M
Marcus Holmes
Guest
Long story short: Did something to really mess up my ankle back in May.
This was a month after running the Boston marathon and my first week back
after the requisite month off.
Felt like I had sprained it pretty bad.. couldn't really walk normally
for a few days. Eventually the swelling and pain subsided, so I tried
running again. That didn't last long as I had extreme pain when I tried
to run (although not when walking). For a long time it would be sore in
the morning and be fine the rest of the day. No running, every time I
tried, it hurt.
Fast forward to present day. I've had an xray and bone scan, both of
which were inconclusive. The reports suggested a "possible" sub-acute
fracture in the ankle, but it was hard to tell. Either this is really the
case or my doctors suck, I'm not sure which. I did a little physical
therapy with exercises to do at home, which I've been doing somewhat
frequently. Usually every day or every other day.
About two weeks ago I decided that close to 6 months of no running seemed
like enough (I had been doing the elliptical pain free to keep up cardio)
and I should try running again. I got on a treadmill and voila, it didn't
hurt when I ran! I ran a full mile and didn't want to push it.
Now I've started to ramp up the mileage a little bit and am wondering 1)
how it is best to continue and 2) how do I know if I'm really healed?
Taking the second question first. It doesn't hurt when I run, but I am
"aware" of my ankle. This might be psychological because I know that's
where my injury is. It might be because my muscles have atrophied from no
running and my bones aren't used to the pounding so everything is going
to hurt for a little while while I rebuild. Or it could be I'm not
completely healed. Like I said, it doesn't hurt to run, but I'm just
afraid to push it too far (I should mention also that there is a bit of
soreness in the area after each run and sometimes in the morning.. could
be related to injury or simply just rebuilding).
Which leads me to my first question. What is the proper way to get back
into running? I've ramped up from 1 mile a couple times a week, to 2
miles and am now up to 4. What kind of timeline do I need to allow my
muscles and bones to get used to running again? Is the 10% rule
sufficient or should I go even slower? Or maybe faster?
Any thoughts would be appreciated! Injuries are no fun!
Marcus
This was a month after running the Boston marathon and my first week back
after the requisite month off.
Felt like I had sprained it pretty bad.. couldn't really walk normally
for a few days. Eventually the swelling and pain subsided, so I tried
running again. That didn't last long as I had extreme pain when I tried
to run (although not when walking). For a long time it would be sore in
the morning and be fine the rest of the day. No running, every time I
tried, it hurt.
Fast forward to present day. I've had an xray and bone scan, both of
which were inconclusive. The reports suggested a "possible" sub-acute
fracture in the ankle, but it was hard to tell. Either this is really the
case or my doctors suck, I'm not sure which. I did a little physical
therapy with exercises to do at home, which I've been doing somewhat
frequently. Usually every day or every other day.
About two weeks ago I decided that close to 6 months of no running seemed
like enough (I had been doing the elliptical pain free to keep up cardio)
and I should try running again. I got on a treadmill and voila, it didn't
hurt when I ran! I ran a full mile and didn't want to push it.
Now I've started to ramp up the mileage a little bit and am wondering 1)
how it is best to continue and 2) how do I know if I'm really healed?
Taking the second question first. It doesn't hurt when I run, but I am
"aware" of my ankle. This might be psychological because I know that's
where my injury is. It might be because my muscles have atrophied from no
running and my bones aren't used to the pounding so everything is going
to hurt for a little while while I rebuild. Or it could be I'm not
completely healed. Like I said, it doesn't hurt to run, but I'm just
afraid to push it too far (I should mention also that there is a bit of
soreness in the area after each run and sometimes in the morning.. could
be related to injury or simply just rebuilding).
Which leads me to my first question. What is the proper way to get back
into running? I've ramped up from 1 mile a couple times a week, to 2
miles and am now up to 4. What kind of timeline do I need to allow my
muscles and bones to get used to running again? Is the 10% rule
sufficient or should I go even slower? Or maybe faster?
Any thoughts would be appreciated! Injuries are no fun!
Marcus