On Pins and Needles

I haven't written about this much, but I've been injured. I've had plantar fasciitis for quite some time. This is a painful condition in the feet. At it's mildest it hurts to walk first thing in the morning (although it usually gets better as the day goes on); at it's worst, it feels like I'm stepping on knives, and I can barely walk, let alone run, due to the stabbing pain. I did talk a bit about having it in March, before I ran the Safari Park Half Marathon, but other than that I've kept quiet about it here on the blog.

I saw my doctor about it several months ago, and he prescribed calf stretches to do (tight calf muscles will affect the plantar fascia). I did those, and while they helped some, I was still in pain. I have done a lot of reading online about plantar fasciitis, and talked to many of my dailymile and Twitter friends about it. Here are things I've done:

• various calf stretches
• rolling my foot over a frozen water bottle
• rolling my foot over golf balls, both frozen and at room-temperature
• rolling my foot over a Rubz Ball
• sleeping in a night splint called a Strassburg Sock
• taking Aleve
• using KT Tape to tape my foot before runs
• getting a foot and leg massage
• bought new and improved orthotics for my shoes (I have very high arches)
  

While things helped some (rolling my foot over the various balls felt good, and most mornings after wearing the Strassburg Socks my feet felt better) the pain was never truly gone. I recently discovered the KT Tape, and love it; it's not lost on me that I am literally taping myself together! And some things didn't seem to work for me at all; the foot massage, while it felt good at the time, was essentially a waste of money.

A few weeks ago a friend mentioned acupuncture as a treatment for plantar fasciitis. At this point, I was willing to try anything, so I got the phone number of the acupuncturist and gave him a call. I did have acupuncture many, many years ago, for energy balancing, but had never gone to treat an injury. I was skeptical but willing.

My first session was last week; today I went for my 3rd session. I have to report that even after the first session I felt a marked improvement! I even went for an 8 mile run this weekend and was pain-free. I did use my KT Tape, but did nothing else. In fact, my acupuncturist told me NOT to stretch, NOT to use the night splints, and NOT to use ice! Instead, he wants me to massage my calves and use heat (as in a heating pad), which is the complete opposite of what my western-medicine internist told me (ice and stretch)! I've been massaging and heating...and finally feel hopeful.

Next week I go back for my 4th session. I've heard that many people get rid of their plantar fasciitis in only a few sessions, but since I've had it for so long (over a year) it will take longer. I'm patient. If it works, and so far it's seeming to, I'm willing to spend the money, time and be a human pincushion. I don't know how it works...but Oriental Medicine has been around for a long, long time, and it seems to work for a lot of people.

I hope to get my injury under control, and soon: I am planning on doing roughly one half marathon a month from October until July. I need healthy feet!