Update..you might want to skip, if you aren't a cyclist

     It's been a long winter, but riding season is here, and it seems to have arrived in capital letters.  I can hardly believe that it is March 19, and I am sitting here in shorts, with the windows open.  Yesterdays temps were 40 degrees higher than normal, and today, it is at least 75 degrees.  Our warm weather is supposed to continue until next weekend.  All the ice is already off the lake.

It's like having July, with no leaves on the trees.

     Those of you who have followed this blog for awhile, may recall that I was scheduled for foot surgery in November of  2011. Due to my Dad being seriously ill, the surgery didn't happen and I am continuing to have foot problems.

     Blog readers that aren't cyclist, may want to skip reading this blog  entry, and move onto the next one, entitled, Getting Ready.  The purpose of this post is for other cyclist, some of whom,  may have the same foot issues, I do, and find the information, helpful.  However, if you want to read it, go right ahead.

     The  multiple, bi-lateral,  neuromas I was dealing with last  season, are still with me, and that is my biggest concern for  successful riding this year.  I am currently undergoing sclerosing treatments for Morton's Neuroma. (MN)  Rather that write the whole explanation out, I am simply going to cut and paste it below.


Sclerosing treatments for MN involve the use of a mixture of a local anesthetic called marcaine, and anhydrous alcohol. These two ingredients are combined to create a 4% alcohol solution. .5 cc’s (one-half of a cc) is injected into the nerve a few centimers proximal to the tumor. The 4% alcohol solution creates sclerosis (scarring) within the nerve tissue which chemically inactivates the nerve. This prevents the transmission of the pain sensations that are associated with MN.
There are a number of different protocols used in sclerosing treatments for MN. The protocol I currently utilize is a series of 5 bi-weekly injections. At the end of the 5thtreatment, if the patient has had any noticeable improvement, anywhere from 7 to 10 (total) bi-weekly injections are given, depending on individual patient response. 
If there has been no improvement or response after 5 sclerosing treatments, I do not recommend any additional injections. These patients can either live with the pain/disability of the MN, or can contemplate surgical excision. 


     I just completed the second set of shots.  My podiatrist doesn't do more than 7 of them.  They are spaced 2 weeks apart, and I get one in each foot.  My doctor  is very gentle, and the needle is so fine, that the shots don't really hurt very much.   That in itself is a huge relief, especially since I had my self psyched up and dreading them, very much.  They don't hurt as much as a shot from the dentist does. 


 Immediately   after the shots and for the rest of the day, I feel like I have a big wooden block on the bottom of each foot, and I walk like I do too.    I get a small bruise at the injection site, and the spot feels itchy for the next 24 hours. 


I think the shots are  starting to help, I am feeling a small difference in my feet, more so in the right foot than in the left.  I am hoping the shots will take care the MN.  Unfortunately, the injections,  don't make bunions go away, so I will still be facing surgery, which I am hoping to put off, until mid October, 2012. 


   I have also located an excellent sports medicine physical therapist, which is about 2 hours from where I live.  I was very impressed with him from the start.  He talked to me on the phone for about 20 minutes, when I made my appointment, and when I saw him, he spent 90 minutes observing the way I walked,  sat,  measuring, etc.  When he made the molds for the orthotics,  he explained that he doesn't have his patients stand to get a mold of the feet,  because the body weight, flattens the foot out, and can put it in the position that is causing the problem.  He did the castings of my feet, while I was sitting n the edge of a table with a bolster under my  leg.  He held my foot in the desired position and them wrapped it with fast drying, casting gauze.  To assure the right fit,  my cycling shoes had to be sent in with the foot castings.  


     We paid an extra fee to put a rush on the orthotics. figuring that biking weather would be here for sure by then.  2 days prior to my visit to the sports medicine PT, we had a huge snowstorm.  12-22 inches of heavy wet snow fell across the northern part of the state. 


 We got about a foot and were fortunate to not lose our electricity.  Many were without,  some, for up to 5 days.

     To make a long story short, the PT forgot to check the rush box, and the orthotics were not done within 10 days.  No cycling shoes, no biking, and of course that is when the weather began to warm up.  Within a week, conditions were great for riding.  We saw people out cycling, however, we were not among them.

     The orthotics and my cycling sandals are supposed to be here, by Tuesday, March 20th.  Hoping that is what really happens.  We are more than ready to ride, hoping that winter isn't coming back for a very ,very, long time.