Joseph Jones enjoyed running 3 to 5 miles a week until a terrible pain in his left heelprompted him to seek treatment. His orthopedist diagnosed a bone spur, and Jones, a 46-year-old based in the of the District of Columbia, underwent bone spur removal surgery. For nine weeks, he wore a large boot on his left foot and followed his doctor's orders to put as little weight on it as possible.
"I'd always been pretty active, running, playing tennis and basketball," Jones says. "It's always been an important part of my life. Being out of commission so long was difficult." For the three weeks that he wore a boot before his surgery, Jones walked gingerly, stretched, lifted small hand-held weights while seated and did sit-ups. He rested for two weeks after the operation to let the incision heal. Post-surgery, Jones continued to lift small weights while sitting and did light stretching exercises his physical therapist taught him. "I was looking to just stay active, for a form of exercise I could do in place of being able to walk or run," Jones says. Since undergoing the surgery in October 2016, he's now running regularly again – without pain.