Forums >Health and Nutrition>Tarsal Coalition?
Thanks, Heidi! I was hoping you'd come back and post yet another link to sportsinjuryclinic-dot-net!
MTA: Meh. Benefit of the doubt and all that. But still ...
"I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."
-- Dick LeBeau
Hey Ironman I wanted to chime in here to as I have the same condition ~ found out 5 years ago when I started training for my first marathon and was told to STOP running. Of course I found a different doctor. Recently recovering from a stress fracture to the cuboid, torn fascia and the coalition in my right foot (also the injured one) has shifted. Doc says pretty certain it's all secondary from the TC. I was 3 weeks out from running Ogden. ugh!
Just wondering what you've found to help in your running. I'm currently taking celebrex when needed, ice after my long runs, orthotics and have been playing around with the wobble board to help with stiffness. Of course none of that right now.....Out of boot last week and now going through PT.
Would love to chat with you about this and what you are doing to get through your runs. My pod said he hasn't met many people with TC that continue to run.
I've only been running about 10 years. Nothing serious until about 5 years ago and then this year I got really serious with my mileage as I am trying to become faster........got tired of being slow.
I'm 46 and told I have the feet of a 70 year old and it will only get worse. I'm determined to not let this get the best of me just yet. I'm on the BQ dream boat.
Hi, I am new to this message board. I actually found this board trying to do a little research on tarsal coalition and am very glad I did.
I have never met anyone else with this condition, let alone other runners with it.
I was diagnosed at 16 I am 27 now. The coalition was in my right foot and caused severe pain in my left knee ( due to compensation) and frequent back spasms. I went the usual route... every device known to man that is supposed to help was recommended to me and in the end, they all failed miserably at best and were torturous to wear. This led me to a foot specialist that was very honest about my condition and told me that surgery was an option, but.... I did not have chronic pain in the joint itself and surgery is usually a last resort, so I should really weigh the risks. He told me that he could not guarantee that it would help at all, but he could guarantee there was a risk of a chronic pain for life that did not previously exist.
When he found out I was running he was shocked. He laughed and looked at my foot, that is a size 13 and pointed outwardly at about a 45 degree angle and asked incredulously " You run?!" I was only running 5 mile runs at the time. He told me that I should not be able to run in the condition that I was in. This has been a constant thing among the doctors they either tell me that I should not be able to or that I should not run. I have heard it all, that if I continue on I will pretty much cripple myself by the time i reach my 40's etc.
Being told no or that I can't do something does not really sit well with me, so I began upping my mileage. Currently I run 6 miles minimum when I go out and aim for at least 12, with my highest daily mileage being 18. I am not going to lie... it hurts like hell. after long runs I have trouble placing weight on my foot the next morning when I wake up, but I take an ibuprofen and kinda work the muscles loose throughout the day and the pain become minimal.
Changing over from running with shoes to running with vibram five fingers has helped the pain a lot. I have noticed a strange thing though, when I started running more with vibrams, I started to develop something that began to resemble an arch in my foot which I never have had and my foot is beginning to migrate back inward a little more. I also have eliminated a lot of knee pain and back spasms. So my goal is to continue running with vibrams and see how that progresses. I am at a tough point where I am encouraged by the results I have seen, but don't want to get my hopes up. I really want to run a marathon sometime and then move on to an ultramarathon.
Sorry for the book I wrote, but I was very glad to hear others stories of dealing with this condition and figured this may help others.
Dem84 ~ wow, I feel like we are living similar lives. Every dr I've seen has told me to stop running with the exception of the one I have now. As I indicated in my post before yours I just went through an injury in May, spent 6 weeks in the boot then followed that up with physical therapy. Didn't think my PT knew much about TC so I was worried going in. 3 1/2 wks into PT I started having swelling again in the injured foot and lots of pain in the part where your foot connects with the leg/ankle. Right on the top. I was worried this was my TC and when I mentioned it to my dr he kept saying my foot was supposed to hurt right now because the PT was doing what he was supposed to. Shortly after that appt I went out for an easy 5 miler and made it 2 miles when I was hit with pain right below my little toe on the top and bottom. (still same foot that was injured) Foot swelled up right away and the next day I headed back to the doc this time making sure he was listening to me. Ultrasound showed lots of edema in that area so he sent me for MRI which showed 3 NEW stress fractures. I hadn't been running much at all so IMHO I think it may have come from the PT. He had me doing some crazy stuff. So back in the boot I go for another 6 wks. Dr ordered a CTscan and full body bone scan and my right foot lit up like a Christmas tree in the bone scan. Results showed the TC, when it comes to the stress fractures the report says abnormal uptake to right hind, mid and forefoot. arthropathy versus occult fractures. Now the dr isn't 100% certain the 3 areas are stress fractures but might instead be arthritis. Anyway now he is suggesting I look into surgery for the TC. He said if I was going to lead a sedenetary life I need not even think twice about the surgery. Just leave things alone. But since I"m so active he said I might see some benefit in my running if I have the surgery. Only thing is recovery can be long. 6 months to a year. It's already killing me to be out another 6 weeks from running and the thought of being out 6 more months to a year is hard to swallow. So I contacted Dr Neal Blitz in NY who spealizes in this kind of thing and am waiting to get his opinion. Goggle him if you get a chance. Looks like he has quiet a bit of knowledge in this area.
I'm encouraged by your five finger benefits. I have lots of friends that are making the switch. I discussed it with my physical therapist and he didn't know enough about them to tell me one way or the other.
A couple of things I do that really help me after running ~ I believe in massage. I try to get foot massages done as often as possible. Also ice can be your best friend. In the winter after I run I will stick my feet in our pool for about 10 minutes. It's tough on those really cold days but it does make a difference. Outside of winter I have a bucket I use that I just toss some ice into water and soak my feet for about 10 minutes. I also bought a wooden rolling pin that I roll my feet on. That muscle or the fascia that runs along the bottom of your feet gets tight and knotted up so rolling it helps keep things feeling better......at least for me.
Good luck with your quest to run a marathon. You'll never look back once you cross that finish line. Running will forever be in your blood.
I think that there are a lot of benefits to the five-fingers. I don't want to sound like I am mindlessly promoting them because they are trendy and I just got done reading "Born to Run" but, I have been using them about a year now. I never was a good runner at all, I was actually pretty clueless, I would just try and launch my body as far forward as hard and fast as possible. So, I did not really start off from a solid base at all, but I feel like the vibrams really made me slow down and focus on form. They made me run smarter not harder, It's awkward to start stressing the little used muscles and I got a lot of tightness in my calf's, but it was not painful really. Once I got past that I felt like I ran a lot more effortlessly. They really forced me to take the path of least resistance whenever possible. I did not have that thick foam on the bottom of my foot allowing me to recklessly launch myself at anything that got in my way foot-first. I would find the softer ground, tread lighter and be a lot more aware of where and how I was stepping. Trail running really becomes more of an obstacle coarse than anything. (It does really suck to come down on a golf ball sized rock right in the tender middle area of the foot). So I think it changes the experience of running, instead of zoning out I guess I tune in more, I really have to watch and plan my steps. Overall, I feel like it makes me run softer and makes running a more mindful involved experience. I know a lot of people enjoy the opposite, just zoning out with headphones and mentally drifting. So to each their own. Just my preference.
Hi I was just diagnosed with a tarsal coalition and was basically told there's nothing the doctors can do. I already have orthotics. Curious what solutions helped you... I just read Born to Run and was curious if barefoot running helped or made it worse? I was also curious how that Dr Blitz was, or if anyone found a good doctor. I'll do anything!