Ouch, my foot - plantar fasciitis

While writing my books this summer (in bookstores in Feb and Mar 09), I pulled a ligament under my right foot by wrapping my legs and foot oddly and intensely around my desk chair daily for months. When the ligament finally pulled, I couldn’t walk for the pain. And I certainly couldn’t hike. In July, my chiropractor said he couldn’t help and sent me to a podiatrist, who gave me a cortisone shot, told me there was no way to improve the condition naturally, and that I’d be back for more of those shots. I didn’t like that shot, but my foot did feel better about 3 days later.

On a trip to Sedona AZ in August, I had a foot reflexology massage. Aahhh! I left with the recommendation to massage my foot with arnica oil daily and in a 6 months my foot could be better. Back home in Utah I started seeing a foot reflexologist/sacral cranial massage therapist. She is wonderful and had me walking mostly pain free until I visited San Francisco in October and walked and walked until my foot pain returned. I purchased shoes at the Merrell store (wonderful shoes) on Union Square and wrapped my foot with athletic tape. Which got me through 2 more days of walking all over the city without tears.

Notice no professional had yet mentioned exercise. Finally, I walked into a shoe store – The Gallery – in Mobile, Alabama in late October. At this chatty, small, friendly shoppe, one customer mentioned how exercises were improving her heel spurs. Within minutes, she and the shoppe owner were standing at the desk demonstrating foot stretches to me.

I felt sort of stupid for not researching exercises earlier, but later that day, on my iPhone, I found exercises that really work. Here are the sites: http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/plantar-fasciitis-exercise.html and http://www.revolutionhealth.com/healthy-living/fitness/injuries/other-injuries/reduce-plantar-fascitis. The exercise that I resist the most, or in other words, the exercise my foot needs the most is stretching my upper back thighs in numerous challenging positions. Ouch, then aahhh.

Here’s what I learned: that lots of folks have foot pain – it’s more common than I ever thought. That foot reflexology/sacral cranial massage has numerous benefits and feels so good that this luxury quickly becomes a necessity. That exercise can heal what I messed up – hurrah. All this makes me forever grateful to exercise.

Wishing you happy, healthy, and pleasurable walking.

Lucy




Lucy Beale
Author, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss
www.Lucybeale.com, http://lucybeale-weight-loss.blogspot.com/
801-501-8240