Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Why I Threatened My Foot

My right foot is under strict orders to clean up its act or else.  I'm having trouble with plantar fasciitis, a very painful foot condition where the plantar tendon on the bottom of the foot isn't working right and causes pain in the heel.  I first had this about 14 years ago when I was still working as a teacher.  Poor support in my shoes and a classroom that had cheap carpet on top of concrete, a bad mixture.  Took almost a year to clear it up.  Orthopedic shoes, shoe inserts, orders to never go bare footed or walk up hills.
About 6 weeks ago I started having trouble again, I trace it to an evening we were running about the cobblestone streets of Savannah and I was wearing boots that had little or no support.  The pain had steadily gotten worse and I finally broke down and went to the Doctor.  He had an x-ray done, which wouldn't show the plantar but would show any other problems.  It turned out I have a heel spur and some arthritis in the ankle.  So I sleeping with a foot splint to keep the plantar stretched, have new inserts in my shoes, do stretches, slather my foot in Aspercream and soak my foot in our whirlpool tub.
It is getting better, but with plantar it's a long, slow slog.   The foot knows I mean business, so it's trying.  I have a brother-in-law who's had trouble with this condition, had surgery to release the plantar, 2 more surgeries to remove scar tissue and after nearly 3 years is unable to walk more than a few steps.  So I take this seriously and will do whatever, short of surgery, to help it get better.
This is my night time splint, looks like a medieval torture device doesn't  it?  It's actually not too bad to sleep in and if it helps then I'll stick with it.

10 comments:

  1. Oh Janet, I hope that your foot listens to your instructions and gets better very soon! It sounds horrible to have to deal with this so I really do hope you are all OK again! Keep taking care of yourself! xx

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  2. My sister has all the above, too. She was warned off surgery as relatively unsuccessful. Like you, she works at keeping it under control.

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  3. Looks like torture to me. Here's hoping all the treatment will do the trick and you get it sorted out soon.
    xx

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  4. Oh My Goodness....
    Good luck and hope you will see(feel) some relief soon.

    cheers, parsnip

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  5. I've suffered with this as well ... after a long summer of wearing sandals with no support. I got wise and started wearing indoor shoes, which really helped. Your condition sounds a lot worse, so I hope you have success with your aggressive treatment. Hobbling in pain is no fun.
    Wendy

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  6. I have severe arthritis in my right ankle and can only walk (with a stick) for a short distance. Luckily it doesn't hurt except when I walk on it, but it is very debilitating and there seems to be nothing they can do. Hope you have more success.

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  7. You might not believe it but I had to go and see the doctor the other day for the same reason. My osteopath first thought it might be a heel spur but my doctor found it was plantar fasciitis and I will get some inserts for my shoes as soon as they are ready. Can't wait.

    Hope you are feeling a little better already, I know how much it hurts.

    Marianne from
    Let's Read

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  8. It is getting better, but boy did it hurt.

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  9. Really hope that your foot is listening to you and gets its act together so that you get better soon.

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  10. Yikes, sounds really painful. I can see why you are determined to do everything possible to help the healing along. Hope it feels bette soon!

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