Brief background: I am 22 years old and severely injured my right foot two months ago when I committed a classical training error- the good ol' "too much too soon" in conjunction with a sudden change to barefoot running. The pain was very generalized and affected both my midfoot and forefoot regions. I have not run since late May, and I only recently (within the last week) noted an improvement.
Anyway, I had an MRI study on both feet yesterday, and recieved the report today. It turns out that there are a number of things wrong with my feet, but one one is of particular concern. The report states: "THERE IS MILD DEGENERATIVE CHANGE OF THE TALONAVICULAR JOINT." I assume that this refers to osteoarthritis, a permanent and progressive condition in which the carilage in the joint space wears away.
I hate a CT scan of the foot two weeks ago which revealed "no evidence of arthritic changes", so from this I would infer that the damage is truly minimal. Nevertheless, when I look at my MRI films and compare the left foot to the right, my untrained eye is able to see that the talonavicular joint space on the left is noticeably narrower and the cartilage thinner, particularly on the lateral side of the joint.
Anyway, my question is, what do you suppose the prognosis is in terms of one's running career for someone with "mild" talonavicular arthritis? Am I going to be able to run safely again? If so, is running going to accelerate the degenerative process? I know these are questions for the doc, and I will when I get the chance, but at the moment I am unable to gain an audience with him.
Anyone else run with osteoarthritis? What has your experience been? Is my competitive career over?