Persistent Podiatric Woes and Musings on Cricketing Minnows

I went to the doctor again today. He delivered good and bad news. Good news is that the MRI shows that the torn tendon is healing. Bad news is that there is some new tenosynovitis and tendonitis, no improvement on the existing and there has been some worsening in two parts- Achilles tendon and posterior tibialis tendon. Even worse is that the MRI has revealed that the posterior tibialis is slightly torn. So now I have two torn tendons one on each side of my foot! My foot is also very swollen which I understand is from the tendonitis and inflammation etc. So it appears to be one step forward and two steps backward. The doctor said the MRI results sound worse than they really are. I am on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication for the swelling and inflammation and now wearing a special boot that allows me to “walk” on both feet while still using the crutches. I can take it off to sleep and shower. I am still supposed to rest and not put any weight on the foot if standing still. The boot is heavier than the cast but I guess the advantage is that I can take it off for showering and sleeping. The boot and continued rest are meant to heal the torn tendons and tenosynovitis and tendonitis; the medication is meant to help with the swelling, inflammation, tenosynovitis and tendonitis. The doctor also give me a cortisone shot which was the second one I have gotten. The first was in January. I have heard stories about how painful they are and so each time I expected acute pain; it actually wasn’t that bad.

I am going to be positive about this. At least the tendon which was so badly torn is healing and rest and the boot should heal the new tear. The tendonitis and tenosynovitis can also be healed by the rest and the medication. So hopefully just a few more weeks being immobile and some physical therapy afterwards and I will be ready to go.

I watched the last two hours of the Kenya/Canada game today. Kenya is in my opinion leaps and bounds ahead of the other minnows. It is a pity that the team doesn’t get to play top class opposition so often and even more of a pity that Steve Tikolo who is so much better than some batsmen in test playing teams will never get to play test cricket. I have mixed feelings about minnows competing in the World Cup. On the one hand they will never improve without competing against better opposition and to tell Ireland, Scotland, Bermuda or Canada that they shouldn’t play in the World Cup because they are not good enough is like telling Trinidad and Tobago or Jamaica that even though they qualified for the Football World Cup, they shouldn’t play because they are not good enough. Realistically however, how can two matches in a competition every three to four years help especially when they get massacred? Australia beating Scotland today by 203 runs in a one-day match is absolutely ridiculous! Not to mention, the “outstanding” and record breaking performances of players from top teams playing against minnows only serve to artificially inflate and exaggerate their averages etc.

Surgery Imminent?

I spent a large part of my day at the doctor’s office today. I got the cast taken off and unfortunately, the pain in my foot has not diminished. So, another MRI and some nerve conduction tests were done and I return to doc on Wednesday for results. At this point it seems as if I will have no choice but to do surgery as six and a half weeks in a cast has not resulted in any improvement. I will keep holding out hope till Wednesday that the MRI indicates improvement thus negating the need for surgery, but honestly, my instincts told me long before today that when the cast came off the second time the pain would still be ominously present.

Podiatry

So, seeing that I will be home for the next 8 weeks, I have decided that I will start doing this blogging/journal thing as one of the ways to occupy myself!! I am not sure if I will keep up or get bored after a while. I will see how it goes.

Eight weeks home. I am kind of alarmed at the thought. Not as alarmed though as I was over the weekend when the podiatrist had told me I would require surgery, then have to wear a special shoe followed by therapy, all adding up to about 3 months home!

I've been having pain in my foot for a while now on and off. Went to the doctor on MLK day (Jan. 15^th) and the podiatrist was also there so he examined me right away. I had to do x-ray and MRI the next morning. When I went back to see him last Saturday (Jan. 20^th) about the results, he told me that basically I have a very badly torn tendon in my foot near my ankle. In addition the torn tendon seems to have caused “chronic altered bio-mechanics” so I have tendonitis etc in other tendons. This is what the MRI report says:

RIGHT ANKLE: Peroneus longus partial tear just proximal to cuboid tunnel with surrounding tenosynovitis. Calcaneocuboid atypical joint space narrowing, medial aspect, suggesting fibrous coalition. Tibialis anterior and posterior mild insertional tendinosis with tenosynovitis. Findings suggest chronic altered bio-mechanics. Insertional achilles paratenonitis.

RIGHT MID FOOT: Mild peroneus longus tenosynovitis. No evidence of lisfranc subluxation or fracture.

In other words, my foot seems to be royally *&(^%!!!!!!

It seems as if it was much worse that time in Barbados when I had hurt my foot (jammed it in a huge hole running for a ball on MTW’s crater filled field) and the stupid doctor said it was just inflamed, give me some pain killers and told me to bandage it when I was playing cricket. She should have sent me to do x-ray and MRI to make sure nothing was torn. So now instead of having a normal tear of a few millimetres like normal tears are, mine is just over a centimetre!!! I cringe every time I think about what I have been doing in the past 3 or so years and the damage I was doing to my foot. Only last week I was doing all manner of jumping and running at the gym. Some with weights on my ankles!!!!!!

I saw the doctor again today (Jan 24^th). He had to speak to the radiologist who did the MRI to find out if the tear is transverse or longitudinal. Luckily it is transverse which is not as bad. That means I don't have to do surgery at least not at this point. I will be in a cast for around 8 weeks and then if it hasn’t healed I will have to do the surgery. He put a soft cast on me today and I have to go back for a hard one on Monday. I am walking with crutches. I also have to go to an orthopaedist on Friday to make sure nothing is seriously wrong with my knee. Lots of pain in my knee also and podiatrist thinks the MRI results are serious enough to warrant further examination by orthopaedist. MRI report of my knee says:

RIGHT KNEE: Mild medial patellar tilt associated with subacute/ chronic sprain of inferomedial patellar retinaculum and mild patellar tendonitis. Findings are suggestive of a mild patellofemoral tracking disorder. No meniscal tear. Minimal interstitial degeneration in femoral attachment, posterior cruciate ligament.

In other words, my knee also seems to be royally *&(^%!!!!!!

I am trying to get all of this digested, its all happening so quickly! I have to figure out a way to shower, eat, shop etc as I can’t put any weight on the foot and have to use crutches. Steve has volunteered to take me shopping so I can buy a whole set of stuff. I will still have to figure out a way to get everyday perishable items like milk and bread etc. I will have to swallow my pride and ask someone for assistance. I am also fearful that 8 weeks home without activity will lead to significant regression in the gains I have made health and weight wise. I will have to try to stick to a very low fat and low calorie diet.