Sprained Ankle Update

KT Tape
Bright purple with reflective accents– yes, it really is a medical product.

I was miserable Monday and Tuesday, but a very talented massage therapist relaxed the muscles around my sprained ankle Tuesday night. The gastrocnemius and soleus were very tight, and since they form a common tendon (the Achilles), I was hurting pretty bad. Working some toxins out of the calf muscles and massaging the rest of my legs took away more than half the pain in my ankle and Achillles.

Wednesday morning I asked my boss and chiropractor to look at my ankle. He said it looked surprisingly good for the heavy roll I’d given it, but said a few small bones in my feet were locked. I don’t like anybody touching my feet but I let him adjust the mid-foot, and man, what a difference. I was almost immediately pain free and able to walk for 45 minutes at lunch.

Today is Thursday, four days after the initial injury. I used KT Tape to stabilize my ankle and Achilles then gave it a quick test on a 3-mile easy run. No hills, no off-road, nothing tricky. The ankle did great with only a little Achilles soreness.

This was my first time using KT Tape. I’m an athlete from way back when rigid white athletic tape and non-breathable under-wrap were the only answers to taping an ankle. I’m now hooked on the KT Tape. The online videos KT Tape are very helpful in explaining and demonstrating everything for various applications. I chose to do a combination of the ankle tape and Achilles tape, so mine doesn’t look exactly like the manufacturer recommends, but it works for me. Bonus: it’s bright purple, the color of my undergrad alma mater.

The tape survived the 3-mile run just fine, and I’ve been wearing it since this morning and there’s no slippage or friction or anything irritating. The Pro version, which I bought, is supposed to last four days, and hopefully by then my ankle won’t need any help. The roll I bought is plenty big to wrap it a few more times if necessary, though. I anticipate my battle now being more common sense than anything. I have a hard time resting when the weather is beautiful, but I know I still need to ice and elevate the ankle a few times per day. I’m so happy this sprain didn’t turn into anything major!

Magnesium for Muscle Spasms

I didn't really know the difference in brands beyond the labels, but I chose to buy the magnesium from the co-op so at least there was some form of quality control.
I didn’t really know the difference in brands beyond the labels, but I chose to buy the magnesium from the co-op so at least there was some form of quality control.

I’m still feeling stronger in general from cutting out every bit of processed food, but I’ve been having really bad trouble with muscle spasms again. My neck, back, and hips are so tight that I can’t move normally. The orthopedist dry-needled my hip and back last week and shot steroids (which I HATE) into my hip. The chiropractor gave me a couple of a major back and pelvis adjustments earlier this week, and the massage therapist tried to work through my concrete-like muscles. Two nights ago, I had one of the scariest episodes of muscle spasms ever.

I went to bed with my usual grouping of pillows—cervical pillow under my head and neck, memory foam pillow under my knees, thin synthetic pillow under my ankles and feet—and thought I might be able to sleep with minimal back and neck pain. That part was true, but around 4 a.m. I awoke to what felt like someone tearing my left calf muscles off the bone.

Normal calf cramps are something I’m quite familiar with, and this episode was nothing like the post-workout, dehydration-induced cramps of the past. The pain was so intense that I was yelling, and I’m usually pretty controlled since I’m used to fibromyalgia. No amount of squeezing the muscle and trying to stretch it was working, and I was terrified that something was happening to my body that could not be undone. My neck’s been spasming for 3 ½ years. My back’s been bad since October 2013. And now my lower leg?

The excruciating pain finally subsided and the muscle unwound a bit after two of us nearly squeezed it to death. I couldn’t straighten my knee or dorsiflex my ankle, and I had to crawl to the bathroom. Every time I tried to do anything but keep the leg bent and guarded, the spasm would start again. I’ve never experienced pain like that—not even when I was kicked in the face and broke my nose and cracked my jaw. I knew I wouldn’t die from a leg spasm, but it was the kind of pain that makes me wish it would kill me swiftly.

Fibromyalgia is a cruel game of trial and error. I’ve got the diet thing down pretty well, although there’s always room for tinkering with specific foods. I thought I was getting plenty of nutrition since I eat only fresh meats and vegetables and fruits, but now I’m considering magnesium deficiency as a possible spasm cause (or contributing factor).

Has anybody else tried magnesium supplements? As soon as I was able to get out of the house, I carefully loaded myself into my SUV and drove to the local co-op for organic bananas (potassium) and magnesium supplements. I noticed a decline in muscular tightness within two hours of taking the first magnesium pill. I’m hoping that a buildup of magnesium will finally stop the recurrent spasming in my body.

I’d love to hear from anybody with magnesium supplement experience. As always, y’all can private message me on Facebook or leave a comment here.

Week 1 of Fighting Fibromyalgia with Whole30

Dinner was chicken with homemade pest, raw carrots, and raw cabbage. All organic ingredients.
Dinner was chicken with homemade pesto, raw carrots, and raw cabbage. All organic ingredients.

Day seven of Whole30 has been the best day yet. My carb flu is receding, and the debilitating hip pain that had me yelling and crying on the floor two nights ago is almost gone. Today is also the first day I’ve almost caved to an unapproved item—wine. I have a hard time relaxing because so many things hurt, and while I’ve been a light drinker for years, I found myself really wanting a glass of white wine tonight. I even went so far as to smell some freshly poured wine. But I abstained, and I’m glad I haven’t blurred the lines of the program.

Today’s exercise: 45 minute run; 15 minute walk; 15 minute self-massage and stretching routine.

Breakfast: Almond butter and half an apple before workout, then 2 scrambled eggs and coconut water after workout.

Lunch: Grill time—hamburger over lettuce, tomato, and cilantro with sweet potato and onion.

Snack: Nothing today, probably because I ate a big lunch.

Dinner: Baked chicken with homemade pesto and raw cabbage and carrots, finished with a frozen banana and frozen blueberries blended with almond butter.

General Feelings So Far: Like the designers of Whole30 say, it’s not hard to follow their plan. Living with fibromyalgia is hard. Eating healthy food can be frustrating, inconvenient, and time-consuming, but it isn’t hard.

I don’t have any new aches and pains, just a few standard ones, but I’m starting to feel better overall. I was even able to fasten my backpacking pack today and walk around the yard for a little while without intense pain, and I was able to sit through both lunch and dinner without having to stand mid-meal to relieve hip pain. When I woke up this morning, I couldn’t move my head at all because of neck spasms. I laid in bed and gently pushed my head from side to side with my hands, then progressed to turning it (supported on the mattress) slowly without my hands. After a few minutes of that routine I could turn further and was able to get up. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless. My hopes are still high that Whole30 will help me beat fibromyalgia.