October – January: The truth was a severe longterm injury. Why didn’t I listen?!

October 2008: It was now 3 weeks since I was pain-free and able to run. I realised that I should be feeling OK now since Berlin marathon. All aches had gone but a severe pain persisted in the pelvic-groin area. Even if I wanted to try jogging the pain was too great. The doctor prescribed anti-inflammatories and painkillers for 2-weeks and advised that if pain continues thereafter I should go to physiotherapist. I continued to swim only but walking or exercise was not possible without too much pain. A few weeks later with no improvement I went to physio. After some checks his suspicions were fearful: “Lizanne, it’s really not good news if this is what it looks like – an extensive inferior pubic ramus stress fracture”.

This is a rare injury that “occurs exclusively in elite female longdistance runners”. Recovery of pelvic injuries are prolonged requiring a minimum of 3-months absolute rest where crutches are recommended for the first 2-months. He said I could return to gradual exercise in February (4-months later). I laughed. This was crazy. To properly diagnose this, an X-ray would not be enough. I was sent for an MRI scans which not only confirmed his suspicion but it was more severe than he first thought. The pubic ramus bone was detached from the pelvis and a lot of inflammation. For the next few weeks I was still in pain but by taking diafen everyday, the extent of pain was much reduced (camouflaged) by painkillers. Therefore against much strong advice from physio, I continued to go to the gym for low-impact exercises such as 20-min cross-trainer and 2-3 spinning classes/week. When I came home I would be limping and pain just as severe. Taking another diafen would relieve this and would continue this routine most evenings. I treated this like a usual injury thinking that: because I’m not running or taking any impact, the injury will eventually heal. Little did I know that I was only masking the severity of this injury. Not only creating further damage through light exercise, I was also constantly prolonging recovery.

I rarely remember ever having any bodily complaints before I started running a few years ago - except for the odd common-cold! Since ‘proper’ running, small and short-term ill health and injuries crept in and out. These continued and intensified up to now – resulting in an unimaginable complete halt to any exercise. Separate to the this problematic injury, I also got a deep infection in the foot last November. For absolutely no reason my foot suddenly swelled up like a balloon while in work. The pain was unbearable, my shoe wouldn’t fit and I couldn’t walk yet alone touch foot off anything. It was throbbing red. I was carried into doctors and straight away he could diagnose deep ‘cellulitis’ infection where an a huge abscess formed on foot, it was extremely painful and looked disgusting! I was confined to bed for 3-weeks on lots of meds unable to even drop foot below hip level. The pain and swelling was severe. After 3-weeks I could get around home on crutches but needed to keep foot elevated constantly to be pain free. I worked from laptop in bed to not just keep on top of work but to maintain my sanity!

I could finally return to work a week before Christmas on crutches; I was delighted to be back in the office and out of the house but still not recovered. I continued to stay positive by seeing those weeks of complete immobility as much needed “enforced rest” for the pelvic stress fracture. However, the stress fracture was on the other side of body (stress fracture of left pelvis and infection on right foot). Therefore I was hopping on crutches directly on the fracture side – putting full body impact on directly on the fracture. The pain in pelvis seemed lighter now from the painkillers I was taking for the foot! When I got off crutches after Christmas, I went out cycling almost every day (50-60km/day) to make up for 5 weeks of complete immobility. This continued until January. The pain was back – but now just as intense as when I first felt it in October. I was referred to orthopaedic surgeon...