In December of 2008, during a rare snowstorm in Portland OR, I injured my peroneal tendon simply by stomping through 10" of snow that was covered with a thin layer of ice. I basically rolled my heel inside of my custom fit sneakers and didn't think much of it since there were no immediate signs of injury.
I am not sure exactly when the symptoms started, but I think the first time I noticed it was when I stretched way across our bed to give the cat some attention. There was a snap, much like a rubber band popping in the outside base of my foot, below the ankle bone. It was extremely painful, and after a few times of this happening I knew I must have done something to my foot when I lost my footing in the snow. I waited until late January to finally see my Primary Doc and she referred me to a Podiatrist. Long story short, I NOW know that snap should have been an obvious clue to the podiatrist that it might be the Peroneal tendon, but it took advice from my sister in New York who works for a Podiatrist to push for an MRI which finally revealed the tear. I went through several months of Physical therapy and about 2 months in a boot. There was some improvement, no more snapping, but I am sure part of that is my own avoidance of anything that causes that snapping. Surgery was mentioned, I staunchly refused, that's just how I am....I will always try all the conservative methods first.
About a year ago I went to see an Orthopedist who came highly recommended by several Physical Therapists and my own PCP. He told me that everything that could be done short of surgery had been done, except cortisone injuections, which are not advisable for this injury for may reasons. If you are considering those, please do some research! I do not recall all the details, but do know it can make it worse. He described surgery and the recovery process in great detail and assured me I did not have to make the decisions right away. I'm not sure why no rush, perhaps because I am not an athlete and not at risk of doing further injury by running etc. The description of the recovery process frightened me so much, than in spite of loving this Ortho, I said, "Thank you very much, no." and went on my merry way.
I may not be the most athletic, but I am active, love to walk on the beach, hike, entertain, dance etc. The injury has interfered significantly with my normal activities, just because standing or walking too long or walking on soft beach sand hurts like hell and causes massive swelling. I also miss high heels =) Dansko makes cute stuff, and I am not looking for stilettos, but I'd like to put on some pretty shoes again!
I spent about 4 months pondering the idea of surgery (I wasn't about to do it during the summer!) and finally decided to go back to the ortho last week. Prior to going, I did as much internet research as I could find. If you are considering this surgery, you MUST go to this site, http://www.runnersworld.com/community/forums/injury-prevention/injuries/just-surgery-peroneal-tendon/.0
to say that site has been helpful is a huge understatement....it has been and still is a great resource for me. There is also another blog on here ,http://howisurvivedmyperonealtendonsurgery.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=25 that I found very helpful.
Anyhow, I walked into the doc's office pretty convinced I would be getting the surgery, but of course had to revisit with the pro. We agreed to do it and now the surgery is scheduled for November 5th. I am extremely anxious, because the recovery will definitely be a long, painful and arduous process, and let's face it, crutches are evil. That said, all the forums and blogs I have found all have this one theme in common, "It's is really, really painful and recovery is difficult, but I'm really glad I did it." So here I go..........
No comments:
Post a Comment