Run-Down Forums

[Fry the Sailor]

First off, sorry for my abscence. High school life can be so time consuming.

Anyway, Here's the situation: I'm injured in the lower right leg. I happen to believe its both my calf and acchiles. With the pain in the Achilles much worse than in the calf. I feel pain from the back of my heel on up. I also happen have trouble walking, standing, and have not been able to run day-to-day. I still race. But, my last race was baaaad. I had to drop out because of the intense pain in the acchiles/calf and do not regret it in the slightest. The other battle wound that neighbors the acchiles is from my ankle along the side of the leg about halfway up. All this occurs in my right leg.
In addition, I get weird twitch in the front of my foot. Also new in the past 3 days has been a soreness in the right quad, hip, and hamstring. Whenever it gets really bad, some pain in the left quad and hamstring accompanies it. I plan on taking the next 3 days off from any training, cross-training, or weight lifting. Other problems are 4 inch drop in vertical jump in the past 5 days, and general tiredness.
To be frank, I am not healthy. I know that my coach hates to hear that but it is true. In fact I'm taking 3 days off much against his advice of just 2.

Here are the questions:
How soon do you think I should see a doctor? (days wise)
Should I think about getting an MRI?
Could holistic medicine (acupuncture, message, folk medicine) be a wise option?
Should I take more than 3 weeks off at the end of the season?
Should I take more than 3 days off right now?
Should I sit out any of the next 4 races in my cross country season?

[Dan]

You've got 3 or 4 different things going on, which is tough to diagonse and separate out from my vantage point. I'd recommend asking around for a good chiropractor or physical therapist who deals with sports patients regularly. My thinking is you've got alignment issues and one thing being out of whack is creating a snowball effect. If your lower back or hips are off, that would affect your hamstring which in turn could affect your lower leg. Or if you've got a foot strike issue, that could be mucking up the achilles, making the calf muscles work too hard, and in turn straining the hamstring. Lots of cause and effect possibilities.

Did the various aches just build gradually, or did something specific bring them on?

Dan
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[Fry the Sailor]

1st and main problem was the lower leg.
I found that my symptoms are similiar to that of a partially ruptured achilles. As extreme as it may sound, I'm pretty sure thats it. My parents are being slow about getting a doctor. My coaches expect me to workout and race in the next few weeks. I'm kind of scared.

[Fry the Sailor]

Or it could be Achilles tendinopathy or tendinitis.

[Double]

Do you lace your shoes through all the eyelets?

I had achilles problems all the time when I was younger, but when I began leaving the top one or two holes undone it seemed to go away.

Of course you'll need to get healthy first to discover if this is a helpful option. It can reduce some of the pressure on that area.

[Dan]

My first guess would be lateral compartment syndrome, which could be aggravated by something like what Double described. It can be serious, or it can be alleviated pretty well through intensive stretching.

Dan
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[Fry the Sailor]

I have 2 simple questions about Double's idea.

Would I do that just for my running shoes?
Would I do that to both the left and right shoe?

[Double]

Yes, for both shoes and non-running shoes.

[Micah Ward]

I'm a little surprised that your parents and coach aren't showing more concern. It hurts too much to train and you are dropping out of races. That sounds to me like you need a trip to a sports medicine doctor as soon as possible.
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[Double]

I've had tendinitis in the achilles before. It only got better when I was humble enough to accept it and not run until it went away. The humbling process for me went on way too long. Get a diagnosis and treat the source.

[Fry the Sailor]

Up until about a week ago, cross-training didn't really hurt so much. Then it did. I dropped out of last week Wednesday's race. There was no race on Saturday. Today, I considered myself too injured. AND EVEN BETTER (*sarcasm*) I felt soo sick that I went home and didn't even get to be at the meet.

For the first 1-2 weeks of Injury, the athletic trainer poo-pooed the injury as just being shin splints and I was "not to worry". End of 2nd week/Beginning of 3rd week she considers it too be a calf problem. Meanwhile I'm cross-training. The only running I do is warmups and the race. For awhile I was able to fight away the pain with icing, taping, Bengay, and some ibuprofin. But the pain after the race would always be bad. 2 weeks ago Saturday I was able to warmup w/o limping badly, though my form was off. I still had pain after the race, but not as badly as weeks past few races. I believed that I was nearly recovered. Then on the next monday I tried running. AWFUL PAIN, couldn't even cross-train. Tuesday I managed 22 minutes on the bike. Wednesday was the race I droppe. Did 16 minutes of biking on Thursday. Took Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. Monday it hurt too much to bike. Yesterday, I did 22 minutes on the bike. Today I couldn't race.

I've been trying to get my parents to arrange an appointment to the doctor, but they've been really slow on it. They thought I only needed rest. Only now are they arranging an appointment. Because of that, my coach does not have on Varsity for Saturday's race or for Regionals .

I feel less fit than I did in June/July when I was training like a conference champion every day. None of my race times match anything like my speed workouts. I've noticed a significant decrease in my power and strength in the weight room.

Should I consider getting a blood test too?
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[Dan]

If energy level and strength have dropped dramatically, then anemia (low iron) is definitely a possibility and would warrant a blood test.

Dan
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[Fry the Sailor]

Saw the doctor today. He diagnosed the problem as achilles tendinitis. He said that the achilles might be partially torn, but could heal with some rest. I am ordered not to bike or run, unless under the direction of a physical therapist.

Tuesday I swing by the doctors office for a blood test, and go in for physical therapy briefly before that.
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[Dan]

Did they perform a MRI? If not, the doctor is talking out of his a** with that diagnosis, and if it was done, there shouldn't be any uncertainty.

Dan
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[Fry the Sailor]

I'm still not running or racing for the time being. I do however do cals to stay in some shape. I'm feeling much better.
I saw a physical therapist today. His analysis was that my right arch is collapsed. So the tendons/muscles all in that leg are taking the load of what the arch normally takes. The problem is in the foot.

Short story shorter: My shoes keep my right foot comfy, but not my right leg

Oh and from that there probably isn't a rupture, but my physical therapist and I are going to talk more on that possibility at the next appointment
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