should I go to the running clinic?

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justjenn1977
justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
back story here... this winter/spring I wanted (was coerced) to start running... at first my major hang up was becoming short of breath... (and the girls bouncing and hurting my chest)... after about a month I developed shin splints... so I stopped...

I kept walking and trying to increase my time... I kept riding bicycle... I kept being active...

two weeks ago I decided to try the c25k again... I got a job in a town where there are HUNDREDS of joggers (ok slight exaggeration... but it is a college town and I pass about 40 people jogging/running on my way to/from work...) and I have this desire to run... (to which my friend who coerced me this winter laughs) I started with the 60 seconds (probably stupid because in a month this winter I worked up to jogging 60 sec) and on the third set I developed a pain in my calf (assuming it was splints again because it was the same pain) and had to walk the rest of the trail I was on...

took a couple days off (that was a thursday) and last monday I went out again... figured ok I will start with TWENTY seconds... well in the third set of 20 sec... about 10 paces into it... I landed heel first and as I rolled through to come off my toes it felt like my foot collapsed... sheering intense pain so bad that it took me almost an hour to walk the half mile to my car... went to the doc... he is certain that it is a stress fracture and convinced me to get xray... (which was negative).... he says that is non conclusive and it can still be broken because sometimes it is a subclinical stress fracture...

he also advised me to lose another 50# before trying again... I think he doesn't believe me when I told him how active I actually am and that this was a SLIGHT acceleration of my workouts... (he was a different doc in the clinic I see so he doesn't know how much weight I have lost except for looking at my chart... )

we have a runners clinic at the hospital where I work... and I want to know if it would be beneficial to go?? how long will it take a metatarsal injury to heal... I am still a good deal overweight (270#) and I don't want to rush it... I am in intense pain and in a giant walking boot... and trying to only be up to go to work (although I am a nurse so that means when I go to work I RUN from when I get there til when I go home!) and keeping my foot up... I want to heal!!

does anyone have any experience with metatarsal injury (either strain or stress fracture)?? what can I expect if I go to the runners clinic... how do I find out if it would be covered by my insurance??

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  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
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    he also advised me to lose another 50# before trying again... I think he doesn't believe me when I told him how active I actually am and that this was a SLIGHT acceleration of my workouts...
    I believe you!! However, were you otherwise doing exercise that didn't put so much stress on the feet? Running puts more pressure on the feet than most other sports (except those that involve a lot of jumping) because you propel yourself into the air and then land as you're accelerating down -- the impact is 4 to 6 times your body weight with each step. For some people, their bones and joints can handle that stress just fine even at 250-350 pounds. But it's not unusual for many people to be prone to getting stress fractures and other stress injuries if they are carrying some excess weight. If you seem to be one of those people, it may be smart to continue with the walking until you are closer to your goal weight.

    That said, I know plenty of women in the 100-140 lb. range who are prone to stress fractures too. You probably know your body best. I think the usual advise is to wait a good 4-8 weeks before running after a stress fracture, longer of course if you are still having pain from the injury, which would indicate that it's not healed. Usually you'll be able to walk and do low-impact exercise within 2 weeks or so.

    The runner's clinic would likely assess your gait and make suggestions for changes to your form, if needed, and possibly recommend a style of shoe. No idea if your insurance would cover it. If you call your insurance provider they should be able to tell you though.
  • justjenn1977
    justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
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    I believe you!! However, were you otherwise doing exercise that didn't put so much stress on the feet? Running puts more pressure on the feet than most other sports (except those that involve a lot of jumping) because you propel yourself into the air and then land as you're accelerating down -- the impact is 4 to 6 times your body weight with each step. For some people, their bones and joints can handle that stress just fine even at 250-350 pounds. But it's not unusual for many people to be prone to getting stress fractures and other stress injuries if they are carrying some excess weight. If you seem to be one of those people, it may be smart to continue with the walking until you are closer to your goal weight.

    I don't know if I am one of those people... I have never broken anything!! (a LOT of strains and sprains.... but no fractures... ok a pinky toe... but that's it)

    I think the workouts I do are fairly high impact... we do a LOT of hiking and climbing and hiking with large elevation gain (and loss)... I don't know if that kind of impact is a different impact??

