Figuring Out the Source of My Unexplained Injuries with EDS

One of the many unusual issues that come with having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is the way that I can injure myself and not even know how I did it. That sounds baffling to most people, but for those with EDS, it’s not uncommon to find you have bruises you weren’t aware of and no idea what caused them, or to become sore and painful yet unable to pinpoint exactly how or where the soreness started.

It can be frustrating. I try to think of it as putting a puzzle together to find the source of the discomfort, which doesn’t always wind up being where it first appeared.

Last week, I noticed that the top of my left foot was sore. It started as a twinge, then worsened over several days until I was limping slightly. It hurt to bend two of my toes, and the top of my foot was tender to the touch. How do you even injure the top of your foot? I genuinely have no idea.

When I arrived at Pilates on Thursday evening, I was definitely limping. I’d already applied Biofreeze on it, but it remained sore. I started this week at Pilates using a small ball and a roller to loosen up my muscles, so I tried them on my foot. That felt good, but my foot was still sore. At the suggestion of my instructor, I started using a massage roller stick on the outside of my left leg.

Well, it turned out the issue likely isn’t my foot at all — it appears that it’s because of a very tight muscle on the side of my left leg. What did I do to make it so tight, you might ask. I have no idea.

On the plus side, by figuring out where the original issue lies, I’ve been able to do some heat and massage work on my own time, and it’s definitely improved. I haven’t really slowed down or given it a rest because it’s not that painful, and there’s the trade-off of getting stiff and sore if I don’t keep moving.

Thankfully, I have my regular massage scheduled, so I can get Kim, my massage therapist, to work on it and hopefully relax whatever muscle has everything so tight. I hope that will be enough to get everything happy and ready to go again!

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