Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Nice legs, shame about the feet

I have been diagnosed with bilateral plantar fasciitis. Yes, my plantar fascia, both of them, are itised. In plain English this means I have tendonitis in both feet in the plantar fascia which is a big, honkin' tendon, or series of tendons, really, that run along the bottom of your foot and keep your toes from parting company from the rest of your foot. So you can imagine the joy that is planting my feet on the floor first thing in the morning after the tendons have spent all night relaxing and curling up all cosy with their bad selves. Yes, that howling noise you've been hearing every morning has been me. Sorry. Thankfully, once the tendons have stretched out again the pain goes away and I'm able to do everything else quite well. Except play the piano. I never was very good at that.

I had my first visit with the podiatrist (chiropodist for my British readers - the rest of you are on your own) yesterday and was told that I walk funny. Most of your weight should be transferred along your foot to the big toe when you stride and I apparently put most of mine on the other toes. Who knew? My feet sure didn't. And I know I didn’t get that memo, so I’ve been walking wrong for the last 50 years and it’s been doing nasty things to the tendons. But frankly, now they've had enough of it and measures must be taken. Ha ha! Measures. Geddit? Never mind.

The good news is that this is the least painful form of the disorder. For most people, who get it from wearing high heels too much, or spending too much time on their feet, the disorder is truly agonizing, while I just have extremely stiff feet and have to walk like Gimpy McGimperson for the first 5 minutes or so.

So it's orthotics for me.

The fitting was not unpleasant. They have you lie face down on an exam table with your feet hanging off the end and they wrap thin cloth dipped in some kind of 'fluid-while-warm, solid-at-room-temp' rubbery stuff around the soles of your feet. It actually feels quite nice. Very spa-like, in fact. It only takes about 5 minutes or so for the stuff to cool and form and then they just pop them off your feet and voila! you have very attractive (if you like mummy-like footwear) molds of your feet in all their glory from which they shape the inserts.

Then, $350 CDN later (gah!) and I had my new, magic, gonna-make-it-all-better orthotic inserts ordered. In three short weeks they’ll be ready and I shall walk like a normal person.

We will now take jokes, jibes and good-natured insults from the floor.

20 Comments:

Blogger Lisa said...

ooooo. I have no jokes, but I am wishing you and your itis well.

April 10, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.  
Blogger #Debi said...

No jokes here, either. I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis back in the fall. They wanted to sell me $350 inserts as well, but as they aren't covered on insurance, and I was in the last few weeks of school (read: student loan money running out), I declined. Mine went away on its own, especially after I graduated and bought a new pair of New Balance. I do distinctly remember the pain 1st thing in the AM, and anytime I stood after having sat for extended periods. I'm fairly sure that my neighbor downstairs probably thought that I had developed Tourette's Syndrome...

Did your doctor recommend the exercise with the frozen water bottle? Roll a water (or soda) bottle, filled and frozen, with the arch of your foot to relieve pain and strengthen the tendon...

vdmnhvtd: mutterings upon getting out of bed with plantar fasciitis

April 10, 2008 at 1:02 a.m.  
Blogger Alistair Coleman said...

Oooh, you've got an itis now. I dream of having a non-painful itis that gets me time off work.

Some people have all the luck.

April 10, 2008 at 5:07 a.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's alginate - the stuff they used for moulding your feet. It's the same stuff the dentist uses for taking an impression of your teeth (although hopefully not the same batch..:)

April 10, 2008 at 5:08 a.m.  
Blogger Misty said...

What you need, what you really, really need, is a massuese to rub and stretch your feet for ten minutes each morning before you get out of bed.

I asked for that treatment for my bad knees but was told it's unavailable on the NHS.

Maybe on the Canadian Healthcare System though, it might be free?

No...?

Hope your paws get better soon.

If not, try some Massage Badgers.

April 10, 2008 at 9:28 a.m.  
Blogger Wonderferret said...

Having broken bones in my feet and with a permanent disability as a result of a misspent youth all I can say take very good care of your feet. Sore feet are not to be taken lightly.

Spend lots of money on shoes.... good ones.

April 11, 2008 at 6:22 a.m.  
Blogger zoe said...

I seem to remember having to wear orthopeadic (sp) shoes as a child - I'm glad it was seen to then. I can't wear high heels due to a dodgy back so am pretty sensible, shoe-wise.

But I want that foot spa thingy. It sounds lovely.

April 11, 2008 at 2:43 p.m.  
Blogger #Debi said...

@Zoe: you mean the massage badgers?

