Preventing Stress Fractures
A few years back….
While most people respect athletes, when I fractured my third metatarsal and went to immediate care for an x-ray the orthopedic doctor was very rude to me. He told me that it was my fault that my foot was broken, and running was completely pointless, and actually yelled at me. Even when I told him my race wins, and highly respected times that I have run in the half and full marathon, he would not stop telling me my foot fracture was my fault.
Nevertheless, my father brought me to my next appointment, and then I went to a correct orthopedic doctor, and he was very polite. In the end, all I needed was a walking cast, and a few months later my foot was fine, everything healed beautifully. I have been running great on my foot since. My parents are still my advocates for important issues such as health. Any athlete who meets a certain standard should be respected in life, and no one deserves to be yelled at or told that their injury is their fault. While I have accomplishments in running, I am still pursuing an MBA and graduate school for mathematics, and work in the software industry. I can never understand why this orthopedic doctor told me running is not a real career and my fracture was completely my fault, it almost turned into a legal matter, because I was so upset. This experience made me extra grateful for my parents, and going to Dr. Cambrai for a second opinion. Here are my tips for injury prevention!
Here are things that I have to prevent foot injuries
I have custom orthotics made for my sneakers by a foot specialist. You NEED custom orthotics for long distance running, no matter what sneakers you’re wearing the orthotics make the difference in injury prevention and your speed.
I take a calcium supplement for healthy bones . Try BONE UP
I wear compression socks for good circulation in my feet. There are so many cute ones out there now, it’s almost fashionable.
I bring my Wear Safe button everywhere. This device syncs with your phone, to record conversation and GPS coordinates, to alert emergency contacts if something is wrong.
