Aha! Screwed
So much for baseball season.
While running out a grounder to short in the 7th inning of my game on Monday night, I managed to rupture the plantar fascia in my left foot. I knew it was something structural, because I could feel it ripping. It was ... unpleasant. On top of that, I was out (it would have been a very close play but for all the hopping that I was reduced to). With the assistance of a teammate I limped back to the dugout and tried to walk it off. That was bad enough that I declined to go back out to third base at the end of the inning. It did not discourage me from batting again, but I was on deck when the game ended. The podiatrist suggested today that perhaps that was just as well, given the existing injury and the weakened structure of the foot. Hey, I did tell the manager that if I reached he'd have had to put in a pinch-runner for me.
OK, OK, just as well.
There were some warning signs - I'd been having some pain in my arch after baseball games (and occasionally after swing dancing) that I had self-diagnosed as plantar fascitis. Interestingly, this presented more commonly for games where I didn't pitch; apparently playing infield was more stressful on the foot than pitching, probably because I come up onto the balls of my feet with every pitch in case the ball is hit near me. Anyway, it's three weeks in an immobilization boot for me, then back to the podiatrist to see what happens after that.
The good news: I can still bicycle! The podiatrist said that as long as I didn't "dig in" and drop the heel while climbing a hill, I should be fine. This means that I'll be able to get SOME exercise in while recovering. He also said that I should minimize any walking in bicycle shoes, which means I'll have to figure out how to carry the boot on the bicycle. A helpful coworker suggested attaching it to my helmet like a crest. I doubt I'll do that :)
While running out a grounder to short in the 7th inning of my game on Monday night, I managed to rupture the plantar fascia in my left foot. I knew it was something structural, because I could feel it ripping. It was ... unpleasant. On top of that, I was out (it would have been a very close play but for all the hopping that I was reduced to). With the assistance of a teammate I limped back to the dugout and tried to walk it off. That was bad enough that I declined to go back out to third base at the end of the inning. It did not discourage me from batting again, but I was on deck when the game ended. The podiatrist suggested today that perhaps that was just as well, given the existing injury and the weakened structure of the foot. Hey, I did tell the manager that if I reached he'd have had to put in a pinch-runner for me.
OK, OK, just as well.
There were some warning signs - I'd been having some pain in my arch after baseball games (and occasionally after swing dancing) that I had self-diagnosed as plantar fascitis. Interestingly, this presented more commonly for games where I didn't pitch; apparently playing infield was more stressful on the foot than pitching, probably because I come up onto the balls of my feet with every pitch in case the ball is hit near me. Anyway, it's three weeks in an immobilization boot for me, then back to the podiatrist to see what happens after that.
The good news: I can still bicycle! The podiatrist said that as long as I didn't "dig in" and drop the heel while climbing a hill, I should be fine. This means that I'll be able to get SOME exercise in while recovering. He also said that I should minimize any walking in bicycle shoes, which means I'll have to figure out how to carry the boot on the bicycle. A helpful coworker suggested attaching it to my helmet like a crest. I doubt I'll do that :)