I’m hesitant to continue to call my issue an injury. It is mysteriously getting better. As mysterious as it appeared, it seems to be disappearing. I really won’t complain about that though…As I said on Friday, while I still feel soreness, it is definitely going away. So I guess that is good news.
When I got deep tissue massage number 4 (two weeks ago), my masseuse also recommended using a spiky tennis ball and yoga block. I would be able to put the most pressure onto my foot and break up more scar tissue. That is something I have been really working on as of late. I can honestly say being proactive, stretching and doing this routine twice daily (as well as foam rolling) has loosened up my muscles a lot. I have noticed the biggest improvement in my foot in the last two weeks. I think it’s a huge reason I’m recovering like I am.
I sit with the block behind me and my arms propped on it. I then just roll my calves. It normally hurts (for me) a lot more than normal foam rolling. Then I massage both plantar fascia. I’ll do a long post and collect everything I’ve been doing to get rid of this issue sometime next week.
I actually find the spiked ball digs into my arch deeper than a normal tennis, golf or lacrosse ball.
| Monday: | OFF | |
| Tuesday: | Easy Run | Nike Training Club Core |
| Wednesday: | Easy Run | |
| Thursday: | Easy Run with 10 second striders | Nike Training Club Ab Burner |
| Friday: | Cross Training | Nike Training Club Core |
| Saturday: | Short Run | |
| Sunday: | Hopefully Longest run (around 2 hours? |
If things keep going the way they are, I’m confident that my lingering soft tissue damage will go away. I wish I could tell you I got a definitive answer…but I still haven’t. Seeing as I’m not feeling pain, I guess that isn’t a problem either.
I have been keeping my exact mileage off my social media accounts for a number of reasons. One, I’m not running with a watch. I don’t actually know where my watch is right now…it’s somewhere in the house
Questions for you:
How are you proactive in recovering?
Have you ever had an undiagnosed or mysterious injury that seemed to disappear?
I’m so glad you’re feeling better! It’s probably less mysterious than you think…sounds like you’ve been doing all the right things with rest/cross training, and pampering that foot. Hope you continue in this upward direction!
Glad it’s starting to go away! Sometimes niggles happen like that when you’re proactive.
I think the only time I’ve had something like that is when I cranked up my mileage too fast – aka overuse. I did some recovery stuff, backed off the mileage and it went away.
Glad to hear you are feeling better. It is incredible what we can do for ourselves and our injuries if we just take a little time each day to massage, roll, whatever it may be. I have been dealing with an injury since late April and finally logged some 50 mile weeks recently. My husband is training for a marathon right now and it is so frustrating with these little mysterious things that try to knock him off track.
I’m glad you’re feeling better! I hope your long run goes well (I think I saw on FB that it did?). I LOVE foam rolling my calves or lacrosse balling them! I need to bring my lacrosse ball back with me to do the bottoms of my feet! They’ve been SO tight lately!
I’m glad your mysterious injury is going away. I get mysterious things all the time, especially with my knees, but then I just wear a brace and they go away eventually.
I am so glad to hear you are on the mend! I have been dealing with what sounds like the exact same issue in both feet for about three weeks. I’ve been following a pretty similar recovery routine and my pain seems to be improving a lot too. ART helped tons after just one session! (Another round tomorrow.) Also cross training with a heart rate monitor for double the duration I usually run has maintained my fitness. I use the stick and a tennis ball and stretch many times a day. Also, the Strassburg sock helps a lot with cramping. Have you tried adding potassium to your diet? I’m thinking that might be my next effort. Sports doc is optimistic – it’s most likely a scar tissue issue you can work through. Good for you for being smart and proactive in your recovery and having a positive attitude! Here’s to a fantastic fall racing season!
Such good news! Hopefully you will feel good enough to run Lehigh Valley in a few weeks!
Regardless of what you do about the marathon, I am glad you’re running pain free again :). That’s always great to hear!
OK, first, sorry I am laughing at you about the watch … sounds like a discussion I had with my older son in the car back from visiting Syracuse about one of his watches 🙂
But I am hoping that you are on the path to recovery … your current status is still so indeterminate that I am nervous about sounding the victory bells, but I am really hopeful … as Amy says, regardless of the marathon status, any good weeks are GREAT weeks, IMO.
I’m glad that you are back at it! I hope it doesn’t bother you anymore!
Thanks Jason!
Yes, road to recovery!
I have DEFINITELY had a mystery injury appear, stay (for too long), and then suddenly go away. It’s weird. It also usually happens after I’ve started proactively taking care of it, but not RIGHT after — long enough after that I’m starting to wonder why I’m even bothering taking care of it. That seems to be what it takes for my body to be like, “You know? You’re right! Let’s fix this now.” I hope it keeps getting better for you!
I’m glad things are getting better, even if you don’t know why. I have had ‘issues’ come and go, and sometimes never figured out what or why. But they are always good reminders for us to take care of ourselves!
To recover and try to prevent injury I stretch, foam roll, ice, and take either ice baths or hot Epsom salt baths. Also, I go to physical therapy for treatments and do strengthening exercises.
I’ve never had a mysterious injury that went away. From when I started running in 2006 to June 2013 I had a lot of minor issues that never required time off. Since June 2013 I have had 3x stress fractures, a muscle strain, compartment syndrome that required surgery and nerve damage from the surgery.
Wow three areas fracture? Where at? I remember having one and being devastated.
First metatarsal, second metatarsal, and medial cuneiform bone, all in my left foot. The dr was really surprised about the medial cuneiform bone, I guess it’s really strong. But they were diagnosed with an MRI so there was no question about it.
I think it’s a good idea to keep your mileage offline right now. It probably helps avoid people trying to inject their injury opinions into your training. I hope your foot continues to improve! I’ve been massaging my arches while catching up on blogs. xD
I know that I”m late to the party but my history this winter and spring definitely is similar to yours in that my body was telling my one thing and then would seem to change its mind again and again. When I first started my blog, I had intentions of discussing my running on a far more frequent basis. And then I got injured, and it, well, it traveled around my legs. I am just now starting to talk more about it, but I also am very careful. I don’t have nearly the same readership as you, but I know what it is like to think people will judge or that comparisons will start. And, at least in my case, there is definitely an aspect of paranoia of jinxing oneself! Good luck!
Sooo it looks like you and I are sufferring from similar ailments! I just got my MRI results this morning for the mysterious pain in the arch of my left foot and it came back completely clean. Interesting because after 1 week of no running the pain hasn’t subsided at all! I use the spiky ball and tennis ball too. Glad to hear it’s all been helping for you!