Foot injury..

[MaartenSFS]

So, a week ago I injured my foot, kicking a tree. Some people were telling me that a traditional technique was useless and I kicked the tree several times, powerfully. On the last kick I wasn't looking and used a bit too much power. They were impressed, but after they left I realised my mistake.. I walked 20 minutes back home without any major issues, but after about an hour it became a lot more painful. There was very minor swelling for a day or two and my walking was affected.

I can walk normally now, but it's a bit painful. When applying downward pressure to the top of the front of the foot (bending it down), it is quite uncomfortable, but, otherwise, I can move it as normal. I'm inclined to believe that it is a bone bruise. I can still do my footwork, but I'm having a rest to let it recover. I'm running out of time, though. I only have a month and a half or so before I move to Yunnan province and I need to fight. How easy is it to break a small bone or tear a ligament in the centre of the foot? I didn't go for an X-Ray because there was so little swelling and it's more of a sore pain than a sharp pain. And I have very little money.

Opinions?

[GrahamB]

The struggle of the kung fu warrior is real.

[Peacedog]

Honestly it is not that hard to do.

I would advise imagery, but barring that if the structure looks intact and is functional I would go with Bone Knitting powder and liniments.

If it is broken and you don't get it surgically repaired then keep in mind it will heal with a modified structure. This may, or may not, be an issue when you are older.

Best of luck.

[everything]

Have no expertise other than getting injured.

I think it's relatively easy to tear a ligament doing these things.

It might not swell much because of relative lack of blood supply.

Takes a long time to heal for the same reason.

So it's best to not do extreme stuff for quite a while. Otherwise the structure doesn't have the same integrity.

Good luck man. Scans would probably be ideal, but I know how it is. I tore something (ligament?) in my foot with repeated ankle twists in soccer then tore/strained my calf. It does feel good to take a break. The middle aged body needs long, gentle layers of conditioning in baby steps. Now is probably a great time to focus on qigong.

[windwalker]

So, a week ago I injured my foot, kicking a tree.

note to self, beware of trees

A person may be more at risk of bone bruising if they:

Take part in high-impact sports-related activities with trees
Have a physically demanding job
Do not wear protective equipment for sports or their job
Have osteoarthritis.
Bone bruises are common in people who play soccer, football, hockey, and basketball, those who practice martial arts, and in road runners.

Wow, you'r in a high risk group, who would have thought.

Bone bruises do not show up on X-rays, although an X-ray may be given to rule out a bone fracture. They appear on MRI scans as poorly-defined regions in the marrow.

Most bone bruises heal within a couple of months. However, it may be weeks or even months before a person can return to their sport.

In rare cases, the body may struggle to get blood flow to return to the injured area, causing avascular necrosis of the bone. Avascular necrosis is the death of bone tissue due to lack of blood supply. If the bone dies, the resulting damage is irreversible.

The time a bone bruise takes to heal depends on its severity. Bone bruises heal from as early as 3 weeks to 2 years.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/314427.php

an x-ray might be a waste of time and money...Many of us have injuries from not allowing things to heal when we were young...I know I do..It might be part of the craft, but looking back I know in my own training I did a lot of things that I can see now were not so good for me in the long run...Don't know if I would have done things differently, I do know that I can feel things from stuff I did long ago...

best of luck,,,take care of the body its the only one you get in this life

[Giles]

Hi Maarten,
Aside from the advisability, in theory at least, of getting a scan so that you know where you stand (no pun intended), you can promote recovery as follows:
(I know you didn’t ask for this )

Do as much unloaded, gentle but ‘deep’ movement of the foot as possible. As preparation, spend a couple of minutes moving your hand as softly and slowly as you can through as many positions and shapes as you can. ‘Moving’ in the sense of letting your hand be moved passively by your other hand, also gentle massage, squeezing etc. as well as actively moving the hand itself. Seek out movement maximums as far as feels comfortable but don’t try and push back any boundaries – don’t do chin na on yourself
Note what kind of perceptions and feelings this involves.

THEN use the same methods for your feet, while sitting or lying comfortably. Try and reproduce the approach you took to your hand. Do both feet (!), starting with the uninjured one for a little and then moving on to the injured one. Don’t push any boundaries, don’t seek the pain: seek the ease, the movement and the flow within the foot. Work on the basis of “little and often”.
Also: when standing in normal hip-wide to shoulder-wide stance, shift your weight REALLY slowly back and forth from foot to foot until you can gently lift the free foot just off the ground and then slowly pour the weight back into again. Then use the same superslow approach to roll into the balls of your feel and lift your heels of the ground, then back into the heels.

