20 August 2008

An exegesis on Plantar Fasciatis and foot pain

I.ve been sufferring pain in my left foot for over 10 weeks now. It has gotten better and then worse and better and worse and each time the better has been less and the worse has been more until the pain in my foot has actually caused me to both limp and to develop a pain in my hip from all the favoring that I am giving my foot. Thing1 asked me last week whether she could have a mama that had a good foot and could run faster.
I've been ignoring this because, frankly, I had larger problems to deal with.
That's over with and now I need to deal with this problem and I just haven't been certain what to do.

Should I get accupuncture? There's a Chinese massage place nearby that has fussmassage that sounds workable? Or is there a specific doctor I should go to? Is it a podiatrist or an internist and how do I find one?

I had been thinking that this is plantar fasciatis, a problem that I have had in the past when wearing sneakers without adequate anti-pronation and stabilization (I love me some Saucony Grid-Stabils when I  ran) but I haven't been jogging since 2005, so that seemed strange. But on doing more research, and even though stretching has not helped, I think that it is and that it is a result of this being the longest time that I have ever gone without wearing sneakers or other orthotically controlled footware. Germany is so much more formal in terms of footwear that I have been wearing black shoes and believing that my feet had adequate support but I think that I have been wrong.

I dug a pair of Mephisto walking shoes out today and by the end of the day, even after doing a lot of walking (the kita school buses don't start running until next month so I am taking the girls to school and picking them up every day: 35 minutes each way, 4x a day,with a walk to the train, transfer to bus then walk again) my feet felt better than they did at the beginning of the day.

I think I will see how tomorrow in the Mephistos feels and perhaps go for a foot massage since the pain is no longer piercing: any one have any other advice or experience?

6 comments:

Janet said...

I think you would see a podiatrist. And woot(!) on the Mephistos. I bought my first pair this year and they freaking rock! I spent six hours walking around an outdoor adventure-type place with my kids today and my feet feel great.

Carol said...

Ouch! I have this too and it's gotten so bad this summer -- sandals, bare feet, and all -- that now I have to wear ugly shoes ALL the time. When I get out of bed in the morning it's excruciating! Let me know if you find relief and I'll copy whatever you do. It's awful, isn;t it?

Carol

Sonja Streuber, PMP(R), SSBB said...

Mephistos are awesome. Hope they help.

Thanks for your comments on my blog re: vestibular disease and your cat. How long did it take your cat to reset the inner ear/ equilibrium?

G in Berlin said...

I'm still limping today, but it is definitely better. And I feel a bit of a fool, because when I ran a restaurant (on my feet for 12 hours+ a day) my mom got me Mephistos when I complained about my feet and I should have remembered it.Bit it wasn't this bad then.

Charlotte- it took him only a few days til he wasn't falling over, but over 6 weeks until he ran and I think 2+ months until he would even do low jumps . He did recover to become the mighty hunter that he had been before, but that took a long time. And his head always tilted a bit to the left: I thought it was cute and he didn't seem to notice. This was years ago, but I think I may have given him some antibiotics while the vet was running tests to rule out causes (resulting in the "essential" diagnosis).

I'm looking forward to seeing your photos of Brueges- I want to go there this year.

Sonja Streuber, PMP(R), SSBB said...

G, thanks for the info about your cat; I'm heartbroken about my little dog, but knowing that this is going to get better really really helps my sanity. Yes, I'll post my Bruegge pictures as soon as I can get to them. If you're looking for a really nice place to stay there, try the Hotel T'Putje. That's where we stayed, and we loved it.

Rositta said...

I just checked out the Mephisto shoes and they aren't very pretty. I have the same problem with my left heel, somedays I can't put my foot down. I found the only thing I could walk in were the god awful Crocs and the only thing that gave me some relief was a massage with Voltaren, good luck...ciao