Wow! Sometimes something makes so much sense and is so simple, you can’t see it. I have had some foot soreness that seemed to creep up on me bit by bit. It didn’t seem like much of a problem at first, just a little soreness on the top of my foot after I played basketball. However, it kept getting worse, little by little. The pain went away after I iced it and didn’t persist if I wasn’t playing hoops, so I figured it was just due to all the pounding my feet take when running.
About two weeks ago, the pain got to the point where I realized it wasn’t going to go away on its own, so I decided to rest my feet for awhile and take a couple weeks off of basketball to make sure I didn’t make the problem worse. It wasn’t fun to miss my favorite activity for two weeks, but I knew I had to be smart so I would be able to keep playing. Finally, I was ready to test my feet, so I shot around a little bit in my running shoes (big clue!) and felt fine. I figured I would try to play basketball that night.
I knew I wasn’t one hundred percent, but I wanted to see how my foot responded, so
I played in the game. The first ten minutes were fine, and then I sat out for a few minutes. After I came back in, my foot was a little stiff, but not too bad, so I played for another five minutes or so. After sitting out for another few minutes, I came back in, but only stayed long enough to realize something was definitely wrong and came out for the rest of the game.
Now I was sure that I was going to have to take at least a month off to let my foot fully heal, and I would need to see a doctor and probably a foot specialist to make sure I didn’t have a bone spur or a stress fracture or something requiring a cast or surgery. The prospect of this didn’t sound good, but I couldn’t deny something was wrong.
Luckily for me, the gym where I work has a rehabilitation center next door, and Brian Power, one of the physical therapists there gives free injury screenings every once in awhile. It turned out he had an opening, so I went in to talk to him about my foot.
This is where I finally see the light! He asked me what kind of shoes I wore, and I said Nike Jordans ($125 a pair). I had always assumed since they were so expensive and they fit my foot like a snug glove, that there was no way they would be bad for me. Turns out I was wrong! Thank goodness for that.
He did some poking around and made sure everything was all right with my foot, then did a special taping job that seemed to support my arch a bit better and sent me out to the court. There was still some pain, but it was definitely less, and I felt great, because I wouldn’t have to have surgery and/or sit out a long time. The funny thing is that I would have taken time off, gotten all healed up, and then gone back out to play in my shoes again, which would have created the same problem all over.
Now that I think back, it makes perfect sense. There was the time I ran a mile in my running shoes, had no problems, and then went to play basketball and couldn’t even run after the first game. Also, I had been wearing a different brand before, shoes that were less snug, and had switched to Nike because I wanted “better” shoes. Turns out, it’s good to have shoes that are a little roomy so your feet don’t get scrunched up (think about how it feels when somebody squeezes your hand too tight on a handshake).
Thank goodness for specialists who don’t believe the hype! Now I will be able to get back out there and play again!
If you are experiencing ANY KIND of soreness or pain, I would highly recommend setting up an appointment with Brian or another Physical Therapist. You may be overlooking an easy fix which will save you time and money in the long run. If you are a member of Sound Mind and Body Gym, sign up for a free injury screening at the front desk.
Olympic Rehabilitation Website: www.1to1pt.com
Olympic Rehab Insurance Preferred Providers:
Aetna Uniform
Cigna United
First Choice Zenith
L & I PIP
Medicare Premera
Regence BC/BS
Pacificare TriCare
PACS
Olympic Rehab Physical Therapists:
Brian Power
Wendy Lavin
Dan Druckhammer
Ann Healzer