    That said, I know plenty of women in the 100-140 lb. range who are prone to stress fractures too. You probably know your body best. I think the usual advise is to wait a good 4-8 weeks before running after a stress fracture, longer of course if you are still having pain from the injury, which would indicate that it's not healed. Usually you'll be able to walk and do low-impact exercise within 2 weeks or so.

    The runner's clinic would likely assess your gait and make suggestions for changes to your form, if needed, and possibly recommend a style of shoe. No idea if your insurance would cover it. If you call your insurance provider they should be able to tell you though.


    thanks for this... I might have to look into it at work tomorrow... we have all kinds of benefits through work (not part of insurance) that help with fitness (like we can get free weight watchers and smoking cessation therapy and such) so that might be something they would cover :)
  • shleets
    shleets Posts: 3
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    I agree with the previous post. Walk! You can do the research online and there are several thoughts to this, but walking can give you almost as much benefit as running. Especially brisk walking. I've been to several running clinics, most recently the POSE method, but at my age and weight, I've started to walk and ride my bike more. Simply stated, the pounding is getting to me and I always feel better if I don't do the high impact exercises. Whatever you do, good luck.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    Can you go and just listen? If your doctor says to hold off until you lose more weight I'd follow that advice.
  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
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    I think the workouts I do are fairly high impact... we do a LOT of hiking and climbing and hiking with large elevation gain (and loss)... I don't know if that kind of impact is a different impact??
    Yes, that's a totally different kind of impact. Those are very challenging workouts and probably burn as many, or more, calories as a run on flat ground -- very challenging in terms of cardiovascular endurance and some strength!

    However, they are not nearly as stressful on your metatarsals as running. When you hike or climb, you put your foot down in a more controlled manner - you are placing your foot on the ground - AND some of your weight is still on your back leg when you are stepping with your front leg. So if you weigh 270, with each step you are putting maybe 150-200 pounds of force on that foot. When you run, you are basically doing a little jump into the air and then landing from midair with your entire weight onto one leg, which quadruples (or more) the impact, so more like 1000 pounds of force to that foot.
  • lorihalsted
    lorihalsted Posts: 326 Member
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    Yiou are the only one that knows if you are ready for the run clinic. I participated in one this past spring (weighting 250 lbs at 5'2") and was in the walker category. You may feel like you are ready to run mentally and I am sure you are but your body may not be ready. I would love to run (I am now hovering at 240 lbs) but know that years of behing overweight (my high 335 lbs) has left my body with damage and I have to realize that fact.

    Lastly, if you do the clinic don't be pressured by other runners to run....go your own pace! Have you thought about the self paced c25k???
  • justjenn1977
    justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
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    Yiou are the only one that knows if you are ready for the run clinic. I participated in one this past spring (weighting 250 lbs at 5'2") and was in the walker category. You may feel like you are ready to run mentally and I am sure you are but your body may not be ready. I would love to run (I am now hovering at 240 lbs) but know that years of behing overweight (my high 335 lbs) has left my body with damage and I have to realize that fact.

    Lastly, if you do the clinic don't be pressured by other runners to run....go your own pace! Have you thought about the self paced c25k???


    I downloaded an app with an interval timer to create my own c25k intervals... with jogging 20 seconds and walking 90... and intended to do that until I could jog 20 sec (probably 3-6 times going 3 times a week) and then my plan was to increase by 10-20 seconds every one to two weeks until I got to the full 60 seconds where the c25k starts.... but still only progressing every 1-2 weeks (not every time I go out)



    Yes, that's a totally different kind of impact. Those are very challenging workouts and probably burn as many, or more, calories as a run on flat ground -- very challenging in terms of cardiovascular endurance and some strength!

    thanks... I should think of it in those terms... I understand how velocity impacts force... I just didn't think of it in terms of balanced between different feet...

    I know these things... but I forget the application of them!
  • justjenn1977
    justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
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    I should probably point out that in my head I use the terms jog and run interchangeably.... I just want to be fast :)
  • ixap
    ixap Posts: 675 Member
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    I should probably point out that in my head I use the terms jog and run interchangeably.... I just want to be fast :)
    You will be! Even if you focus only on the hiking, climbing and walking for now. Those activities are giving you killer cardiovascular endurance that will transfer nicely to running when you're ready.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    I had a metatarsal stress fracture last year. I was running again in 4 1/2 weeks. It took about 12 weeks for the pain to be gone.

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