A Pound of Cure

Two days after the University Run, I found myself knocking on Dr. Renald Peter Ramiro's clinic at Cebu Doctor's Hospital. Dr. Ramiro specializes in rehabilitation medicine and electromyography. He is also a runner and kindred spirit, and so when I went on and on about the pain in my foot, I was sure he knew what it really felt like.

My condition is called plantar fasciitis (pronounced PLAN-tar fashee-EYE-tiss).
It is one of the most common injuries that runners suffer from. It can be caused by a great number of things, but mine was caused by a sudden increase in the weekly mileage. In my effort to bump my miles in so short a time, I tried to cramp too many miles every week, which i wasn't ready for. Plus, I have a flat right foot and an overpronator.

Runners who suffer from plantar fasciitis alter how they run: shortening stride length, foot striking with toes first rather than heel first, and running on the outside border of the foot are among the alterations, all of which can lead to a host of other injuries including knee pain, hip pain, back pain, or other foot pain.

In the case of the Marathon Foodie, my altered gait and foot strike also caused pain on my right forefoot, a condition called metatarsalgia. Because I did not address the first injury as soon as it hit me, I now had to deal with not only one but two types of injuries.

I was in pain. So much so that I could not even wear my leather shoes to court and I couldn't walk even with just flip flops on at home. It was either I wore my rubber shoes (with lots of cushioning) to work or I just sit all day at home and not walk.

Thankfully, there are ways to manage or even correct plantar fasciitis.

Dr. Ramiro prescribed that I undergo physical therapy sessions at Cebu Doctor's Hospital Rehab Med Dept. with my friendly licensed Physical Therapists Namy Casia and Amado Boyet Cortes, who both so graciously explained to the Marathon Foodie everything about the treatment and how to better avoid injuries in the future.

Namy uses a little gadget called TENS or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator, which aids pain relief and hot packs on the affected foot.

Then there's the ultrasound machine used with the Fastum gel, which is supposed to speed up recovery. Namy also taught me exercises using the blue theraband to strengthen the muscles at the sides of my leg which was weak and contributed to my injury.

Boyet on the other hand tapes my right foot. Now this taping technique performs a little miracle. After taping, I can't feel the pain on my heel and forefoot! It also worked wonders in giving my flat foot the extra support that I need to prevent injury. But, taping is only for short term relief.

In order to correct the biomechanical issues involving my flat right foot and overpronation, Dr. Ramiro advised me to have made-to-order orthotics (shoe inserts).

But orthotics are expensive -- almost like buying a brand new pair of running shoes. The Marathon Foodie is still saving up for it, and waiting for the opportunity to fly to Manila and try out the custom fit insoles (while-you-wait) at Runnr -- that new store at Bonifacio High Street which specializes in running gear that runner-bloggers have been raving about.

For Cebu runners who might need custom made orthotics, there's Arnold Balais at Rm. 118 Centro Maximo Bldg. in Jakosalem St. (2538242). Arnold made the custom fit insoles of running guru Raffy Uytiepo and the Guardo brothers.

I'm so behind my training schedule already, it's depressing. I blame myself for not taking better care of my foot. I kick myself for all those rushed, even skipped stretching sessions before and after a training run. I hit myself in the head for ignoring the pain when it first hit me in the 1st week of August. If I did seek help then, I would have been healed by now.

I take heart in the fact that this injury has made me learn so much from my rookie runner mistakes. You know the cliche -- Rome wasn't built in a day. Same goes for running. It takes time -- lots of it -- to build a solid running base.

They are unforgettable lessons about injury that no book on running could have taught me. Well, books would have told me the same thing, but I wouldn't have believed it until the pain struck me.