Ok, it's confession time. It's been a few weeks since I returned to running (after an ankle stress fracture), but my return hasn't been quite has glorious as I was hoping. I AM running and I AM loving having that back in my life but... ..ummmm... .
I am NOT running pain free.
There, I said it. Each and every time I go for a run I struggle with pain. In fact, every time I take a single STEP I have pain. Its funny, because when I was released out of the walking boot I figured I would go right back to running without any problems... and that didn't happen. Then I was sent to physical therapy, given some anti inflammatories to take and prescribed more rest. I even had a special cream of pain killers/anti inflammatories/muscles relaxers compounded. I get a bit of temporary relief... but the pain persists.
The good news is: its not the stress fracture in my ankle I'm dealing with. That has thankfully healed.
Not sure if anyone remembers, but the whole painful running thing started in December with pain in my left outer heel. When my doctor send me for images he expected to see a stress fracture in my heel. We were both surprised to find the stress fracture in my talus (ankle). He figured the heel pain I was having was radiating from the ankle fracture and it would go away as we dealt with the ankle.
Well, here we are 5 months later and the pain is still there.
I went back to my podiatrist yesterday hoping for an answer. He THINKS he has finally found one.
Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome:
(TTS)/also known as tibial neuralgia, is where the tibial nerve is impinged/compressed near the medial malleolus (the bump on your inner ankle). I wasn't aware I was having any issues on my left inner ankle until the doctor pressed right below that bone and... ..I kicked him. :)
Apparently that nerve splits off into three nerves, ONE of which runs along the heel where I am having pain with each step.
Pretty interesting stuff. So the compression of the nerve on the INSIDE of my ankle is causing the pain on the OUTSIDE of my heel.
There are several things that can cause this issue. Overuse is one, so its seen often in long distance runners. Overpronating is another as well as having a large medial malleolus. So far I fit the profile for all of those.
Everything is pointing to this, but I'm going to get some tests done to get a definitive diagnosis. My podiatrist is sending me to a neurologist for some sort of nerve conduction studies.
Treatment includes rest, physical therapy and orthotics first and then surgery to release the nerve if those treatments fail.
So far we know its not going to heal with "rest"... I did that for 12 weeks. So once I get the nerve tests done it looks like I'll be working with a physical therapist. And then... .we'll just cross our fingers that the conservative routes work. I obviously want to avoid surgery at all costs.
Good news: The doctor didn't tell me to stop running... just to continue to take it easy.
Bad news: I got a shot in my foot yesterday to "calm" the nerve down..ummm... .OUCH.
WHEW! I'm glad I got that off my chest. :) I've been avoiding talking about it because honestly I've been a bit down that we haven't been able to come up with an explanation for the pain. Even though it looks like I have a long road ahead of me, I was still pretty happy leaving yesterdays appointment. I finally feel we are getting somewhere and am hoping this leads to answers. I'll keep you posted on the neurologist and the tests.
Speaking of foot issues... ..have you entered my shoe insole giveaway? CLICK HERE
This issue isn't going to keep me down... just slow me down. I'll get my miles in this weekend through walking or slow running. Along with that we are going to a music festival tomorrow, I'm looking forward to a nice outdoor concert.
Anyone have any experience with TTS?
What are your weekend plans?