The Running Thread - 2019

ATTQOTD: I have been fortunate to be mostly injury-free in the past few years. I had some foot pain during marathon training last winter that required about 5 days off, ice and new shoes. In my previous running life (2010), I did have a stress fracture.

With that said, I currently have really bad pain on the back of my heel. It is not on the bottom of my foot as plantar fasciitis usually is, it's on the back of my heel. Today is day #5 and I'm debating if a visit to the doctor is worth it. The longer I'm on it, the better it feels, so I'm still able to go for a walk, but getting up from sitting is so painful.
I don't want to "waste" a trip to the doctor to be told to "rest and ice," ya know?
 
ATTQOTD: My worst was having IT band issues while I was training for the LA Marathon a few years ago. I did see a doctor earlier this year because I was worried I might have a stress fracture. If I'm having pain, I generally try to look it up on the internet or come on here to see if it is something I should consider seeing the doctor. I've been fortunate not to have to go other than that one visit.
 
ATTQOTD: My one and only running-related injury was during the 2017 Disney Marathon, my knee swelled up around mile 16-17 and stayed that way for a few days afterward. I had never been injured before that and was sure I had really done it this time. But within 5 days it was better and I was back to running. So I have no idea when you should see a doctor.

I always worry I jinx myself when I say I have never been injured but so far so good. My cross-country running ds says I never get injured because I don't push myself hard enough. Which is entirely possible. I attribute it to never wearing my running shoes beyond 300 miles.
 


ATTQOTD: A prolonged course of bronchitis led to cracked ribs in the middle of a long run. The pain was so awful that a 2 hr run turned into a 3+ hr ordeal. My husband actually called me several times in a panic when I didn't come home. Not much to do for a rib fracture, so I didn't see a doctor and it eventually healed a few weeks later. But during those weeks, movement was so painful that getting in/out of bed/cars or even driving was terrible and I couldn't even lift my kids, yet I somehow stubbornly ran through the pain.
 
ATTQOTD: (Thank you - I've been missing these, but couldn't think of anything good to offer up for one!)

Worst - and so far, only - running-related injury was ITBS. I had it BAD. Excruciating. I saw two different doctors, a chiropractor and a massage therapist trying to fix it, to no avail. What finally did fix it? Getting out of stability shoes.

A close runner-up was only indirectly running-related: I bashed my pinky toe into a piece of furniture and broke it. In the middle of Dopey training. If I buddy-taped it to the next toe, I could run on it fine... but then the tape created a really painful blister. It took a lot of experimenting with various products to finally find a combo of blister bandaid + lambswool + kinesio tape to support the broken toe without causing skin damage. No doctors involved.
 


ATTQOTD: I sprained my ankle pretty badly 3 weeks before Chicago. As you can imagine, I was pretty distraught about possibly missing out on my first non-Disney marathon. I went to my physiotherapist and he prescribed an aggressive treatment plan to get the swelling down and help speed up the healing, which included no running. I was allowed to take spin classes but no standing on the bike, at first.
Seeing my physio, great advice from friends during the first few days and working on strengthening my ankle helped me get to Chicago and finish it without further injury.
 
I've suffered one bout of plantar fasciitis back when I first started running (needed real running shoes and to change them more often).

I have suffered IT band syndrome twice. Once after a half marathon on really cambered roads. I limped my way to the finish line when my knee wasn't sending huge jolts of lightning through my leg and feeling like it might collapse. I also got it a bit around mile 20 of my first Disney marathon (2013 where I was sick and running/walking to an almost-7-hour finish). I stopped for some biofreeze and tylenol for that one - thanks Med tent!
 
ATTQOTD:

I went 9200 miles and 6.5 years with only a 2016 undiagnosed stress reaction being an issue during that time period. Got my first sense something was wrong on the starting line of the 2016 Lakefront Marathon. Around mile 16 it went from a 0.5 to an 8 in pain. I was able to keep pushing and made it to the finish line. But once I got there I could barely place any weight on the leg at all. Took me a few days before I could even walk around the house. Within 2 weeks I was back to running again. X-rays and MRI showed no fracture though. I think I saw the Dr and got the X-ray maybe a week after the race. The MRI occurred maybe a month after the race but more so took forever to get approved more than anything.

