What’s a-foot?

Yeah yeah, I know, twelve inches 😀
All joking aside though, I have a problem.
I had my six monthly diabetes check on Monday and the nurse told me the results of my blood test were ‘superb’.  My weight has gone up a little (I’m not very pleased about that, especially as we’ve been so good lately by banning the bad stuff until last Thursday happened), but she said that was ‘Winter weight’ and nothing to worry about.

My problem is my feet.

I said the other day that my feet hurt, having walked Maggie some considerable distance. In fact Hubby and I have been trying to walk further, not just to lose weight, but to increase our circulation and raise our fitness levels.

I’ve had sore heels for a while and thought it might be a simple case of hard skin, but I mentioned it to the nurse anyway (as a diabetic I have to look after my feet) and she had a look.
I have good circulation (hairy toes) and a strong pulse in both. I also have good sensation, having nearly knocked her teeth out when she hit a ticklish spot (I had my eyes closed so that I didn’t know where she was going to touch), again in both.

As the pain is purely in my heels, she believes I have Plantar Fasciitis.

Source: Mayo Clinic
Plantar fasciitis (PLAN-tur fas-e-I-tis) is one of the most common causes of heel pain. It involves pain and inflammation of a thick band of tissue, called the plantar fascia, that runs across the bottom of your foot and connects your heel bone to your toes.
Plantar fasciitis typically causes a stabbing pain in the bottom of your foot near the heel. The pain is usually worst with the first few steps after awakening, although it can also be triggered by long periods of standing or getting up from a seated position.

It appears then that excessive walking (dog), long periods of standing (supermarket queues), age (40-60), gender (affects more women than men), being overweight (yeah, I know) and the wrong footwear (I haven’t worn high heels for years) all contribute to the problem, which, as stated above, can be at its most painful first thing in the morning or after sitting/resting for any length of time.

THERMOSKIN ANKLE FOOT FACIA EXTENSOR PLANTAR

Treatment varies, including a steroid injection into the heel (my mother had this years ago, said she’d never experienced pain like it, and couldn’t walk properly for three days) or foot appliances, but for the moment I am using the anti-inflammatory cream I use for my hands sometimes, and putting heel pads in my shoes. I walked the dog this morning, and it was considerably less painful.

The good news is that it’s not normally permanent so hopefully in a few weeks I won’t be hobbling quite so much. At least I don’t need these!

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