A step in the right direction

I've been so frustrated with this cankle issue. 5 weeks ago it came out of nowhere just like it did 2 weeks before the 2012 Fox Valley Marathon. The main difference between this time and last time is i've pretty much stopped running since it happened, save for the first week when I was in NYC and HAD to run in Central Park. The result (not surprising): It has significantly improved and I feel very little discomfort in my cankle.

But it's still present.

I'm giving it all the TLC I possibly can to ensure it goes away fast. It is killing me that I cannot go run right now- specially with the great weather we've been having. I'm so bummed about this cankle thing. Some days I feel the way CB looks below- and I'm all "I MIGHT BE ABLE TO START RUNNING AGAIN" and then the next day the cankle is cranky and then I feel so bummed about the situation because it has been 5 weeks and while it's better, I don't feel comfortable running on it again. I'd hate to aggravate it more and set myself back.
I went to Athletico for an injury screening about my cankle. I hit some sort of breaking point this week and made the appointment not because of the cankle, but because i'm sick of this continual cycle of injuries i'm in. I love running, I love getting faster and improving and I feel like each time I take 2 steps forward, I end up taking 1.85 steps back.

My legs were poked, twisted, and tested for strength and movement. Surprisingly, my hips are strong, have little to no imbalance issues on my legs, and have good range of motion- although the right (problem child) leg has a little less range of movement than the left probably due to the tendon issue.

The likely diagnosis was tendinitis of the peroneal tendons. I was told they seem tight, although I still have decent range of motion. My right hip is also more forward than my left I've got some exercises to do to help fix the hip issue. The calf also could be the root of my issues. But it's so difficult to know for sure.

I never considered PT or ART before, but lately i've been thinking how what I have done in the past (nothing) hasn't changed the fact my right lower leg consistently has issues. This past week I was debating whether or not I would give up going after any serious running goals so I could (eventually) continue to just run and simply enjoy it. Consistency over time is the only real way to have big gains- being injured just doesn't fit into the improve at running equation. I came to the conclusion that doing something should yield better results than my usual "do nothing" and I need to give that "something" a try.
My next steps are to get a referral from my doctor, get a gait analysis and start some PT on whatever is wonky. In the meantime, I'm going to continue cycling and start swimming laps in the very near future.

I'm excited to set this all in motion and hopefully fix my janky right leg.

I hope this will be a step in the right direction.



-Xaar