Degenerative Arthritis

I just got back from the Podiatrist. I finally went, a couples months ago, to check up on my CANKLE. (although it doesn't follow most people's definition of what a cankle is -calf ankle- that's what i call my broken ankle. It has been designated as such since my fall. I also call the bump on the back of my heel, that was created from the fall, the CLAW.)

ANYWAY, i thought i should go to the doctor about it and see if there was anything i could do to help it. Every morning, when i wake up, it's stiff and hurts throughout the day. It's relatively minor, so i've just learned to live with it. If i work out really hard or walk alot that day, by the end, it does hurt pretty bad to where i'm limping but again, it's not too bad. I've feared that there was nothing i could do to make it any better so why complain about it? Especially if it would just hurt the rest of my life. And while that's not ideal, i'm thankful i can atleast walk, so i won't complain. But in the back of my head i've wondered, IS there maybe something i can do to make it better? It would be a really sad day if i woke up one morning and couldn't walk and the doctor tells me, "well, this could've been prevented if you had done something long LONG ago...". So i figured, it can't hurt anything other than my pocketbook to have it checked out, right? Right. So i did.

This is what i found out:

I have degenerative arthritis in my ankle. What is that? Like the picture above shows, it's where the bones in your joint aren't smooth, so when you move, they rub and cause friction, thus causing the pain and stiffness in my ankle. It can progress overtime and eventually, i won't be able to use my ankle anymore.

Can it be fixed?

Well, here were my options:

Concerning the claw on the back of my foot: It's connected to the akeles (sp?) tendon, which can cause problems, but hasn't so far. The doctor said they could shave that off, but it's Pandora's Box, to quote him. It could open a whole new world of problems for me, so he thinks we should just leave it alone until it really does start causing some problems.

Next, my ankle: I guess with most joints that have degenerative arthritis, an option is surgery. They can go in and smooth out the bones in the joint, thus eliminating friction and fixing the problem. He didn't even bring this up, so i don't know if it's just too difficult to do with ankles vs. other joints... but we didn't even talk about it. But there is another surgery option in which they just fuse the joint, making it permanently NOT usable. I'd have to get a special shoe and go through physical therapy to learn how to walk normally without bending my ankle. And no more running, ever again. We both agreed that this wasn't the best option and should be used for a last resort.

The last and final option, which is the one i went with, which he strongly recommended was to get custom made orthodics. They made molds of my feet, (which was SUPER awesome, by the way. Best massage ever! ha.) and with those, made two sets of shoe inserts, one for dress shoes, one for sports. This will help correct the way i walk and minimize and/or eliminate the progression of the arthritis, thus in the end, saving my ankle.

So i guess i can add a little more to the final total from my fall:

Visit to Podiatrist $300
Orthodics $350
(the doctor was nice to give me two pair for the price of one)
---------------
Total: $650

Now, i'm a proud member of the Orthodics club. (or so i joke with one of the guys in my ward who wears them also.) I haven't noticed a huge difference so far, in wearing them the past month. But the doctor said it'll be that way for a little while, and then suddenly, i'll be able to notice a drastic change. i hope he's right... I mean, he said he's seen my situation a whole bunch of times. On my first visit, he told me how he interned in Chicago. Almost all the apartment complexes there are three stories high, and apparently there are A LOT of fires in Chicago... causing people to jump from the building. So he has plenty of experience with my problem.

I trust him.