Broke my foot last weekend (June 8) playing beach football...foolishly continued to play beach games after it happened. At least I have the memories of breaking tackles and winning spike ball games.
I was hesitant on going to doctor, as you can tell I didn't think much of it initially. After a couple days the inflammation really didn't get better so I decided to get a x-ray with a Switzerland trip on the table in 2 months.
I did a self diagnosis before going to the doctor and was convinced it was a Jones fracture which usually takes a 6 week recovery. Perfectly placed for the first week of August Switzerland trip.
I had a boot (from HS basketball) and figured it would heal on its own. The urgent care center conducted my x-ray and set me up with a foot specialist in less than 24 hours which I am grateful for. Something I'm a little disappointed in, is the missed diagnosis of the urgent care doctor, who told me it was a dancer's fracture.
Although my insurance deductible wasn't met, meaning this $600+ expense all came out of pocket, I'm glad I did see the doctor as my self diagnosis did not instruct crutches or to remain off it. It turns out a Jones fracture will not heal if you walk on it.
Now I'm looking at a 3 week period on 1 foot before getting another x-ray. I'm hoping I can recover quickly and be all healed up by that checkup. Below I'll share some research and highlight my progress.
Choose:
- low fat milk
- cheese
- lean cuts of meat
- nuts
- green tea
- pomegranates, cherries, blueberries, plums, artichokes, spinach and broccoli
- dark chocolate
- pineapple
- avocado
Sources
https://www.slideshare.net/bengreenfield/advanced-techniques-for-healing-injuries
https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/recovery-articles/how-to-recover-quickly-from-workouts/
Hot-Cold contrast:
Bath plan: start hot and end cold.
Kion Flex Supplement:
8-12 a day.
July 2nd Update:
Tough day. X-Ray showed my fracture has gotten worse. 3 more weeks of rest and if progress hasn't shown, then I'll have to get surgery.
Inspiration & Perspective
7 Life Lessons from a Guy Who Can’t Move Anything but His Face
July 7th Update:
"Just this week, the Annals of Internal Medicine published a study showing that “taking supplemental vitamins and minerals – either individually or in multivitamins – offers no discernible benefits in terms of reducing risks of death generally.” Whip out the tiny violin, this longitudinal study (which covered 30,000 people over a decade) revealed that while vitamins and minerals can extend your life, they need to come from basic foods and not pills."
from
July 8th update:
Met with an acupuncturist. Meeting went well and I have 5 more appointments scheduled over the next 2 weeks.
She wants me to keep my foot warm to help blood flow, she noticed my foot was freezing and I told her my foot has been numb from resting and elevating it all day. It's all about getting new blood in to heal.
Some more tips from doc:
reduce inflammatory foods - gluten, yeast, dairy, sugar, raw foods
add green foods - dark leafy greens - kale, spinach, bok choy, dandeloin, broccoli. Root veggies - beets, sweet potatoes.
eat berries with every meal
himalayan sea salt in water - just a pinch at a time
15 drops frankincense essential oil in 2 cups of epsom salt - then dissolve in bath
dragons blood soaked tissue on foot as often as possible.
keep heat on foot and leg.
July 13 update:
moxa treatment: instructed to 2x a day. do in the morning and at night.
hold at least 1 inch away from skin at all times. use in area of break along edge of foot & underneath.
when using ash into a glass container. NOT IN THE TRASH
put out into a mason jar w/ rice & leave until next use
during the day: can soak foot in epson salt with frankincense essential oil bucket.
July 23 update:
Surgery schedule for July 29th.
Unfortunately no sign of improvement between X-Rays.
Now its time to prep for surgery. First step is surgery clearance and to ask around for opinions of the doctor doing my surgery.
After surgery, we have 3 weeks not walking, 2/3 months until basketball, and 1 year until 100% recovered.
July 24 update:
Met with my family physician to get surgery clearance. Good visit. Doc confirmed my surgeon had a good reputation and also mentioned that an herbal formula can damage liver and to stop taking with surgery in a couple days. Surgeons don’t want excess blood flow while operating.
His advice on ice after surgery is to apply when needed for 10 minutes. Not much longer and only when the inflammation is extreme.
Pics of my 3rd and final x-ray:
July 26 update:
Looks like I forgot to mention the herbal formula I was consuming. I was hesitant to take an herbal formula from beginning and I think it was something ridiculous like $200+. I ended up paying for an herbal formula that was $48 after some back and forth with my doctor.
The first few days, it was awful. Once I started taking shots of it I got more used to it.
As previously mentioned, my family physician instructed to stay away from this since surgery was approaching. He was also mentioned herbal formulas can harm the liver. I hopefully won't ever be tempted to take this bone healing herbal formula again - Zheng Gu Zi Jin Dan.
July 29th update:
Successful surgery!
Grateful for doctors, friends, family, nurses, pain medication, health insurance, Netflix, youtube, internet/remote jobs.
August 21 update:
I've spent last few days walking around a bit. Foot is purple, but the pain isn't terrible. Fortunate that WakeMed allows payments to be paid on a monthly plan over a year.
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