By Joel B. Belinan
We work out to be healthy and not to get endured”. This is my oft repeated line whenever we have new members in our Burnham Team. And it’s not limited to our team. This applies to everyone who is into fitness or martial arts. For in sports and martial arts we are supposed to become fit or healthy. But even with this in mind, we still find ourselves injured from time to time. Yes, even me who has been into sports ever since I can remember. As one sportsman said, it cannot be helped for we are just like any other human being with limited control of the things around us.
What is important is the recognition of such injury and the effort at treatment or to overcome it regardless of its seriousness so it will not be annoying us. Those in middle age, are prone to injuries due to our body’s wear and tear and due to nutritional inadequacies. My common injuries, of course, are related to our pad works and, as a coach. I usually get sprains in some parts of our hands (fingers, wrist, and other joints), or our feet which in most cases are due to our mistakes or from our partner players. Even among ordinary runners, injuries do occur and so with those in other sports like basketball, football, baseball, bodybuilding, or weightlifting, and those in individual events such as gymnastics, swimming, and the like. Most of these are easily known due to the injuries’ nature and causes. The dangerous injuries are those that are hard to be noticed because such were developed for a long time and, unless known by the concerned individual, are hard to treat.
Early this year I felt some annoying pain in my right foot developed, not when I am running but just before I start or sometimes when I am just walking. I did not give much attention to it but it continued and the occurrence became more frequent. Then on one occasion, I asked about this from my friend homeopath and acupuncture practitioner, Dr. Evaristo Munar, who immediately suspected it to be plantar fasciitis. He advised me to do some internet research to confirm his suspicion and, true enough, based on the symptoms that I have been experiencing, it is plantar fasciitis.
Accordingly, this annoying pain although can easily be tolerated especially by athletic people, if not treated might develop into a permanent injury. Based on sports doctors’ explanations, plantar fasciitis is caused by the swelling or inflammation of the tendons in our feet. The causes vary from lack of oxygen or nutrients reaching these due to their distance from the heart or due to overly worn-out shoes with soles that could not anymore function as caution for our bodies’ weight when we run or jog. In some cases the shoes are undersized.
Recalling my physical activities the past year, during the hard lockdown the other summer, while we had regular work-outs with my kids at home, it was not enough for so many reasons. By the time the government allowed outdoor exercises like running and biking, I already gained 16 kilos. Thus I embarked on a journey to immediately get back to shape. My average early morning run went immediately into 10 kilometers (uphill and downhill) on the first 10 days and increased it to 16 kilometers after that. As I programmed it, after 45 days, I was able to get back to my 65 to 66-kilogram usual weight and it felt very good. However, due to the economic crunch that affected us, during those long-distance running I have been using my worn-out running shoes which had been with me for a few years already. Apparently, the soles could not anymore absorb or caution my weight, thus, slowly developing into an injury (inflammation). I was using those shoes refusing to let go of them as they were still usable and for not knowing any better. And, yes, although I had a reserve pair, the thought of throwing away the old ones and buying new ones as reserve during this crisis was difficult to swallow.
I only came to understand the cause of the pain in my foot recently, thanks to the advice of Dr. Munar, that led me to do the needed research. After two weeks of doing the natural remedies as stated in internet sports sites on treating such injury, I felt better. However, as advised, I threw away the old shoes. And, yes, I had to refrain from running and jogging for some time and will have to continue my self-therapy and taking vitamin supplements until the annoying pain completely disappears. **
