I enjoy running and I finally found out why it has been such a pain the past few years. After a couple four to six week rounds of physical therapy, immobilizing my foot for six weeks, periods of not running/resting the foot – all over the past few years – I finally visited a new podiatrist that suggested an MRI.
left ankle/achilles/heel mri
This from the radiologist report:
“There is a moderate grade partial thickness tear of the anterior surface of the distal Achilles tendon insertion, measuring 1.0 cm in length (sagittal STIR series 7 images 10-11). There is mild retrocalcaneal bursitis and mild reactive marrow edema in the posterior calcaneal tuberosity (sagittal STIR series 7 images 9-11).”
The ironic thing is that I am sure it popped three and a half years ago during a visit to a physical therapist that was treating my other Achilles tendon.
If Aetna, my health insurance provider, finds this post I’m sure they will raise my rates or cancel the policy. They don’t know about the MRI since it was 60% cheaper for me to pay the entire MRI cost directly out of pocket rather than use Aetna’s negotiated free market rates. Makes me wonder why I continue to send them a check every month.
Achilles tendon injuries are common in people our age, though not usually because of physical therapy. %^)
The insurance would be useful in the event of a serious accident or illness, to state the obvious.
My insurance is pretty much worthless unless I get sick enough to die.