On the 7th of April, Ihad surgery to remove a large bone spur from the rear of my right heel. It has been 11 days now and my recovery is going very well. I'm pleased. I was concerned, naturally, that things might not go that well, but so far have been proven wrong. I was mostly concerned because the podiatrist had to cut through my Achilles tendon to get to the spur. But the surgery was maybe 30 minutes and he finished, so apparently no complications. The scar isn't real pretty, but over time, it should be much better looking. The worst part has been sitting on my butt in bed pretty much all day! Well, at least I've got my work laptop and my personal laptop to keep up with things. I started walking around on my bare foot yesterday and felt no pain at all. Not sure when I'll actually be back to the point where I can try a short run again, but just like with barefoot running for a newbie, learning how to walk barefoot first is key!
For those that don't know, you might ask, how is it that a professed purist barefoot runner like me could have had an injury like this? Isn't BFR supposed to prevent injuries, not cause them? Yes, generally that's correct - BUT, if you're a thick-headed caveman like me, you don't run with correct form and for the first 8.5 years of my barefoot running journey, I actually landed on my toes and pushed off with my toes. The resultant strain at the base of my Achilles tendons on both legs was immense. The body's natural reaction to this irritation is to inflame the tendon and to start forming a bone spur. 11 years ago, the barefoot running movement just didn't exist and there weren't enough folks around to teach me the proper form. So, Iextol all new barefoot runners to pay attention to your form!
On a more positive note, in all my 11 years of barefoot running, I never got shin splints - a constant problem before as a shod runner. Knee problems were few and far between. Back pain went away too.
For those that don't know, you might ask, how is it that a professed purist barefoot runner like me could have had an injury like this? Isn't BFR supposed to prevent injuries, not cause them? Yes, generally that's correct - BUT, if you're a thick-headed caveman like me, you don't run with correct form and for the first 8.5 years of my barefoot running journey, I actually landed on my toes and pushed off with my toes. The resultant strain at the base of my Achilles tendons on both legs was immense. The body's natural reaction to this irritation is to inflame the tendon and to start forming a bone spur. 11 years ago, the barefoot running movement just didn't exist and there weren't enough folks around to teach me the proper form. So, Iextol all new barefoot runners to pay attention to your form!
On a more positive note, in all my 11 years of barefoot running, I never got shin splints - a constant problem before as a shod runner. Knee problems were few and far between. Back pain went away too.