bleh

[magicicada]

i finally went to the foot doctor and while he was very nice, his only solution was orthotics. i have doubts that this would really be helpful and i am not sure that i'm willing to narrow my shoe choices from 'the best shoe' to 'one of three that the orthotics fit'. still, i have to do something :p.

Comments

[knobody.livejournal.com]

what's wrong with your foot? if it's plantar fasciitis, i can recommend a good foot taping method that worked wonders for me.

[gardenwaltz.livejournal.com]

yep, that's the culprit. i'd be interested in hearing what has worked for you.

[knobody.livejournal.com]

http://heelspurs.com/tape.html

with the added tip that i don't tape quite as high up as the pictures because peeling the tape off hurts worse. i tape as high as the joints under the ball of my foot, but not that extra half centimeter they go. also, when i apply the tape, i pull my toes back (up if i were standing) slightly. if i don't then the tape just rips when it gets overstretched. your foot still needs some flexibility in order to walk. third, athletic tape doesn't stick that well at first, but sticks more as you press on it. i walk around in my birks right after i put the tape on and that seems to help. last, athletic tape will be sticky on the outside as well. i wear socks. cheap socks that i don't care much about. otherwise every piece of crud on our floors will stick to my foot. if you don't wear socks, put baby powder on the tape after it is applied.

for me it got so bad i was limping badly and with the tape it got completely better with daily taping for a few months followed by regular taping (2-3 times per week) for many more months. however, i didn't have to wait that long for relief. taping gave me less pain almost instantly, and within a week or two it was vastly improved. this is after the np at my doctor's office saw the fat chick and told me that losing weight was what would make it all better (never mind the new baby i was carrying or the new car with the stiff clutch that she didn't bother to ask about or the fact that i weighed less then than i had in years). now that el's getting big, i can feel my foot starting to hurt again and will have to start taping once again. i hope it works for you as well as it has for me.

[gardenwaltz.livejournal.com]

heh, i got the reverse approach on the 'fat chick' routine. i let him know flat out that i was sure that losing 50 lbs would help out, but that i wanted this problem solved so that i could run enough to lose that weight. he also said that all runners, even those without predisposition have a tendency to get this. btw, another cause is age, and losing weight doesn't help much with that :p!

a question on the tape. are these just flat pieces of tape on the bottom? i would have imagined some kind of winding around the ankle.

[knobody.livejournal.com]

yup. just flat on the bottom. the idea is that your plantar fascia stretches to allow your foot to flex in the fashion required for shock absorption. then it overstretches and gets inflamed and causes pain. the tape doesn't stretch and therefore places a limit on the amount the fascia can stretch so it doesn't go too far. it seems like it shouldn't work, and yet it does, for me anyway.

and the fat thing. yeah. the np told me i should lose weight. oh, but don't do any exercise that would place too much force on my foot. so, no walking, jogging, aerobics, etc. ummmm, doesn't that make it really difficult to lose weight? she suggested, while i was there with a few month old infant, that i get a bicycle. she wasn't the most observant np i've run into.

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

Tom's got plantar fascitis. The good shoes from Foot Solutions (a real podiatrist-run shoes store) have solved things.

[gardenwaltz.livejournal.com]

hmm... funnily enough that almost makes me think that the orthotics might work. i want my own shoes *hmph*.

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

Well, what shoes do you want? They have like a gazillion types of shoes at the store, and various brands to find the best fit for your foot.

I would try a store before dumping hundreds into orthotics.

[gardenwaltz.livejournal.com]

yes, but the shoes in my closet are already paid for. i am willing to count out the dress shoes, as he said that i would only need to use the orthotics 'most of the time' while my feet are healing and occasionally after that. i think the orthotics would be much less than buying all new shoes. with the assorted insurance, it would be $250 for the first pair and then we would need to pay 10% after that. it works out to $260 for the first pair or $290 for two pair.

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

Understandable. I'm just very...down on orthotics since they didn't help Tom at all. He had better luck with Dr. Scholls inserts (http://www.drscholls.com/product.aspx?prodid=70).

I know, he could have just had bad luck with his podiatrist. :)

[gardenwaltz.livejournal.com]

that is good information. i'll have to do some pondering and staring at shelves before i make a decision.

[knobody.livejournal.com]

a roll of tape is a buck and a half.

[gardenwaltz.livejournal.com]

...and that is placing your suggestion very high on the list :).

[shlafe.livejournal.com]

I would tape my ankle/foot before the Medieval Faire and the woman who helped me do it brought me something for placing around the foot before it was taped. you wrap it around your foot like tape, but it sticks to itself and not to you, so you don't have tape STUCK to you.

Does that make sense? I'm a little tired. :)