Learning To Deal With Injury

By: Magi Scallion

I’ve never had the dubious pleasure of Plantar Fasciitis… until now.  I have to say that this style of injury – one that results from over-use or poor mechanics and require patience to heal – is absolutely the worst.  Sitting, waiting, and re-habbing is not my forte!

However, since I am desk-bound, I’ve had a bit of time to think about why I should be more patient.  The pain of running on a sore foot is nothing compared to the anxiety I get from not having daily exercise!

This little foot problem has been a bother since mid-July.  I’ve found that the golf ball massage is quite helpful, as is the spacers I’ve been putting between my toes when I’m at home and in bare feet.  Wearing high heel shoes has also ceased.  The two key things that make my feet feel better is the afore-mentioned golf ball massage and not running.

Not running is not easy.  I’ve been biking a few times and am also contemplating getting back into the pool.  I did notice that running with the sore foot caused a few supplementary issues as I was favouring it a bit: very tight IT Band on the opposite side and also a very inflexible ankle on the injured side (due to running on the side of my foot).

The long and short of it is that you should probably just listen to what the doctor or therapists says and not train through injury.  I just like to learn the hard way!  Hopefully the lesson is learned and I’ll stick to re-hab exercise for the next couple weeks until I’m 100% again.  Thank goodness work is really busy and I don’t have time to regret not being outside!

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Born in Nova Scotia and emigrating to British Columbia via Ontario and Alberta, Magi has been running the entire way. Primarily defined as a cross country ski racer, Magi has competed nationally and internationally in that sport. The highlight of her career was competing in the World University Games and the World Cup races in Canada in 2007. Cross country skiers rely heavily on running for cross training and Magi has become an accomplished trail and mountain runner, representing Canada at the World Mountain Running Championships in 2005 and the winning numerous national championships medals.

Today Magi runs for fun… and it’s a lot of fun! Epic mountain runs, city cruises with friends, and more keep her happy and occupied outside of work and school.