But 2018 didn't play out well with a small fibula stress fracture right after Dopey in January. I had a few warning signs the days leading into the race when we were heading to the airport. During the races themselves everything was fine. But once I restarted running after my post-race hiatus I could tell something was wrong. Took me maybe 2-3 weeks before I decided to consult a professional and another few weeks before I had a diagnosis.

Then likely ankle tendonitis (and maybe another stress something creeping up on me) occurred in Fall 2018 during Chicago Marathon training. It took me a few weeks before I seeked professional opinion about it. Got a few PT exercises but really only rest was going to change anything. So I ended up taking off 19 weeks after Chicago from running to get it healed right.

And then lastly was a glute issue I dealt with in Spring 2019. Looks like it occurred because of improper form on a strength exercise with dumbbells. That took several weeks to get an appointment and then several weeks to resolve even after that.

So hoping the pivot away from 2015-2018 training methodology will be helpful in staying healthy and injury free.
 
Since there has been some injury talk/advice floating around (and I currently have a very painful foot)... how about a question of the day?

QOTD: What was your last (or worst) running-related injury? How do you determine if an injury justifies a visit to the doctor?

During the summer of 2015 I had plantar fasciitis and had to take 3 weeks off but thankfully learned how to keep it from coming back so I guess it was worth it.

During the Disney full in 2016 I tore both peroneal tendons in my left ankle. I kept running until about May and finally had it checked out and scheduled surgery for July. I ran up til the surgery and then it was 6 month recovery as they also cut a bone in my foot and inserted screws to help it heal (which I still think I make a mistake for letting them cut it). It has been a roller coaster since, up until now. For the first time in 3 years I finally feel confident running again. After having the most recent MRI on my right ankle and seeing that it isn't also torn I feel comfortable running and knowing I am not going to pop a tendon on each step I take.


ATTQOTD: I have been fortunate to be mostly injury-free in the past few years. I had some foot pain during marathon training last winter that required about 5 days off, ice and new shoes. In my previous running life (2010), I did have a stress fracture.

With that said, I currently have really bad pain on the back of my heel. It is not on the bottom of my foot as plantar fasciitis usually is, it's on the back of my heel. Today is day #5 and I'm debating if a visit to the doctor is worth it. The longer I'm on it, the better it feels, so I'm still able to go for a walk, but getting up from sitting is so painful.
I don't want to "waste" a trip to the doctor to be told to "rest and ice," ya know?
Might still be PF even if the location is different! The fact it hurts most when you first stand on it and then gets better is classic PF symptoms.
 
ATTQOTD: I've had a few...
Most Recent: The most recent significant injury was a shin issue I had after Dopey 2018. It progressed from discomfort just behind the tibia to eventual shooting pains through my ankle as I ran. I went to the orthopedist who found an abnormal growth of bone on my tibia at the upper posterior tibialis attachment point, but couldn't tie it to the pain. After rounds of rest and anti-inflammatories didn't help, he was convince I had a stress fracture and sent me for an MRI. Totally clean. At that point, the doctor said "It must be soft tissue, good luck" and cut me loose without a resolution. Frustrated, I went to a local PT who specialized in running. She immediately noted that I had an atypical curvature to one tibia that was causing the posterior tibialis to overwork to bring my foot into proper alignment on every stride. She dry needled the posterior tibialis to release and relax it and "posted" my shoe insoles by adding a wedge of TPU to the forefoot so the foot doesn't have to travel as far to the push off. Knock on wood, that took care of the issue!

Most Severe: After my second half marathon in 2015, I went for a light recovery run the next day and felt a tweak in my hamstring. I had another half the next weekend so rushed through some stretching during the week and Ben Gayed it up good on race morning. About 2 miles in, I felt it tweak again. Did I stop? No, I slowed down a bit. Then at mile 8, it really popped on me. Did I stop? No, I finished. Not my best exercise of judgement. It turned out that through years of Ultimate Frisbee I'd tweak the hamstring, rush the rehab to get back to playing, rinse and repeat. That led to incomplete healing with scar tissue threaded throughout the muscle weakening it until it finally tore during that race. I was unable to run for 6-8 weeks while I worked with a PT to break down the scar tissue through a mix of ultrasound, cold laser and deep tissue massage. While that was going on, there was a lot of stretching and strengthening work to ensure that the muscle healed properly aligned and cleanly. When I did get back to running, I was limited to 0:30/4:00 run/walk intervals. After a week or two pain free at an interval set, I could change it up slightly for the next week's runs. It took me 7 months to get back to fully running again after I was released to run (almost 9 months post injury). The hamstring still gives me twinges every now and again to this day. Don't mess with a tweaked hamstring!
 
