I may have broken my foot today. If not an "avulsion fracture," it’s definitely some kind of deep bone bruise. Very painful. I hope I can still dive, push off, and kick. I’ve been icing it all day, but a red bruise the size of a quarter is blossoming in the affected spot--i.e., on the top of the foot, about half way along a line that stretches between the outside ankle bone and little toe, an inch in from my foot's outside edge.
I did this carrying a bag of garbage outside, slipping on a step, catching myself somewhat violently in midair. Avulsion, as I understand it, is when a tendon, which is stronger than bone, contracts so forcefully it yanks on the bone. I hope I did not snap a boney piece off, but it does seem awfully ironic that A) I just learned about these injuries while interviewing a Baltimore Raven who suffered them twice, and B) yesterday I gave a swimming teammate, who had dropped a cooking pan on the same part of her foot, a hard time about slacking off in practice. Instant Karma's gonna getcha, indeed.
Has anyone had this kind of foot injury? We have our Y regionals next weekend, followed by Y nationals in a couple more weeks. I will probably go to a doctor, but is it possible to swim with a broken (or just very sore foot), and if so, any advice for starts and pushoffs and kicking?
Thanks in advance for any help!
