So, I went to see an ortho doctor this morning about my foot injury. And sure enough, there’s a small fracture on my third metatarsal bone. The good news is, the X-rays from a week ago show that new bone has already started to form, and the X-rays from today show an even bigger healing. So, he fitted me in a lovely ortho sandal that I get to wear. He said the barefoot running shoes may actually not be the cause – it could be due to the fact that I don’t stretch nearly enough as I should. Oops.
And here’s the good news: He said, based on the amount of healing the X-rays show, I only need to hold off running another 10-14 days! Which means, fingers crossed that all else goes well, I should be able to do the marathon!
It’s such a relief. It’s also pretty amazing to me. I’m still in a good deal of pain (hence the sandal) so it’s so interesting to see how fast it will heal. He said my instinct to stop running was a really good one, once I realized it was hurt, and that’s part of why it’s getting better so well.
So, I’m excited about the marathon, ready to get my fitness back, and 10-14 days is way better than the month I was originally told! Oh, and I’ve already decided – I’ll keep from running in the minimalist shoes until after the marathon. Just in case!
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One response to “Doctor’s orders”
You know I love my Vibrams, but I’ve had to all but give them up ever since the post tib tendonitis. I’ve heard of more and more people having injuries because of these minimalist shoes. And while it would be easy to blame the shoes and say that the technology just isn’t as great as everyone says, I think that your ortho hit the nail on the head. It’s not so much that the SHOES are the problem, but it’s that people aren’t (and I’m including myself in this “people” category) doing what needs to be done to be safe in them. Not stretching enough, not modifying a running gate… whatever it is.
It would be awesome if you’d get a free seminar when you bought a pair to help educate on the importance of all these things when it comes to barefoot running.
Another thing…. so all the anthropological evidence that humans were running without stability shoes for eons before we ever thought about developing them. Well that was all before concrete and asphalt were developed as well. There’s a huge difference between running on pavement than trails!! Maybe we’ve screwed ourselves just by creating these artificial surfaces?