ATTQOTD: Knock on wood worst has been a bruised toenail. And that really didn't prevent me from normal training. I'd say having a child in school who brings home lots of fun germs has provided more setbacks than actual injuries. That and just mental/motivational ruts. Double knock on wood.
I've had knee soreness off and on but it's sporadic and usually when I start ramping up my training after breaks...so I usually chalk it up to shaking off the rust/dust. Triple Knock on Wood.
I've been cold free now going on a few weeks with a race in Nov, so Quadruple Knock on Wood.
 
Attqotd: The more common running Repetitive use injuries I have experienced took place during periods of running inactivity and were probably due to poor shoe choice and long time on my feet at work. Other knee and ankle injuries I’ve had were due to high school football.

So, for niggles and soreness I get these days I usually just ride it out if I can stand it. Probably not the best course of action, but I also am not a fan of letting otherpeople tell me what is okay and not okay with my body since demanding high school sports and a general mistrust of authority figures.
 
Most recent (cause there is ALWAYS something) ....stress fracture, left hip. My mantra ( based on hearing the same thing from doctors over and over) is that most everything resolves itself with 6-8 weeks of rest and I don't really think about a doctor til then. As I get older, it's taking longer to heal, so this one took more like 8-10.
 
i feel like i should answer the question of the day. Though i am afraid i could write a book about it. I agree i hate spending the money for a dr to tell me to rest. Usually i am like duh. If my issues are over use things, like sore hamstrings or a sore butt (most recent injury) I dont usually go to the dr. I do see a physical therapist without a dr prescription, because of my insurance it is the same. I realize that might not work for everyone but on over use injuries a physical therapist is more useful than a dr. However my last injury i went to the dr for was my hip. Which was an over use injury. The reason i did go to the dr is that i rested it for 3 weeks and no NOTICEABLE improvement. If it had been getting better I would have road it out with rest, but it was not even close. i got a cortizone shot, rested and then started physical therapy. The shot helped a lot so that i could sleep and walk and run but i still took another 2 weeks off before i started running easy.

I will say when i fell running, twisted my ankle fell forward messed up ankle, elbow, shoulder, and arm. I did go to the dr the next day. It was a sunday. My dad drove me to urgent care that day but i did not see anyone. They said they would probably take x rays and then tell me to see an orthopedic dr on monday. I left urgent care and monday i got a last minute dr appointment with an orthopedic i had seen before. I did have to drive to the further away office but was happy to get in. He took xrays, nothing broken and just said really bad soft tissue damage. I ended up in therapy, but i also had complications through my own doing but sent me to another dr.

TL;DR i only go to the dr if i get to the point were resting for 2 weeks shows no improvement, too cheap to pay a dr to tell me to rest.
 
Since there has been some injury talk/advice floating around (and I currently have a very painful foot)... how about a question of the day?

QOTD: What was your last (or worst) running-related injury? How do you determine if an injury justifies a visit to the doctor?

Fortunately I've never had what I officially called an "injury" from running. The most I've had is some specific soreness that stuck around too long (so it was probably some type of mild injury) and usually was not enough to stop my runs and went away after a few weeks.

In tennis, I've had multiple pulled calves (called "tennis leg") that have made me stop a match and be out of tennis for a week or two. Those all occurred prior to when I started running, coincidental or not. I never went to a doctor for those, since they resolved after the said week or so.
 
ATTQOTD: I hope I'm not jinxing myself. No serious running injuries, just the usual aches and pains. My foot swelled up and hurt so bad after Rocket City Marathon, that I had to use crutches. I did go to the doctor to rule out a stress fracture. Diagnosis was no fracture and undetermined otherwise.

How do I know when to go to the doctor? Easy: when my wife tells me to. :)
 
QOTD: What was your last (or worst) running-related injury? How do you determine if an injury justifies a visit to the doctor?

My knee informed me this weekend that I was pushing too hard and that I need to not do that. I think I'm going to back off my plans for a 2:30 half in the NYE race and instead aim for a PR in the 10k. (Need to beat 1:12.)

Doctor visit...if rest doesn't help, then I'd take that as an indication that it's time to talk to the professionals.
 

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