I just went back and tried to log the little bit of running I've done the past couple of months since my disastrous St. George marathon. Now I'll try to summarize a little of what's been going during that time. As my marathon race log shows, my feet started failing me about mile 9 and by mile 17 I had to started walking. By the time I finished, my feet were basically destroyed. In the weeks after the marathon, I tried running various times, but my feet never felt right. I tried taking time off from running, and taking NSAIDs, glucosamine, and vitamins to heal up, but with little noticeable improvement. I finally decided to surrender to medical treatment. The best advice I got during this time was to try Dr. Melissa McLane. Both my home teachers highly recommended her from personal experience. I scheduled an appointment with her for Dec 2, an appointment for a physical with my new family doctor on Dec 6, and an appointment with my podiatrist on Dec 14. My experience with Dr. McLane exceeded my already high expectations. After a thorough examination by her associate doctor and by her, she said, "This is an interesting case."
I've had a leg length difference since I had surgery for a serious youth football injury to my left knee when I was about 14 (I'm now 50). I apparently also have unusal feet. She also diagnosed a neuroma in my right foot that is the source of the foot discomfort I've been experiencing. I suspect it is the result of the rigid orthotics prescribed by my podiatrist in May of this year to help with my plantar faciitis. Dr. McLane doesn't like them, and looking back, I'm convinced they are the cause of my foot problems at the end of the Red Rock Relay and during the St. George marathon.
After a thorough examination of my feet, hips, and back by her and her associate, she ordered full image scans of my back, legs, and feet. I got the scans immediately after my visit with her and she told me to come back the next day so we could start treatment as soon as possible. She seemed to understand my case, take an interest in it, and sincerely care about getting me back running again as soon as possible. The leg length scanogram showed the left leg measured 83.9 cm, the right 85.7 cm, for a difference of 1.8 cm (0.7 inches). I thought I remembered my doctor telling me it was 1 1/8" difference back when I was a teenager, so for the last 35 years that's what I've believed. I'm kind of relieved that it's only 0.7 inches, but I feel bad for all the people I've lied to about how big the difference is. I was also surprised to learn that the difference is about equally divided between the femur and tibia. (Right femur 48.2 cm, left femur 47.3 cm, femur difference 0.9 cm; right tibia 37.3 cm, left tibia 36.5 cm, tibia difference 0.8 cm.) Since the damage was to my knee, I always assumed the difference was all below the knee. The spine scans revealed that I have scoliosis (curvature of the spine). It is unclear whether I had it as a child or whether it is a result of a 35 year leg length discrepancy, or maybe a combination of both. For the record, the official findings are: "There is a cervical thoracic curve convex to the left which measures 13.4 degrees. There is a thoracolumbar curve convex to the left which measures 5.6 degrees. Between these curves there is a subtle thoracic curve convex to the right. The diagnosis for my feet was: Pes planus (flat feet). Calcifications at the posterior aspects of the ankle joints. Left calcaneal spur. Right talar neck spur. Dr. McLane decided the first step was to get me good, non-rigid orthotics to help correct the leg length discrepancy and foot issues. She referred me to Dr. Greg Thorpe in Springville. He fitted me for orthotics last week and I have an appointment to pick them up this afternoon. Dr. McLane also gave me a cortisone shot for the neuroma in my right foot. I didn't feel much discomfort, even when she asked if I could hear the crunching as she broke up the scar tissue with a needle, except when she apparently hit a nerve that sent a jolt of pain to the end of my middle toe. She told me not to run on it for a week to give the medicine time to do its job, and then to start out easy with running. I asked her what she meant by "easy", and she said a couple of easy miles. So this morning I ran a couple of easy miles. My feet felt okay, but they never did bother before I'd run 3 or 4 miles anyway. My old body felt like it didn't remember what running was and protested a little. I only managed about 10:30 pace.
I guess I should also mention that I had a physical exam last Monday that included blood tests. When they got back the results of the blood tests they called me to tell me I had high cholesterol, a new development but not too surprising. The Thomas side has a history of heart attacks and strokes, although they usually recover from them pretty well. They recommended I exercise and watch my diet for three months and then get checked again. If there is no improvement it is probably genetic and they will prescribe medication. Some parts of getting old aren't much fun. I've been a little down the past couple of months. I've always said running was my therapy, and I think that is more literal than figurative. Between not exercising and eating comfort foods I've put on 10+ pounds. Getting outside for a 2 mile easy run this morning was a good thing, the beginning of a return to the way life used to be. I'm confident Dr. McLane is going to help me get my old body back into running shape and hopefully keep it that way for many years to come.
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