I'm 19, did not help me recover. Thank God for technology! The EPAT certainly saved the day for me. I'm sure two months of physical therapy would've had the same result, but time was short and technology available! Bring on the triathlon season! First race St. Pat's Sprint Tri in Keller on March 10th!