Having the Right Doctor - Part 1 of 2

By lululemon athletica

I have learned an important lesson about choosing the right doctor. Though a doctor is highly professional and recommended, if he is not a runner he may not fully understand the special concerns related to training for a marathon.

The orthopedic surgeon I went to was good, but he was old school and not a runner. When he said I could start running again, I asked if I should first go to physical therapy. He said the best way for me to rebuild the strength in my leg was to get back to my normal routine as soon as possible. I took the doctor at his word and started back to my running routine. I started slow, running just over a mile at a slow pace. I restarted walking my dogs nightly. It was difficult for me to restrain myself. I wanted nothing more then the start running at a fast pace for as long as I could, but I could feel my leg was weak, so I adhered to my grandfather’s advise and I took it “easy greasy.” 

During my first Team in Training run, I kept up with everyone else. The pace felt good. I was able to talk the whole time without feeling winded. It was not until the run was over that I realized I was running at a much faster pace. Once I cooled down I started feeling some pain in my knee and the top of my foot – on the side that had the broken ankle. I rested a day and everything felt better. I tried running again, but halfway through, my knee started to feel sore again. I did not push anything. I rested, iced, wrapped, and elevated my knee. When my knee felt better, I stuck to the elliptical to minimize impact. However, my knee still hurt. It was not only affecting my run, but I was also having pain while doing everyday activities.

On the advice of a co-worker, I called a sports medicine doctor. He is also a marathon runner. First thing he said was that my left leg was noticeably weaker. He eased my mind by telling me that I would be back to normal in no time with physical therapy. I’m by no means a doctor, but this is how I understood it. Since my muscles were weakened, excessive stress was placed on my knee while I ran, which inflamed the “water balloon” that cushions the joint. It‘s called bursitis. The doctor said that runners are a special breed; they are all slightly crazy. He told me not to run and to start physical therapy. He also advised me that in the future to not run if I feel pain above a two out of ten (he gives most people a four out of ten but because I have a freakishly high tolerance for pain, he felt the need to be more strict) and if the pain affects daily life. Limping out of the doctor’s office I obeyed and immediately scheduled an appointment with a physical therapist who is also a marathon runner.

What made me feel good about this doctor’s advice was that he took that time to talk to me about my training, he looked at my shoes, he studied how I walked, and he tested my muscle strength. He explained how one weakened area affects other areas. He also said that he wanted to pursue the reason that I broke my ankle in the first place, to ensure that I don’t do it again. Because I didn’t fall or twist my ankle, he wanted to find out if how I run contributed to the break.

To be continued …