Pronation Update

Some of you have asked if my wildly expensive custom orthotics that I got back in late November have helped me with my ankle/foot/knee/leg/hip pain. The answer is yes. I am happy to report that the strange little plastic things that I now walk on have made great improvements in my well being. Although the pain is not 100% gone, the little bit that is left is not as intense as it use to be, and doesn't last as long.

The orthotics were suppose to help keep my ankles and knees aligned, straight, and prevent the ankles from rolling inward (or outward, I can't remember) every time I take a step. I am suppose to wear them at all times, morning until night, except when sleeping. Seriously - my podiatrist told me to wear them in my slippers and keep my slippers right by my bed, or right by the shower, so that I can put my feet in them as soon as I get up. And, for the most part, that 's what I do. The plantar fasciitis problems are all but gone, my knees rarely hurt, and things like standing upright are not debilitatingly painful. I no longer grimace when I'm walking. People use to constantly ask me if I was alright when I was grocery shopping because I always looked like I was in pain!

I also think I've figured out what caused the problems..... my house. More specifically, the hardwood floors - the entire downstairs -of our house. I'm not a fan of wearing shoes in the house, so I would kick them off in favor of slipper or bare feet. This became a necessity during the summer of 2008 when I had hurt both feet. They were so swollen that wearing shoes was rather painful, and I took them off as soon as I got home. The pain started not long after that. It seemed so sudden to me. Both feet, in pain, all the time. After researching the topic of what may have caused this sudden onset pain, I found many articles and posts regarding people having problems after moving into a house with tiled or hardwood floors. They went from normal to massive pain and problems in anywhere from a few months to a year. Same with me! We hadn't even been in our house a full year when I started having issues. And I went from no pain to huge amounts of pain. Granted, my body was prone to this in the first place, but I think that having the hardwood floors exacerbated my issues and brought the problem to a whole new level. I've always had wall-to-wall carpeting before. I did have issues with plantar fasciitis in one foot during my pregnancy with Brandon, and now wonder if some of that was caused by the hard tile floors of our kitchen and bathrooms. I also had sciatica in the same leg, which I haven't had since, so I'm sure some of it was caused just by being pregnant.

Now, I have to wear shoes or slippers at all times in the house. I'm not a fan, but I keep telling myself that it helps. I'm also not a fan of what you can track into a house when you wear shoes in it all time time. The dirt itself is icky, but the chemicals and other elements that you bring in with you are so much worse. We don't have any crawling babies anymore, but still. Eww! It will be interesting this summer when it's hot. So much of my body temperature is regulated simply by whether or not my feet are covered, that I don't cover them in summer. I wear sandals or go barefoot in order to stay cool. I'm not excited about having to encase my feet in shoes when it's hot outside. Sandals that work with my orthotics have not been easy to find. However, I have another friend with a similar problem (and similar orthotics), so we're keeping each other updated on good shoe finds. Shoe shopping is a drag these days. I'll sometimes try on 30 pairs of shoes, and none work. The ones that do usually work are expensive, too.

In short, though, the orthotics are working. I have started walking again. I wanted to today, but he 60 MPH winds, along with the 10 degree wind chill factor, are preventing that! I need to work off the weight I've put on in the last year or so (probably from sitting around because I was in pain). I think I'll just ride the exercise bike today, and save the walking for a day that I won't get blown away!