Massage from the inside!

Grand Canyon

For the last 10 years I have had a problem with my feet. about 4 times a year my foot or knee hurts so much I haven't been able to walk. For a few years I didn't have medical insurance so I couldn't go to a doctor about it. Once I did they couldn't really see what the problem was.

Angels in Vegas

What was finally determined was I had tendonitis. Where the tendon goes into the heel was swollen. I got some medicine to reduce the swelling and then my foot got better. It usually was 3 or 4 days of using the pills and then another week or so until all the pain went away. I don't like taking pills, I am afraid they are doing something to me besides what they are intended for. In fact, I never understand why people like taking drugs, they loose their mind and are not really themselves, but then again maybe they just don't like being themselves! All of last year I didn't have problems with my foot. I think it was because I kept my tendon stretched because of all the running I did.

Flying the Gay Rights Flag in San Francisco

I hadn't run for about 2 weeks and then I started feeling my right foot hurt. I tried taking my pills, but they didn't help so I stopped. The pain go so bad I couldn't put any weight on my foot. I had to crawl around the house and hated going outside. I realized I was making the pain worse with all the driving I was doing because where my right foot rested while pushing the gas pedal was exactly the place that was swollen. I also realized my dress shoes were too tight and making the problem worse. I used a pillow under my foot while I drove and wore a sandal on my right foot. I started taking my pills again and after 3 days I found the swelling was going down.

River in northern California

A friend of mine gave me a foot massage to help with the swelling and the pain went down for a while. It was back within an hour. After another couple of days I tried something different. Even though I was limping I struggled into the gym. I did the elliptical for 2 miles. I thought of it as massaging my foot from the inside rather than from the outside like a masseuse. I found that when I exercised it helped my foot heal more than being massaged on the outside. When I am hurting I need to do more exercise rather than letting it rest. From now on I will not exercise to loose weight, I will exercise so my foot doesn't hurt me again!!