Friday, March 6, 2009

no amputation necessary

This will be the last time I will dedicate an entire post to griping about my leg! I have been going back and forth over the best course of treatment... do I massage it... rest it only... spin class (yes/no)... ice or heat... and also, DO I NEED TO SEE A DR.?

I made an appointment with the ortho doctor in New Albany today, but they told me it was going to be $200 just to walk in the door! Yikes! I was on my way home from Excelsior, thinking about maybe just going to our chiropractor and asking his opinion, when I remembered a physical therapy place in Sherman...

My friend Roan did rehab there, and they hosted the Sherman Days 5k this fall.

The Dr. was very nice... and a runner! I stopped in just to ask if they saw (in a diagnostic way) athletes, or if he thought I should keep my appt. with the ortho doctor. He was very nice, and just told me to come on in. He palpated my leg, and asked a bunch of questions. His opinion was that I should not worry about going to the doctor. He was pretty confident that the injury is in the muscle, and gave me several suggestions.

1. Load up on advil
2. Go for a 18 mile run tommorrow... (ha ha, just kidding!)
2. Keep resting for another week, but spin (w/light resist) is ok.
3. aggressive stretching with this calf stretcher device
4. Wear shoes with heels! :) He said it takes the pressure off the injured part of my calf.
5. When I start back running, start off lightly... not back to business as usual

Good news: He thinks I will be able to do the half in Nashville... but probably won't set a PR!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Hope you can continue running as the doctor says. I know that it will still be a consolation to only do the half, but it is better than nothing.

Jan and Miekie said...

Hope your leg recovers soon! I don't run, but I do long distance swimming and know how frustrating such an injury can be before a big event! Just have patience.....

Elizabeth said...

I am not sure which Dr. you were going to see, but there is one here that just seems to just operate and they don't get much better. However, I only know of a couple of instances. I hope your leg gets better!
Elizabeth

Anonymous said...

I am so glad you got someone to look at your leg. I hope you're back up and running soon ;o)

I think high heels & jeans sre cute;o?

Christy

Joy said...

Oh Heather, I'm so sorry about your leg and I totally understand about not getting to run the full marathon! How aggravating! I found these guys at an ironman: http://www.tpmassageball.com/ and LOVE their stuff. It's kind of expensive, but works like nothing else I've found. Check it out, it's great for calves, amongst other things. :) Get better soon!!