Helpful Hint For Those That Like To Walk

    If you're like me and enjoy walking, here's a piece of sound advice. Do not get Plantar fasciitis. 

    Not only is Plantar fasciitis devilish to spell (due to the rare double i), it is also painful for those of us who like to walk.

   This morning I was told by the Podiatrist I visited to see about the pain that suddenly popped up in my left heel (after a few brief questions along with a cursory examination of said heel), that I had a mild case of Plantar fasciitis.

   Yikes.

   Plantar fasciitis, for those not in the know, is a condition usually caused by prolonged periods of standing (which I do a lot of), obesity (guilty), and exercise such as extended walking or running on hard surfaces (yes to the extended walking on hard surfaces).

   It is also most common in people between the ages of 40 to 60 (bingo).

   The Doc told me that the best treatment plan for my particular case was for me to procure a pair of orthopedic shoes with a significant amount of arch support and a "comfortable cradle for the heel", and to adopt a daily stretching routine that includes at least 5 minutes of stretching the feet and 5 minutes of stretching the calves.

   Icing the left foot was also recommended and why wouldn't it be.

   He also suggested (strongly) that it would help my cause greatly if I lost a substantial amount of weight, say 75 to 100 lbs. 

   Double yikes.

   Typically, eight weeks to a year is what can be expected as the minimum and maximum amount of time for recovery from Plantar fasciitis, which is a helluva broad range.

   I was able to get the orthopedic shoes this afternoon and they made an instant difference in the level of pain I was experiencing. Exercise bands are on order, and I also bought one of those little foot soaker/massaging tub dealios in order to ice my left foot - which I did just a few hours ago and that also resulted in a significant amount of relief.

   I'll post progress updates when progress is made.