"There's only one hard and fast rule in running: sometimes you have to run one hard and fast."








Saturday, March 3, 2012

Injury Report

I keep getting asked, "You aren't really quitting running because of a couple of sprains?" so I guess it's time for a bit of disclosure. It'd be fair just to say it's just the last straw... plantar fasciitis, achilles tendinitis, retrocalcaneal bursitis, three ligament sprain of the left ankle, medial collateral sprain of the left knee, strained piriformis, exercise induced asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic sinusitis (plus nasal polyp... can't forget that treat) and a bunch of other stuff that's just part of getting old.

But, wait! There's more!

After the sprains, I found a couple of blisters on my toes. They were oddly placed, but blisters are the least important injury. After a couple of days, they and the skin around them were red and inflamed, so I had a minor infection; again, no big deal. It looked like I had jammed my toes in the accident that led to the sprains and the nails might be ingrowing, so I started soaking them and treating them with various ointments.

Then, one night as I was going to bed, I saw red streaks running up my feet from the sores, so the infection was getting worse. I decided I'd have to get treatment the next day. The next morning, however, the toes were black and the ones next to them were swollen and now I had an emergency.

Bacteremia. Discussions about whether the toes could be saved. It was grim.

Now that the antibiotics are working and things are improving, I feel I can mention it.

But I won't be running any time soon.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry, but the long list of ailments you mention are most definitely not just part of getting old. A complete revision of diet may be something to consider. I'm sure you took pictures of the black toes, I look forward to seeing the pics.

Karen said...

Wow. I'm so glad that your toes were salvageable. How scary!

PiccolaPineCone said...

of all the injuries you have blogged about, that was definitely the scariest. i thought it was really weird that you were talking about quitting bc of a sprain. glad to hear the worst case scenario will not come to pass.

Unknown said...

Just wow! You deserve some much needed rest! Maybe take to the pool or hot tub for a while. :)

Anonymous said...

yes, get some rest and relaxation! hope you make it back to running soon, though, maybe no races so that you can just go out and enjoy the feeling of the run, maybe you won't push so hard.

Anonymous said...

Man alive, I am really sorry to hear this. I wish you good healing.

Willie said...

Oh my heavens, 7-11. I was reading and thinking, please don't let me get to the part and he looses his toes. I'm SO glad you got something to rid the infection. Take off as long as you'd like, just want you to get healthy and feeling strong.

Alene Gone Bad said...

Sounds to me like you just need a good long rest to give your immune system a chance to recover. People don't get that many injuries and certainly rarely get bacteremia from a blister unless they are immunocompromised. Sounds like you've run yourself down. REST,REST, REPEAT.

Jordan Hanlon said...

Steve, I'm sorry to hear this. I knew you were battling some injury issues but I didn't think it was this serious. I hope all is well and that you can get back at it but sounds like you need some time off.