For this week’s blog post, I am going to sound an awful lot like my dad. Those of you who read my dad’s blog are going to think this sounds like something he wrote! The reason for that is because both me and my dad are very good about exercising every day no matter what. We know it is important to stay fit and exercise regularly, and as a doctor, my dad likes to be an example to his patients. I just learned from the best and follow in his footsteps. 😉 

Anyway, another similarity we have shared recently is that we have both been dealing with foot problems. If you’ve been reading my dad’s blog for the last month you know that he has been dealing with a stress fracture in the heel of his foot, and that he has had to adjust his exercise routine to allow him to heal. He’s very good about sticking with the attitude that there is no real excuse not to exercise. Most people I know would have taken a month off completely if they were told they had a stress fracture; but my dad refused to do that. There’s no reason you can’t exercise if you are hurt, you simply have to adjust your workouts so that you are not putting pressure on your injured body parts. That’s what my dad did, and now, unfortunately, it’s what I must do as well. 

I have been having foot pains in the ball of my foot/big toe area for close to two months now. It started as more of an annoyance at first, but has gradually grown more painful over the last several weeks. Hurting while I walk, run, swim, or just putting pressure on my foot in general. I was icing it, massaging it, and stretching it the best I could, but it only seemed to be getting worse. Around the time my dad found out about his stress fracture, I went to the doctor myself because I was paranoid that I too had one. I got some X-rays taken, and was told I was fine and there was nothing they could do to help me. They told me to keep icing and stretching and it should eventually get better. Since they told me nothing was wrong, I didn’t bother to ease up on my exercise habits. Fast forward a couple of weeks to this week, and the pain in my foot is unreal. It hurts so bad I don’t want to put any pressure on it. Before, when I would be swimming, it only really bothered me when I pushed off the wall; now, it is starting to hurt throughout the whole practice. Frustrated, I took a screenshot of the X-rays and sent them to my parents for a second opinion. My dad said it looked like I had sesamoiditis. And if you’re like me, and have never heard of this, it is the swelling of the sesamoid bones, which are the little bones on top of the foot leading to the big toe. 

My dad confirmed with the radiologist in Watertown that it was indeed sesamoiditis, and he said that most people who have this, need to take a lot of ibuprofen to help with the swelling. Unfortunately, I am allergic to most anti-inflammatory meds, so Tylenol and watered down workouts will be in my near future. My dad told me it was really important that I start cutting back on exercises that put direct pressure on my foot. So, for the time being: no running, and when I swim, I need to focus on not pushing off the wall with my right foot. I’ll be doing a lot of elliptical and bike workouts and awkwardly swimming with only one foot, but I’m hoping that will get me back to normal soon.

Some people may think, “Why don’t you just rest?” “Why don’t you take this time to do nothing until your foot feels better?” Well, because I am built like my dad! I think the two of us would literally have to be on our death beds to not get out there and try to work out. There’s no reason I can’t alter my current workouts to take the pressure off my foot for a few weeks. Is it going to be hard? Sure. Is it going to suck? You bet. But it’s not going to suck nearly as much as it does now trying to push through the pain.

For the first time in my life, I think it’s safe to say that I am actually bummed that I can’t run. In a different situation, I would probably be happy to have an excuse not to be out running, because I feel the same way about running that my dad feels about swimming: it’s fricken hard!! But I have the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler coming up in April and my parents are flying out here to run it with me, and Nathan is running it with me, and I actually REALLY want to do it, so ideally I would like to be out training right now! But, unfortunately for now, I need to listen to my body and take it easy. Hopefully it won’t take long to get the swelling down, and I will be back out there before I know it.

So, even though this whole situation kind of sucks, I know everything happens for a reason. This is only a temporary situation, and I’ll be back to my normal exercise routine in no time. I may refuse to completely give up exercising while I’m hurt, but I can take this time to ease off on my workouts a little, and let my body get the rest it needs. Anyone else out there reading this who has gone through something similar, remember to take it as it is and listen to your body. It’s going to be frustrating for a while, but nothing compared to how frustrated you’re going to feel if you don’t let yourself heal and get better. Just remember that it’s only temporary!

Until next time everybody!

P.S. Mom, Dad, and Nathan: I just want to apologize in advance for all the whining and complaining I may be doing in the next few weeks. Lol, Love you 😛

Megan Reiffenberger