Physical Therapy Starts Next Week!

On Tuesday, I visited the orthopaedist (sports medicine specialty) about my left leg, and she confirmed the diagnosis of IT Band Syndrome. I made my initial physical therapy appointment for next week. I've had PT before, with a high success rate, so I'm looking forward to that!

This afternoon, I saw a PA (physician's assistant) in a foot & ankle specialty office about my right ankle, which has been giving me problems since my spring Couch-to-5K. (I could've seen a doctor, but the wait was longer, next appointment was sometime in November!) I saw my podiatrist about the ankle in June, and he took x-rays ("clear"), poked and prodded (no tendonitis), and prescribed an expensive topical cream (which I've used sporadically).

I gave today's PA the history of my right ankle, and she looked at the x-rays as well as the bottoms of my running shoes. In hardly any time at all, she diagnosed my problem as "varus hindfoot." Basically, I run on the outside of my heels, and seem to be right-leg dominant at it, hence the right ankle pain. My bottoms of my running shoes revealed more wear/compression on the outside of my heels, too. She prescribed ankle strengthening exercises to my already-scheduled physical therapy, and suggested I stop at a nearby orthotic/prosthetic business, the Center for Orthotic and Prosthetic Care in Durham. I stopped in, and they were able to see me right then! Since I already have custom orthotics, they were able to add wedges to the back of the orthotics to help balance my heels. I could tell a difference (and improvement) immediately! Tomorrow will be my first full day in the adjusted orthotics, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that they still feel good in 24 hours.

I feel a big sense of relief that my leg and ankle will be well enough to start exercising again soon! Maybe I'll be able to do some spring races!

Back to the Doctor

Ouch! IT Band Syndrome is back, definitely in my left leg, and maybe in my right leg too. The ankle pain continues to be pesky too. So I have two appointments next week, one with a sports medicine doctor, and another with a physician's assistant at the foot and ankle place. So, it may be a while before I can exercise-doing cardio, anyway. I bet there will be some physical therapy in my future!

Meanwhile, I had an hour-long phone consultation with a nurse in Duke's DukeWell program this morning. This first health goal I'm going to work on is keeping healthy snacks on hand at work and at home.

More Exercise in My Future

Today's my second at-least-30-min exercise day in a row! :-) As I mentioned in an earlier post, I went in for a physical recently, and my new doctor told me to do at least 15 minutes of walking per day. It's been hit or miss with life being so busy. I finally started tracking my blood sugars this morning (another doctor's order, delayed by a few days), and realized I should step up that exercise! Yikes!

I need to remember not to stress about the numbers (no help at all), but let the numbers bring out my inner geek. Stay tuned!



Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Hitting the Reset Button

I went to a new-to-me physician yesterday for a physical, my first general "wellness" appointment in forever. Oy. We'll I'll be working on some things for the next month, and will report back in a follow-up appointment the end of September. One of my new doctor's marching orders is to walk/exercise for 15 minutes every day. The fact that 15 minutes of daily exercise sounds like a lot should tell me something--that I need to do it, for starters! I can hardly believe how out of shape I've gotten! I can really tell a difference in my fitness, though, in two days of walking. Work and graduate school are taking so much of my time and energy, but I need to figure out how to take care of my health too.


Clipart from Clipartheaven.com 

Summer's Over

Even though I'm working fulltime now, summer's over now that my fall semester class starts tomorrow night. The calendar may say it's still summer, but the "free time" part of summer is officially over.

While my exercise time may be limited (what's new lately?), I have been working on eating better, especially in the Fruits & Veggies Department. Not matter what I do or don't do, exercise-wise, I aim to work on better nutrition this fall, as well as other things (like sleeping better).

I do miss running, and hope to work my way back to it. The ankle is still bothering me a bit. :-( I have a physical next week, so that's on my list of things to mention.

Small Running World

I'm in the process of getting many of my medical check-ups out of the way before I start graduate school later this month at North Carolina Central University. Yesterday I had my annual physical with a new-to-me gynecologist, and it just so happens that he just ran his first half marathon, the Inside-Out Sports Classic, back in May! He's signed up for the Outer Banks Half Marathon in November, and I did that one last year, so we really hit it off with the running thing! I liked his bedside manner as well, and also enjoyed talking with the nurse who assisted.

Although "going to the doctor" isn't my favorite thing to do, it feels good to be getting my health ducks in a row.




Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Back on the Treadmill

I ran a 5K (3.1 miles) in 40 minutes on the treadmill this morning, with some incline (.5% and 1%). It felt pretty good, no foot pain today.

It's still dark during the majority of my workouts now. The seasons are changing, for sure. I'm kinda missing the possibility of running outside in the mornings. Oh, well, at least I'm okay with the treadmill.

I had a checkup yesterday, and was glad to hear my diabetes is still under control with diet and exercise. (Two years ago, I was taking four insulin shots for Type 2 diabetes!) She encouraged me to do the half marathon rather than the marathon at this point.

Crosstraining

This morning I did 35 minutes on the elliptical, then 10 minutes on the recumbant bike. Felt good to do something besides running this morning, oddly enough.


Yesterday I had my last appointment with the orthopaedist. I've been so impressed by the doctor and medical staff there each time I've been. She (the doctor) was pleased with my progress, but wants me to stretch twice a day!

I took my Garmin 205 to work with me yesterday, and put it on for several walking opportunities: to and from the orthopaedist, a walk break around campus, and the walk back to my car after work. I ended up logging over two walking miles, very cool!

On the Verge

This afternoon, I return to the doctor about my nose, and am hoping to get the splint off--and to get the go-ahead to exercise again! I can feel a difference in my fitness level, so I'm looking forward to getting back on track. I'll have to start slowly, but I can hardly wait! I know I'll feel better all the way around.

Relief is in Sight

I went to my doctor yesterday about the heart murmur that the anesthesiologist discovered in our preop for my nose last Friday. My doctor says it's very light, but she's going to have an echocardiogram scheduled for me just to be sure. Turns out many people have heart murmurs-go figure! She said it shouldn't interfere with my regular exercise once I get rolling again, but to be aware of other symptoms, like chest pains, or breathing harder than I should be.

Meanwhile, I return to the plastic surgeon about by nose next Wednesday, so less than a week away (barely)! Whew! This white plastic splint on my nose is irritating, and my nose is itching underneath! When I put my reading glasses on, I have to prop them on the splint, which pitches the plastic thing forward. Charming.

Doctors' Visits

This morning I had my second doctor's visit in two days. Yesterday was a general follow-up with my primary care physician re: my diabetes. Today I met with the orthopaedist at the sports medicine clinic about my self-diagnosed groin pull. I mentioned the groin pull to my doctor yesterday, but today's session was most helpful on that concern. I was evaluated ahead of time by a couple of people-intern types, I think, and then the doctor came in. Both times I got stretched and pulled, and it was decided I have a groin strain. It was nice to know I was in the right ballpark. The doctor also concluded that my quads and hamstrings are tight, and that if I don't get more flexible, I'll be back with more injuries. She prescribed four physical therapy sessions (my first is next week), and I'll return to see the doctor in six weeks.

I'm definitely looking forward to the physical therapy sessions, a brilliant idea. I just looked up stretching online, and found this good, but kinda funny website. It wasn't meant to be funny, but the stretches are demonstrated by stick figures. Primitive, but you get the point! Check it out here. The stretch to the left, from this website, is called Bum Stretch # 2.