Tender heel
I didn’t run for the first few weeks after I got home from Amsterdam. I was exhausted and groggy and in need of restitution. After a couple of weeks, I noticed that my right heel was tender. To begin with it only hurt when I got up in the morning and walked about indoors. It wasn’t so much pain as much as tenderness, which I wanted to get rid of, because I was afraid it might develop into something more severe. I tried running a couple of times, and to begin with doing so had no effect on my tender heel. After a few runs, however, I could feel that running wasn’t a good idea.
Shockwave
I started going to a physiotherapist, who after a few treatments started using radio shockwave therapy. This involves the use of an apparatus, which fires high-energy shockwaves in rapid succession into the area to be treated. These shockwaves are purely mechanical and not an electrical treatment form.
Treatment produces an inflammation-like reaction in the treated tissue. The body reacts by increasing the blood circulation and metabolism in the area, thus stimulating and accelerating the body’s own repair processes. The shockwaves break down the damaged tissue, which is then replaced by new tissue.
Fitness centre
It was now 2011, and I hadn’t done any sport for several months. I began to get concerned about my up-coming marathon in China. Would I have got over my injuries and would I be able to manage the marathon in purely physical terms without training? I started going to a fitness centre to do spinning, aka. Indoor cycling, and weight training.
At the same time as physiotherapy, I also went to craniosacral therapy. I couldn’t just sit there doing nothing and had to do what I could to get myself ready for my spring classic.
Sports physician
The treatment given by my otherwise excellent therapists didn’t work in this instance, so I sought alternatives. I found a sports clinic, the owner of which was the physician of the Lyngby Boldklub football team. He ascertained that I had damaged the sinew at the point, where it attaches to the bone. He explained that it wasn’t jogger’s heel (Plantar fasciitis) although it was related. There most certainly was hope, and he assured me that I would run again.
This sports physician also gave me shockwave therapy, but his equipment was much more powerful and this time the treatment hurt a bit. The doctor also recommended that I buy new individually designed inserts for my running shoes, which I then ordered. For a while, I thought it was helping, but then the problem returned. After seven treatments, the doctor and I agreed that this was not the right treatment for me.
Acupuncture
While I was receiving shockwave treatment, I also consulted a Chinese doctor who gave me acupuncture and suggested some changes to my diet. Although the heel injury hadn’t cleared up, I attended her clinic for the most part of a year and found that her treatments were good for my general well-being.
No plan B
Unfortunately, the injury didn’t just disappear. I had no plan B, but I was determined to do The Great Wall Marathon cost what it may.
On 21st April, I ran for the first time that year, which was tough going even though I only ran five kilometres. Within the next week and a half, I had increased in my distance to 24 kilometres. It was still not easy and took a long time. But it boosted my self-confidence to be able to run that far.
I went for a long run 13 days before the marathon, but after 13 kilometres my heel started to hurt again. I didn’t want to challenge fate, so I went home and decided not to run one more metre until the big day. I had hope, but I was still seriously worried.
Buy the book here.
