CrossFit Open 2017 Finished – RXed Every Work Out!
So… we went to a giant sign show in Orlando that’s one of the biggest in the industry, and in the process, ended up walking over 20 miles over the course of 2 days. I decided my New Balance WR20s would be perfect for the occasion.
They are mostly flat shoes with a tiny little arch support that you can see in the picture below. They are by no means filled with arch support, which is why I love these shoes so much for CrossFit. Meaning, I enjoy wearing them for a few hours at a time for working out..
Not for walking 100 miles on concrete.
So yeah. My feet were actually pretty good, considering all the walking in flat shoes. My arches have really developed and strengthened since I switched to flat shoes over a year ago for CrossFit, and now the only shoes I wear with arch support are my Birkenstocks, which I wear for everything else. (work, weddings, shopping, you name it. I even have Birkenstock boots for when it’s cold out..)
When we got home Friday evening, I was excited to WOD on Saturday with the group, which would consist of 400m runs, DUs, push ups and bear crawls. All was great til my first 400m run I felt a sharp pain in my arch on my left foot. I forced myself to keep going (stupid) but my feet have been hurting in varying degrees dating way back to my spinning days (Pre Crossfit!) so.. whatevs. “Just push through it, you can deal with it later. Everyone will think you’re being fat and lazy.”
This is probably one of the worst arch injuries I’ve had so far. The only other time that I REALLY remember it being bad was last year around Christmastime, where I had aggravated it by doing resisted running and box jumps and DUs. Any sort of excessive jumping where my foot is overextended is what irritates it and causes issues for it. The thing is, it doesn’t hurt while I’m doing whatever it is, it’ll just hurt later. I guess inflamed tendons and things, and then the tightness that travels up my ankles and calves/soleus, as well. (I always try to work the latter out with the kettlebell stretch)
So.. what did I do? Nothing. For 2 weeks. No Crossfit anyway. I mean, I did a workout here and there, but.. it was nothing impressive. Only olympic lifting, really. Thankfully I have been doing more Power Yoga, which has been my saving grace, mentally and physically. It has helped to clear my head on terrible days, and it’s kept me active and focused on my fitness when I’ve been unable to do other things.
The problem is, I didn’t really get any better. I sat at my desk and rolled my foot on my lacrosse ball over and over and over… for hours every night, hoping it would help relieve the tension and inflammation in my arch. It felt good, it hurt, it was a good hurt, and then I’d get up and there’d be pain all over again. I resorted to wearing my Birks around the house (awful, since I’m barefoot queen..) just to have that extra arch support and comfort.
Finally, I texted Chuck and asked if he could get me in. He was aware of the foot pain I was having, as I had told him about what had happened 2 weeks ago when I had seen him last. He was able to get me in last night for a 2 hour appointment, and immediately got to work on my foot. I hated him for it! He spent an hour working on my left foot alone, and then worked out a lot of the tension in my calf and ankle, as well. (It ended up being closer to 2 1/2 hours, I’m a mess.)
That massage combined with my voodoo band compression therapy that I did on my foot the night before, and then my calf last night and again today, has basically healed and fixed my foot. It’s really amazing.
This video demonstrates what I did with the voodoo band on my calf.
So… now that I’ve done that, all that’s left is this minor, residual soreness, (probably from it being rolled on for the last 2 weeks incessantly) but yeah. Anyone who is skeptical of therapy by way of massage therapy, a lacrosse ball and a voodoo band for foot pain, knee pain, ankle, calf whatever pain, needs to just try it. Sometimes those muscles just need to be worked on and the inflammation pushed out. I’d probably still be sitting her miserable that I couldn’t do anything. SO happy that it’s feeling better!
I got my voodoo bands from Rogue Fitness, and I keep one in my gym bag and one at home. I also have a foam roller and a lacrosse ball at home. 🙂 Take care of yourself, people!
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