The Specialist
First things first - I have started to see a sports injury specialist. This was a hard call for me to make because it is expensive. BUT what I have been doing for the 12 weeks since I was diagnosed is NOT healing me. I need someone to actually try to help me heal instead of just telling me to sit still for another 4 weeks.
So last week, I started to see Dr. Dale at Elite Sport Performance.
Waiting
For the 40 minutes of my initial assessment - I felt like I got my money's worth from his assessment fee. He poked and prodded the break. He had me do some exercises to determine some weaknesses. We reviewed what I have and haven't been doing...and he pulled no punches when he hit me with the reality of why I am broken.Ultimately - it pretty much comes down to 2 things:
1) Muscular imbalances
2) My running in a shoe that is much too light and not nearly cushioned enough for my weight. Ultimately - this is what broke me. My considerable weight pounding down with no shock absorption.
He even calculated out the weight my legs would have endured over the course of my half marathon in February...11,605,000 POUNDS of FORCE raining down on uncushioned feet! YOUCH!
We talked treatment options and decided it would be a three pronged effort:
1) Strength training to build up the muscles
2) Graston
3) Using a bone growth stimulator daily to encourage healing
One interesting thing to note. I had brought a little chart showing how I have reduced my activity over time according to my Fitbit steps...I am proud of how restrained I have been, but he was quick to point out that I still walk 5k everyday. Just in regular activity. BLAMMO! So much for taking it easy. I walk 5k by parking close to my building, not working out and just doing my bare minimum home routine to get the girls ready for bed! Oy vey. Talk about being slapped with reality. So what if I am walking half as much as before - I am still walking a helluva lot.
He then sent me on my way with a requisition for a bone scan and instructions to get my bloodwork done which, I admit, I just hadn't had time to do since getting home from vacation. (I went Sunday morning for that)
The Bone Scan
By some miracle, I was able to get a bone scan scheduled for the very next day after that first appointment. I truly had no idea what I was going to be going through. I knew they had to give me an injection and then I'd need to come back to have the scan done.
So, at 10 am that morning - I was at the radiology clinic and they injected me with the stuff. While I was there - they also put me into the big MRI-like machine to check my blood flow in my legs.
Taken after the fact...didn't want my phone to meddle with the test.
Then I was sent on my way.
At 2pm, I was back and being loaded back onto the machine. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I think I thought this would be like an ultrasound. Instead - I got to hold really still and have my legs scanned in multiple positions in THIS beastie.
They had the monitor atop the machine angled so I could watch the scan and my heart sank when I saw the break light up on the screen.
What I didn't expect to see, however, was the way my LEFT foot lit up.
THAT scares me. It's bad enough to have a break that won't heal in my right tibia. The possibility that something might be up in my left foot despite not having any pain is more than a little terrifying.
But I held myself back from self diagnosing. I joked with the tech about it but her lips were sealed. If she saw something - she wasn't sharing it. All I can say is that it was probably good for my sanity that the disk of images didn't work on my Mac or I totally would have spent the whole weekend self-diagnosing myself.
I haven't heard from my doctors office yet so either she hasn't seen the scan yet or there is nothing to say. I want to say it is more likely the former because I am sure my tibia is still broken, given how sore it still is, and I would expect they would notify me of that!
So now I wait. I have another appointment with Dr. Dale tomorrow where he will look at my runners and help me figure out better shoes for me. I expect the Graston to also begin then, which also terrifies me because I figure it is going to hurt a whole fucking lot. I am looking into rental options for the bone growth stimulator since I do not have $3000 kicking around to buy one (nor do I want to - but if it will help this heal I surely want to use one!) He should have the report about the bone scan and the films from my initial x-rays by then so I should hopefully have some insight on exactly how bleak this is and how to move forward.
But one thing is for sure - I WILL move forward because I am so tired of sitting here trying my damnedest to not gain any weight until I can move again.