emilie reas

Today marks the 8 week anniversary of my perplexingly stubborn foot injury. Had I known back in February that I would still be unable to run today, I likely would have resigned myself to a period of springtime hibernation. But every day brings new reasons for optimism and I can now confidently report having entered a stage of progressive recovery. In retrospect, the unpredictable ups, downs and surprises of this frustrating period have also been immensely character-building.

Like many runners, I tend to have an inflated sense of how in touch I am with my body; I am thus continually humbled by how poorly I sometimes interpret its messages! If you read my last post, you’ll recall that I initially self-diagnosed my top-of-foot pain as extensor digitorum longus tendonitis. However, after 6 looooong weeks of unsuccessfully treating for tendonitis, I began to suspect a more serious injury … could it be a dreaded metatarsal stress fracture? An MRI revealed no clear fracture line, but showed “abnormal signal intensity” throughout the foot, reflecting edema in the bone marrow, consistent with a diffuse stress reaction (for a great review of stress fractures and reactions in athletes, see Fullem, 2012). Oddly enough, this finding came as a huge relief, finally providing an explanation for my excruciatingly slow healing. No surprise that treating weakened bones for tendonitis would be completely ineffective!

At the same time, this diagnosis taught me a critical lesson. Equally important as listening to your body and heeding signs of incipient injury is accepting you don’t always have the answer, and remaining open to all potential causes of a problem. My symptoms appeared perfectly consistent with tendonitis, and perfectly inconsistent with a fracture: aching that moved around along the path of the tendon from shin to ankle to top of foot, but no swelling or pain upon pressing the metatarsals. With an athletic history void of fractures yet scattered with tendon issues, I was convinced this was just more of the same. But to my surprise, under the combined stressors of marathon training and aggressive transitioning to minimalist running, my metatarsals gave out before my tendons.

Over the last 2 weeks I’ve conducted extensive research which has led me to incorporate several new treatments. Although it’s impossible to attribute improvements to any one intervention, together the following appear to have been highly effective at promoting healing in my stressed metatarsals:

Supplements
During injury recovery, the body requires additional nutritional support beyond the demands of normal maintenance to ensure active repair of damaged tissue. For bones, this support includes excess calcium, with vitamin D, magnesium and vitamin K, all of which are essential for building strong bones. Silica has also been shown to promote bone health (Carlisle, 1981; Jugdaohsingh et al, 2004; Seaborn & Nielsen, 2002) and as a nice side effect, purportedly also improves hair, nails and skin (although I have yet to notice newly lush locks or a vibrant complexion!). In addition, I’ve been supplementing with glucosamine-chondroitin and omega-3′s for joint support and inflammation control, respectively. I’ve also become rather obsessive about maintaining a balanced diet rich in vitamins, minerals and protein.

Bone stimulation
There’s considerable evidence that stimulating fractures with ultrasound can accelerate bone healing (Heckman et al, 1994; Nolte et al, 2001). I purchased a bone stimulator (Exogen 4000) a week ago and – coincidentally or not – have experienced the most marked improvement yet over this past week. Such devices are relatively pricey and not easy to track down (I found mine on Ebay), but are user-friendly, FDA approved and scientifically validated.

Homeopathy
Comfrey, or Symphytum officinale, is commonly referred to as “knitbone” due to reports of its phenomenal ability to heal bone fractures. I have been applying a comfrey salve topically to the foot as well as taking a homeopathic dose of symphytum multiple times a day.

Activity
The traditional prescription for stress fractures or reactions is complete rest from all forms of weight-bearing activity, often including a boot for walking. For later stages of recovery I’ve seen conflicting advice, with some therapists suggesting the incorporation of pain-free weight-bearing exercise to encourage strength building. As a firm believer that our bodies are more resilient than we’re often aware and under some circumstances are most nourished by active healing, I have opted for the less conservative course. Granted, during the first 6 weeks, my decision to use the elliptical machine, walk and hike (barefoot of course!) was based entirely on a misdiagnosis of tendonitis. Now knowing the state of my bones at this early post-injury stage, I suspect this excessive activity almost certainly delayed my healing. Since my foot has advanced beyond its original highly vulnerable state, I currently follow a simple guideline: engage in any activity that does not cause discomfort. Given my high pain tolerance, I set my threshold at discomfort rather than pain. Running through “discomfort” is what triggered this injury in the first place! This approach currently permits me to walk, do the elliptical and one other secret indulgence to be shared in a coming post (intrigued, aren’t you?)!