Brisk walking while injured

[Bazza1234]

I seem to have made a remarkable discovery over the past few days. I have been hobbling and limping over the past 6 weeks - partly because of the real pain in my foot and partly because I have been both consciously and unconsciously trying to "look after" my foot. So for example, to take the weight partly off the foot I have been walking slowly and using a cane. On Sunday , I was with a group of "brisk walkers" - but told them to go their own way and I would just do a short and slow walk by myself. After 10 minutes I was struggling and decided to turn back. I was carrying my smartphone - which has a metranome app on it - and for some reason I thought of seeing how I would go if I walked to the beat of the metranome. So I set it to 120BPM - which is a quick time marching beat - and quite brisk compared to what I had been doing. Amazingly I easily got back to my starting point with no sensation of pain in my foot. Yesterday I did the same thing over 20 minutes - actually worked up a sweat - and NO sensation of pain during this brisk walk or afterwards. I am finding this to be all a bit weird - and wondering if the briskness of the walk is actually reducing the contact time of my foot on the ground hence easing the pain????

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate10]

What a great idea Bazza..the temptation to guard an injured limb is very strong.. heading over to my studio to fish the metronome off my piano!!!

Glad it is helping with your recovery !

Thanks x

[Joy57 Graduate10]

Could be, Bazza. You can't be doing it any harm, I'd think.

[ancientrunner Graduate10]

Interesting - they will have to tie you to the couch to stop you.

[Gillma]

How intriguing! Physio once told me that an injured site can become hyper responsive - the nerves give off pain signals earlier due to the 'memory' of the prior trauma. I wonder if you've found a clever way to convince your body that it doesn't need to be so hyper-vigilant (on this occasion)? I am fascinated...

[Bazza1234 Graduate10 in reply to Gillma]

I have also been reading about "phantom pain"

[Bazza1234 Graduate10 in reply to Bazza1234]

I have also been feeling a spasmodic pain whereby I would swear that I have an open skin wound inside my shoe!!!!

[Curlygurly2 Graduate10]

That's interesting Bazza, let us know how it continues.

[Realfoodieclub Graduate10]

I walk differently when I speed walk, I hold myself taller, use my arms to propel and roll my feet from the heel to the toe so my feet rock a bit like running to push off, but the overall impact is lighter. . If it isn't aggravating it I would say go with it. 😀.

[Bazza1234 Graduate10 in reply to Realfoodieclub]

I wasn't really speed walking - just walking much faster than I had been over the past 6 weeks. Actually it was only marching speed 120BPM.

[skysue16 Graduate10]

How interesting.......

[TurboTortoise]

Very interesting Bazza. This backs up my own experience. I had to re-learn to walk after my fracture healed, and at one early session the physio noticed I was guarding my injured side and not rolling my feet or striding out when I walked. She got me to strut down the corridor with a little swing in my step, like John Travolta to 'Stayin' Alive' - which just happens to be 120bpm - no coincidence there. I was surprised that it was less painful than hobbling carefully - and so practising 'The Strut' with an imagined disco beat in my head became one of my daily exercises.

[Bazza1234 Graduate10 in reply to TurboTortoise]

How long were you out for - what injury?

[TurboTortoise in reply to Bazza1234]

Fractured pelvis in Feb 2016 (not from running!). It took 7/8 weeks for the bone to heal but it was 3-4 months before I could walk any distance without crutches, at 6 months I could put enough weight through it to try running (shuffling!). I had a lot of muscle wastage and weakness and random nerve pain at first, but I was well enough to run a good 10k on the one-year anniversary of the accident. I think the key to my recovery was to do the physio exercises every day, without fail. If you break anything in a limb or hip it's disconcerting how quickly you 'forget' how to walk properly - the Travolta Strut really helped me in the early stages.

[Curlygurly2 Graduate10]

All this makes very interesting reading, I've had plantar fasciitis for months, it's been very painful when I walk but not when I run...

[Bazza1234 Graduate10 in reply to Curlygurly2]

I think this is usual for PF