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July 9, 2008

My Sister's Feet (A continuation of the conversation)

I was visiting with my eldest sister over the 4th of July holiday. She's been having trouble with her feet and thought it may be plantar faciitis.

Following is more of our correspondence after her visit:
She writes: I started doing a "joggy, bouncy" walk today up and down my sidewalk and could make only one round. That was very discouraging. Could definitely feel it in my legs and could also feel my ankles weakening/fatiguing. Of course, I haven't been able to walk much at all, and not normally when I do walk, for 18 MONTHS now.

I think a fall might (might) have precipitated the whole mess (fell on sidewalk in March and hit knee, fascitis started in April with ultra-swollen feet - could there be a link?) Anyway, am certainly NOT interested in degenerating any further. But since fascitis is tendons, will working and exercising them rather than resting them, cause further stress. I think the bouncy walk, where each foot/ankle lifted my weight was too much....

My reply: Yes, bouncy may have been too much--doesn't give the velcro-like quality of the muscles time to "unrip" from each other--causes damage and swelling--this is why they discourage athletes from the ballistic stretching that was so popular in the 1980s--progress. And since the ankles aren't terribly vascular, they tend to remove fluid build-up slower than other areas of the body. Whether a fall precipitated this cascade of events is uncertain, though not out of the question. Seems like an awfully long delayed onset, though. It's probably a combination of things.

Start out with the ankle pumps and hold off on the heel raises for now. Ice the ankles and elevate them ~15 minutes. (Icing consists of a bag of frozen peas or corn with a damp face cloth between you and the bag if you don't want to make a bag of crushed ice)--might be nice for the hot flashes too. And if you can, get walking, keep walking. For health and weight-loss (surprisingly) it really doesn't take much. Just 20-30 minutes a day--you can even break it up into 10 minute bouts.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Posted by linda at July 9, 2008 6:59 AM