The slower and more thoroughly you do all this, the deeper the tissues will be moved, blood flow increased and waste products removed. And as Windwalker says, give yourself time. With injuries like this, having an element of 'tortoise' can get you to the finishing line sooner than lots of 'hare'.
Good recovery!

[MaartenSFS]

Thanks for the advise, gents. I've stopped going to train in the park for now, as walking long distances didn't seem to help, nor would any training with a lot of footwork. Instead, I've been doing some light Zhanzhuang training where the weight is fairly equally distributed. I will definitely try slowly shifting my weight and the other exercises to get the blood flowing.

The good thing is that I can see that there isn't a blood clot or anything. I think it's actually a combination of a bone bruise and a torn ligament or something on the inner side of the curve of my foot. Really annoying place to be sure.

Kicking trees is great, but I really overdid it when arguing with those boxers. Anyways, I got what I wanted from this place and now it's time to focus on teaching myself more Chinese and recovering. I hope I'll get the chance to spar with them again before I leave, but if not I've already completed my system and can fight confidently. Mission accomplished.

I will update you on my situation. Gratitude!

[kenneth fish]

I don't know if I am qualified to comment on the internet as I am actually a doctor (Osteopath and Chiropractor). My advice would be to get an X-ray series (lateral, anterior to posterior, and a focused view of the tarsal bones). You may indeed have a fracture. Either way, you should stay off it as much as possible (a soft cast for a week might be a good idea). Wear sneakers instead of sandals. If there is a good traditional Chinese doctor who knows how to set and reduce fractures in the foot that would be a good option. I suggest that you forego the bout in Yunnan and go as a spectator.

[MaartenSFS]

I'd say that being a doctor AND MA practitioner makes you unusually qualified. The bouts are here and going off to Yunnan is one last adventure before leaving China. There's nothing but a motorbike and freedom waiting for me out there. No more Gongfu (for a while). I've sacrificed enough to the cause. The advice is appreciated.

[Michael]

Assumes sagacious posture.

Rings bell for one chime.

Pauses Kungfu Panda.

Opens fortune cookie.

Wrinkles brow.

Speaks:

Maybe rittle injury is good reason to skip Yunnan kumite and is acturarry bressing in disguise.

Disappears in puff of AQI 一万 air.

[wayne hansen]

Go back to the tree kick it harder from the other side with the opposite foot
It won't help the injured foot but the other will hurt so much you won't notice the injury
If that doesn't work buy some Zheng Gi shui

[Giles]

I don't know if I am qualified to comment on the internet as I am actually a doctor (Osteopath and Chiropractor)....

I'd say that being a doctor AND MA practitioner makes you unusually qualified.

I think Dr Fish's initial remark comes under the heading of "gentle irony", Maarten

Certainly more qualified in this respect than the rest of us here.

[MaartenSFS]

Went to hospital today and the doctor was really nice, felt all around my foot, and said that it is most likely that I injured a "soft bone" (cartilage?). He said I didn't need an X-Ray because the pain was very localised and I can walk fairly normally. He told me to buy a pressure sleave to wear under my sock and stay off of it for a while and that it would take two or three months to recover. Also told me to soak my foot is warm water. Sound about right?

[Michael]

Just sounds like very general advice, but if he's experienced it probably rules out anything terribly serious, which you probably already knew.

I would look for another doctor and some imaging because this visit did not reveal any specific information about the injury. Personally, I do not think saying it takes two or three months to heal is saying very much, just saying the normal healing process takes that long, which does not take into account the specifics of an injury whose very nature interferes with the normal healing process. The reason I go to a doctor for an injury is to find someone who can (1) accelerate the healing process and (2) prevent the injury from becoming chronic or persistent. I recognize these kinds of excellent doctors are not easy to find.

[everything]

How is a doctor going to increase the blood flow to his injury site for healing?

A doctor can advise you but if you don't need surgery the doctor cannot do the body's healing work for you.

A PT (or perhaps TCM doctor) OTOH deals in rehab much more directly and in a hands on way so that may help. If I could find a modern medicine doctor who could do this, it would be great. As a patient/customer/care recipient, that's never been the case. Sorry to be cynical; I'd love to be proven wrong.