My Journey With Health And Fitness – Finally Some Progress

Yesterday was an interesting day. We were notified that our electricity would be off from 5-11am. That of course seriously messed up my usual routine. So, I got up and after breakfast I went for a 2 hour walk. Took a break for a bit then an hour walk. Finally I got in a couple of 1/2 hour walks (once the heat is up there I can only handle about a 1/2 hour) for a total of 4 hours walking. Yep, still pulled off a super exercise day.

If you recall back the end of January I realized I had developed plantar fasciitis. If you have never had this particular ailment it is quite painful. For me it manifested as pain in the semi-circle at the bottom of my heel. The pain tends to be most intense when I would first put my foot on the floor in the morning and again if I sat for any length of time. I did find it would get a bit better the more walking I did so I tried to keep up the walking. My doctor suggested I simply google it to get some exercises and stretches off the internet which turned out to be quite similar to the exercises I was already doing for my ankle. I did add some additional stretches which would occasionally provide a bit of relief.

A few weeks before heading down to the condo I started using my prescription Voltaran a couple times a day and that started to help relieve the pain. Once I got here I decided to try doing my walks without my ankle brace because the brace seemed to irritate my heel. I was ok with doing this because I walk on the roadways (never the sidewalks because they are in terrible condition) which are quite smooth and flat. I then started doing deep messages when I applied the Voltaran to be the bottom of my foot and along the outer side which had also been impacted by the plantar fasciitis. I have been doing this twice a day for almost 2 weeks now. I should note, I do still wear the brace when I am doing my online classes because I need to ensure I keep it very stable and not let it twist.

I was out on my 1st walk this morning and all of a sudden realized that I had very little pain in my heel. By very little, I mean after about 10 minutes of walking there really was none. There is still a bit of burning pain on the outer side but it is so diminished compared to what it was a week ago. I realized that finally after several months I am making progress.

I have decided I am going to keep up my daily routine of anti-inflammatory cream and deep massages. This really seems to be working and I hope if I continue to do this daily then maybe by time I head back home in June it will all be cleared up.