Sunday, February 13, 2011

Mysterious foot injury is ticking me off

I have a heel injury that's totally throwing off my game. I don't even know how it happened, although I suspect it was on the elliptical last week. All of a sudden I realized, after I took off my shoes, that it hurt like hell to step down onto my left foot. It hurts worst first thing in the morning when I get out of bed.

I know it sounds like a small thing, but think about the number of cardio exercises that depend upon a functioning pair of feet. Ellipical and treadmill are two of my go-tos, and I've been having to avoid them the past couple of days. I could work through the pain, I'm sure, but I don't want to prolongue or worsen the injury.

So today I did the bike for 20, then did some strength-training for half an hour on the machines, then did another 20 on the bike. My intention was to stay off the darn thing as much as possible today, but the weather was so unbelievably gorgeous that I ended up taking my dog for a long walk, so I guess I blew it.

I don't think I'll mention it to Jackie. I want to get 100 percent out of our workouts together, and they just wouldn't be as hard without all the crazy jumping around on stuff.

Anyway, I'm taking suggestions on good cardio workouts that allow me to keep off my heel. Anyone? Anyone? ... Bueller?

P.S. The blog title on The Free Press home page is a bit vague. "My foot hurts. Can I go to the nurse?" is a line from "Clueless," which I watched over and over again in my teen years. Just thought I'd clear that up. Yeah ...

9 comments:

  1. Do you have bad arches or flat feet? I have flat feet and lately my feet have been killing me too. If you have flat feet, I would recommend putting some arch supports in your shoes or get shoes that have good arch supports. Also, take good care of your feet when you are at home. Soak them and you can also do stretches for your arches. I can send you a link to some foot exercises to do that may help you if you want me too. Just ask. :)

    Weight training would be great. Upper body will take your load off hurting your feet. Also include the hip weight machines. You can do that for lower body including the ab crunch machines. Have you done any ball exercise? You could do a few where you wouldn't be putting much pressure on your feet.


    Here are two videos of ball exercise you can do.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOv2TDLv8wU

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9kd6G2rLlM&feature=related

    Check out youtube, they have lots of different videos. I hope this helps!

    There are many different types of workouts. You can do push ups using a exercise ball. Doing these exercises will help with building up your abs, hips, strengthening your knee muscles, leg muscles, etc. I hope your heel gets better. Make sure to rest it, ice it and don't over do it.

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  2. You need to tell Jackie about this! She will be able to determine if it is something you can workout through or not and she'll also be able to help you prevent the injury from happening repeatedly. If it hurts when you get out bed in the morning then it could be more serious than you suspect. PLEASE TELL HER! :)

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  3. Thank you, Jenna and Bethany, especially for your ALL CAPS level of concern. I actually did tell Jackie this morning because it was hurting a bit, and we worked around it. She looked concerned, though. Apparently certain foot injuries can take forever to heal. Couldn't come at a worse time!

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  4. Sounds like Plantar Fasciitis to me. I had it in my left foot a few years ago. The getting out of bed thing is a giveaway and a typical symptom. I would go to the doc SOON! The longer you wait, the longer it will take to heal.

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  5. I am glad you told Jackie! That was the right thing to do. She can help direct you from here. Try not to get discouraged even though sometimes it is easier said than done. Just think about how far you have come. Don't give up! I am pretty certain you will still be able to workout. You may have to for a period of time decrease your training. It doesn't mean you have to stop working out. In the meantime, maybe put your energy into doing upper body and lower body in which you aren't putting direct pressure on that specific foot. Also, keep eating healthy!! It will all workout in the end. Take a deep breath and breathe: one day at time! :)

    I like to research and I found this link to this article below to be helpful. I think it would help give you some ideas in helping out with the pain in your heel. It is a good read!!!

    http://www.drpribut.com/sports/heelhtm.htm

    Good luck!! :)

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  6. It's a good thing you told Jackie about that. You see, you'd never really know exactly what it is until we have it looked at. I would suggest you to see a podiatrist too, just in case. Not to sound like an alarmist here, but it could be worse than it is now. Maybe you can lay off putting too much weight on that foot. Why don't you try rowing or kayaking? Or if you don't have rivers near you and you prefer the gym, you can try their rowing machines. Hope that injury got healed by now!

    Johna Mccaa

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  8. Oh dear, you shouldn’t have put weight on it right after that incident. I think, besides a good rest, you really need to have a chiropractor look into it just to be sure. Maybe you can try other cardio workout like swimming. Swimming is not only a good cardio workout, it’s also a good exercise to strengthen your shoulders and core muscles.

    Mitchell Winslow @ Primary Care

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