April 12, 2008 at 9:13 a.m.  
Blogger WrathofDawn said...

Hello, Lisa! And welcome to the blog that never... blogs... or not very often anyway. All the best to you, too.

#debi - Yes, it can go away on its own, but since mine is based on a mechanical fault, it's going to come back again and again unless I treat it. I can still sneak in wearing totally unsuitable shoes from time to time but will be best off wearing the inserts with more sensible shoes. Which is fine by me, because that's what I usually wear anyway.

TEH DUCK - Except this is a painful itis and it doesn't get me any time off work. My co-workers point and laugh when I walk funny, though, so at least it's providing entertainment value.

Steve - I'll try not to remember that when I'm getting the cast made for dental crowns this summer. I am falling apart, bit by bit.

Misty - free massage? HAHAHAHAHAHA! I wish... even the badgers won't do it for free.

WFerret - Poor you! That sounds much more painful than what I've got. And I'm with you on the good shoes. I never was one to suffer for fashion. And now I've got an excuse to buy myself expensive shoes, I'm going to hang onto it for dear life!

Zoe - Ack! I had a friend who was supposed to wear them. She'd sneak "cool" shoes into her book bag and walk off to school wearing the hated orthopedic shoes until she was out of her mother's sight and then switch shoes. Surely the twat would happily drape warm cloth over your feet?

April 12, 2008 at 1:46 p.m.  
Blogger Richard Wintle said...

If you had our health plan at The Big Hospital That Cares About Its Employees, Really We Do, Honest!, you'd get about forty (40) bucks back on that $350 orthotics purchase.

Woop, as they say, de-freakin', doo.

Yes, Mrs. R'pus and at least one other member of the R'pus extended clan wears them. I have big flat feet and am likely doomed as well, eventually. And you could have a long discussion with Mrs. R'pus about the lack of nice, stylish shoes into which the dratted things will actually fit.

/rant

April 12, 2008 at 8:56 p.m.  
Blogger Richard Wintle said...

P.S. Just noticed the nice cuss-o-meter on your sidebar.

Poo.

Wee.

Gurd-blasdit!

Hm, not moving much...

April 12, 2008 at 9:00 p.m.  
Blogger #Debi said...

R'pus: It's not moving because you forgot to say, "rich, brown, vomit inna hedge".


Sheesh. We women have to do everything...

April 13, 2008 at 12:43 a.m.  
Blogger jkirlin said...

YOU GOT A PEG LEG??

April 13, 2008 at 12:56 a.m.  
Blogger WrathofDawn said...

R'pus - Luckily for me, I tend towards unstylish shoes anyway. Not liking the wobbling about on sticks. Women in sensible shoes, unite!

The cuss meter gets set when you click on it and it surveys your blog. If I reset it, it might show higher. Oh, poo.

#Debi - We do, don't we?

Jkirlin - HAR HAR, MATEY!

No. Just funny feet.

April 13, 2008 at 1:05 a.m.  
Blogger Flea said...

Cool rubber feet! I want some! Do you wear Crocs when you're out and about?

April 14, 2008 at 11:31 p.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can so relate. I have had this problem twice and both times it led to bone spurs on my heel. This time, I thought that I would be smart and went right out and got the orthotics. They cured the plantar faciitis but I now have another problem as a result of the inserts! Apparently, the hard ones are not a good idea (who knew?) and I now have a chronic tendonitis in my ankle and the bones on the top of my foot go out of place occasionally, causing me to dance like the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof. No wonder the people in my neighbourhood are wondering if I have something like St. Vitis dance!

April 15, 2008 at 3:44 p.m.  
Blogger Texasholly said...

Ugh. Those first few steps are murder. Hopefully the orthotics will do the trick otherwise you have very expensive coasters.

April 16, 2008 at 2:47 p.m.  
Blogger WrathofDawn said...

Flea - Crocs? THE HUMANITY! No Crocs for me.

Dale - Yeah, yeah. I know. You told me. Smarty pants.

HRH - True. And true. Which gives me an idea...

April 16, 2008 at 8:33 p.m.  
Blogger merlinprincesse said...

Poor baby.... And when I say poor...hhhehehehe..... 350 canadian dollars later... gah!

April 17, 2008 at 12:39 p.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

my son has been having torn ligaments and tendon problems in his feet for months now. Doctors just say to "rest". To a twelve year old boy who is a sports fanatic?

I'm thinking of trying Barefeet Science insoles on him. Much cheaper and I hear they're softer and help your feet heal.

April 26, 2008 at 2:53 a.m.  

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