Dealing with Tendonitis

For those of you who follow me on Facebook I mentioned about how I was dealing with some minor complications while training for another half marathon. I discovered a chronic pain in my lower right ankle. I saw what looked like a goose egg that had formed on the back lateral part of my heel. The goose egg would swell and cause me to limp like Tiny Tim all day.

Finally after dealing with the pain and the limping for over eight weeks I finally went in to see my doctor. I discovered that I have a mild form of Achilles Tendonitis. This is caused when too much weight is constantly impacting on the heel of your foot. This can cause minor ruptures within your tendons and other joints in your foot.

Illustration of Achilles Tendonitis 

Luckily I found that there is a cure. I was instructed by my doctor to take ibuprofen before I ran and to wear what is called a Strassburg sock.

My sexy leg wearing the Strassburg sock

The Strassburg sock is pretty much a funny looking sock with a splint that you are supposed to wear on your foot for 2 weeks. I felt like I looked like an elf in rehab. This foot splint is supposed to keep your toes suspended upward all night long so that the tendon's ruptures can heal more efficiently. Imagine a cut on the knuckle of your finger. If the knuckle is always moving the wound will take forever to heal.

Long story short, the limping stopped after two nights of wearing the funny-looking sock. I still feel some tenderness down there and the goose egg has not completely vanished but my doctor thinks I can still run in my half marathon.

One of the facts of life for a long distance runner is you are constantly dealing with some sort of pain or sickness. They say it’s just part of the game. With that in mind when I am running in a race I don’t feel so much like I am competing with the other runners. More so, I am competing with myself to see if I can endure the miles.

Have you ever seen or heard of the Strassburg sock before?