Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Hammer time!

To me, metatarsalgia sounds like some kind of pasta. But apparently it's doctor-speak for 'pissed off foot.' Doc said the foot is not fractious, just hella swollen. The hammer toe is causing undue pressure on the joints, hence the problems.

He doesn't want me doing anything that will 'overuse' the foot. Like bicycling. Or jogging. Or walking. Or taking the stairs. Or taking a bath. Or pretty much anything else besides sitting, (unless it's sitting in a bathtub, which is verboten). He taped up my foot with a pad thing, which supposedly is going to make my foot feel allll better sometime soon. I can't take it off for a week, so I don't think Doc and I agree on the same definition of 'soon.'


I can ride a stationary bike if I don't use the ball of my foot to pedal. Thankfully, he's given the thumbs up to ellipticals and rowing machines and thankfully I have these in my life.

Frustrating -- I have to give up, at least for now, on all the goals I've been training for. No more 5ks this year. And it's boring to have to track progress by how many minutes I spend sitting on a machine. No matter how fast I row, I'm never closer to shore.


Exercise du jour: 30 minutes rowing.
Done! Two days in a row of rowing. I hope that doesn't cause a row.

9 comments:

Roxie said...

Gawd, I hate lolcats - except that I really adore them!

I hope your foot gets better Merry soon.

messymimi said...

Well, at least now you know it isn't something that will kill you or leave you permanently crippled.

Meanwhile, give yourself extra bright shiny stars for putting in your minutes of going nowhere. That way you won't lose ground when you do get back out there into the real world.

Make sure you fully heal, and I hope you won't ever have to go through this again.

Amy said...

poor foot! and no baths, how sad.

i see my cat eyeing hammers all the time, the therapy isn't working at all.

solarity said...

I'll be thinking of you when I get on my bike-to-nowhere in a few minutes. It's pollen season, which I why I got the blasted thing in the first place. I *like* breathing through my nose!
The bike is why I bought a refurb iPod. I listen to podcasts to get me through the excruciating boredom. Music doesn't do it, and I can't hold a book and get much speed.

Hoping you heal fast and thoroughly,

Mary Anne in Kentucky

Anonymous said...

Oh. Well then. Good thing you did all that hole digging already. Didn't mention that stress to the ball of your foot to your doctor, did you?

I have a pair of crutches you could use. If I weren't already using them. In fact, I think if you were really determined you could still train for a 5K by using crutches. You might be surprised how fast you can move when a cat is trying to trip you.

Not that I have any recent experience with that.

Um, Merry? The word verification box has a little blue question mark in it. I'm feeling sort of lost without any means to verify myself.

Ah, refresh.

sideremt: a way of dismounting from a rowing machine that does not involve the ball of either foot.

I feel better now. Hope you feel better "soon" too.

The Merry said...

I was using a cane yesterday at work. Got remarks like "hey there's the cane... where's Abel?" Yes, it's a laff riot at my office.

Dr. J said...

Not a bad job diagnosing you for a facial surgeon. Cheaper too, I'll bet.

Hope you get better soon, and are ready for, as I say, further punishment!

Jennette Fulda said...

Sorry to hear about your foot. I'm fairly injury-prone myself and I remember how frustrating it can be when a bum foot/knee/hamstring screws up your training plans.

billy said...

Injuries really suck. I know all to well. Be patient it will heal. Don't push yourself or you may regret it. Patient is something you really need right now. It's hard I know.