HEAL PAIN

I finally went to the foot specialist about my sore paw.  Like many things in life, the answers were so simple they are shocking.  I think I believe.

Here's the way the story goes.  As you lessen your activity level with age, your muscles contract.  This just means that old people become less flexible with age (we all knew that).

With regard to the foot, your calf muscles connect to the back side of your heal (calcaneus bone) via the achilles tendon.  Attached on the bottom side of that bone, the plantar fascia (also a muscle/tendon) stretches across your arch to the ball of your foot -  to some degree they work against each other.  If you never do anything, you may never notice a problem.  If you are active, you will eventually inflame one or the other.  You will get pain from achilles tendinitis or plantar fasciitis or both.  My friends have told me that mild plantar fasciitis (pain on the bottom of the foot) can be cured with orthotics - shoe inserts.  For the achilles, the answer is . . . stretch the calf muscle.

Could it be that simple?  I've suffered for three years.

I usually do a calf stretch after walking - not good enough.  Now I'm doing a 3-minute stretch three times a day . . . for the rest of my life.  It may take three to six months before the pain is gone but I'm determined to see it through.  The alternative is an operation which disconnects my achilles from the calcaneus bone, scrapes or saws the calcium build up on the bone and then re-attachment of the tendon.  It requires a long recuperative period and some other risks - I'd rather not.

So, if you see me standing on a step with my heals hanging off for long periods of time - know that I'm in therapy and not totally addled.

'o.o'