Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. Although, seeing how it took me 20 minutes to walk to the docs office (which was only 4 blocks from the train) because of the severe pain, it was kind of a blessing to have the boot; it did help my mobility a bit. I also got a lot of cool nicknames out of it, like: Ironman, Robocop, Shira, Terminator, Bionic Woman, Frankenstein, Tiny Tim. Ok, maybe that last one is not so cool. Apparently, everyone becomes a comedian when I hurt myself.
After one week with the boot, I went back to the doc, still very much in pain. He prescribed me to 2 more weeks in the boot and an MRI. The MRI was to see how bad my ankle was and if it was bad they would give me a cortisone shot. Again, not a happy camper. I didn't want any kind of shot in my body, especially one that was essentially just going to mask the pain, not heal it.
Unfortunately, life has gotten in the way and the MRI joint and myself have not been able to schedule an MRI at a decent time. They only seem to have 7:30am appointments on the days I have my daughter. That's definitely a no go. But then, a miracle happened! I posted a pic of my bionic foot on Facebook and my old friend Kelly (who happens to be an acupuncturist) suggested I go under her needles. I went to her once before while I was pregnant and had been dealing with 6 months worth of nausea. I went under her needles and was way better within a week. It was amazing. So I figured I would at least try it for my ankle.
Now, if you never have gotten acupuncture before, you need to go. Like, right now. Stop reading this and just go. I don't care if the only pain you have is a slight discomfort in your right fingernail; GO! It's amazing. Usually my ankle pain hurt worse in the morning; the morning after my acupuncture, my ankle felt a million times better. I couldn't believe it! After spending 3 weeks in the boot and in pain/discomfort, it was such a relief to feel like I could walk like a normal person again. I actually started tearing up a bit because I was so frikkin happy; but luckily I was able to pull myself together. :-)
I have gone back for another session and plan on doing a third. I have since gotten rid of the boot, but I still wear an ankle brace. I'm taking extra good care of myself. I'm foam rolling and putting a heating pad on it. I'm not wearing heels (my autumn boots are super sad about this) and am still not running. However, I did go for my first post-injury run yesterday and it was beyond amazing. I only did 3.1 miles but I did it in less than 29 minutes; averaging at about a 9:15 pace. Super psyched! I still need to go visit my doc to get final word that I'm on a healthy path, because that just seems like the adult thing to do I guess.
For now, I'm really not going to run that much. This injury has been a blessing actually! I have known for a long while now that in order to become a better runner, I have to do other things besides running. A.K.A. cross-training. But I was so scared to break out of my running routine. Luckily, this injury has forced me to look at other training opportunities. So I have taken up swimming, which is not only great cardio, but has also been great for my ankle! I also will be taking my first cross-fit class tomorrow. I'm not gonna go too hardcore with that because I'm trying to take it easy. I start training for a half marathon on December 1st, so I need my body to be super awesome and healthy for that. So until then, minimal running, and plenty of needles and swimming! Wish me luck!
If you're interested in scheduling an acupuncture appointment, check out Kelly's Facebook page to learn more here: Kelly Smith, M.S., L.Ac. Acupuncture
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