Seeing a Doctor: Part 3

Okay! For the first time in a while I’m really feeling optimistic about my shin pain situation. Yesterday was my appointment at The Brace Place to get a mold of my feet for custom insoles. From the moment we started talking, this doctor actually listened to my specific problem. He asked me to go get my skates and spent time looking at the skates themselves and me wearing them. Immediately, he started explaining what was going on, and pinpointed exactly how that was affecting me.

Apparently, my feet roll in just slightly. Not a problem in normal shoes on normal ground… There’s solid support right under your arch, so the pressure isn’t all put on the arch. Now put a thin bar down the middle of your foot (like… a skate truck) and suddenly the support isn’t there. Now add to that the motion of pushing outward – putting MORE pressure on the arch area, and it’s just putting too much strain on my poor little muscles. We did a little foam foot mold, and he said my arches actually look very normal. I’m trusting this doctor since he’s actually a Podiatrist. [Not a Pediatrician... ]

Not MY actual foot... Haha!

So, next week I go back to pick up my new supports! He’s making them out of cork because he said it’s a more solid support. It’s heavier than some other materials, but we both kind of figured that wasn’t an issue when you’ve already got the weight of skates. Seriously, this guy was awesome. He kept asking lots of questions about roller derby, and asked what our team colors were. I wasn’t sure what he was getting at until he admitted he was asking in hopes he could get my supports in those colors! “For good karma.” What a cool guy! I gave him a schedule since he said he wanted to come watch sometime, and I think next week I’ll take some advertising/sponsorship info. He told me I’ll have to take it easy when I get my supports and start slow, but I already know I’ll be able to do that. I’m in no hurry, just excited to be able to skate at all again!

Seeing a Doctor: Part 2

When I last wrote, my doctor had referred me to an Orthopedic Specialist, and since then I’ve seen that doc… Just slow to update this blog when I’m not skating. Sorry!

About 2 weeks ago I went to the specialist, and he examined my X-Rays, felt my pulse in my feet/ankles, and did the same “does it hurt when I push here…here…” stuff. Then he asked if my feet or legs ever tingle when they cramp up. Nope. Do they get discolored? Turn blue/purple-ish? No way!

Apparently, those are also signs of Compartment Syndrome, and without those components, he was not convinced that I have CS. Which is good since that requires surgery most cases, but also not good since that just ruled out the one thing I had come to see him about! What’s wrong with my legs then??! He did say that he wasn’t totally happy with my circulation in my feet… I have a very healthy blood pressure, but my pulse wasn’t very strong in my ankle area. The only way to chase that rabbit though is through an MRI, which would help understand what’s going on, but would mainly just be expensive without necessarily getting closer to an answer.

He then asked about my stride, how my feet hit the ground, do they roll this way or that… Which really is a hard question to answer. My feet hit the ground the way they have for just over 24 years now, so even if it is very abnormal, it seems pretty normal to me. So, I kicked off my shoes and walked back and forth across the cold tile while he watched my feet. I really became very aware of every step I took, until finally he said that my arches are very low. He said he’d recommend insoles for my skates. I told him that’s something I implemented several months ago. He started to explain that Dr. Scholl’s may not be enough and I should try some from a running store, when I told him that’s exactly what I did. It’s frustrating sometimes being told by doctors to try the things I’ve been trying already, but I needed him to understand that I’ve been dealing with this for a while now, and there has to be something different I haven’t tried already!

So, he said from here I have basically 3 options:

• Have an MRI done to see what is going on with my circulation
• Get custom shoe supports made
• See a physical therapist to relearn how to use my leg muscles to stop straining the ones I’m obviously relying too heavily on right now

It took some pro’s and con’s weighing, but I finally decided to go with the custom shoe supports. It seems this one will help no matter what. Even if I do find later that I have circulation issues, my arch will still need the support. Also, if this direction doesn’t completely, immediately heal me, I can then go to PT to work on using the right muscles along with my insoles. If push comes to shove later on, then I’ll look into something more in depth/expensive with the MRI.

So, that’s it. I’m finally updating today because today is the day I go to get the molds of my feet made for the arch supports. I also picked up a $30 Groupon to Red Coyote a couple weeks ago, so once I get my supports in, I think I’ll take those with me and go get some new running shoes. Hopefully they’ll also be able to pick out some good shoes for me based on my stride, step, etc.

A friend joked that I need to get some Sketchers Shape Up, but if anyone ever sees me wearing those, please just shoot me on the spot.