It really does not matter what injury you have, the principles of healing are the same. If you can get blood to the area, you can achieve the best possible healing. Being optimally nourished and having overall good health are also essential.
The feet are a tough area to heal as they are not well supplied with blood, especially the cartilage, capsule of the joints and the small bones. Even a minor fracture will take a lot of care to heal.
Before opting for the surgery, I decided to give my foot the best chance of healing.
1. Heat thearpy. Heat up and cool the area 3 times a day. Heat increases blood flow to the area and the cool water brings down swelling.
2. Massage.
3. Supplements. I tried Joint Revolution and Green Vibrance. The point of this is to get the mineral and vitamin levels in your body to optimal levels which brings your immune system up. I have to rave about Green Vibrance, it made a huge impression on me. I had the best results while on it, and not just with my foot. I highly recommend it for anyone needing to heal, no matter the cause. I am hoping to stock it as it is an all-in-one super food. If only we could all eat foods that could give us the nutritional boost that this gives.
I believe that doing the above is what kept me reasonably comfortable for the last 5 months but it did not allow the sesamoid to heal. My surgeon told me it would be impossible for the bone to fuse again and he was right.
The 3 tips above can be applied to any illness. It was taught to me by a homeopathic doctor 6 years ago when Emily had a ear infection. I applied a warm bean bag to the ear, massaged the area and gave her olive leaf extract to boost the immune system. (with the ears you have to remove dairy from the diet too) I was thrilled at the time when her ear pain subsided and have been using this simple therapy ever since to treat any ailment we have.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Why create this blog?
Lots of reasons. Firstly because I now have something to blog about and with 6 weeks of recovery ahead of me, lots time to update my blog.
I hope this blog appeals to other young mums out there. My children are 6 and 8 years old and they have been a major consideration when deciding wether to go ahead with the operation or not. Yes, I am living with low grade pain that affects my sport and is a general irritation but it does not affect them. The surgery and recovery will affect them. Major planning is needed before having your foot above the level of your heart for 2 weeks post op. 14 balanced meals have been cooked and frozen, friends have been e-mailed rosters of their taxi duties. Full time domestic help has been booked for 2 weeks. Bulk purchasing of milk, toilet paper and all the other daily need items.
I work for myself, so my small business has to shut doors for 6 weeks. Six weeks of no income.
All in all, I feel blessed because all of the above is possible for me. I have 2 wonderful kids who will help their mum, get themselves ready without drama, help their Dad to prepare the meals and feed the dogs. In South Africa we have affordable home help and Honji is only too pleased for the extra days work and pay. I have friends that are happy to help, people my kids know well and trust. Last but not least, I have a hubby that takes everything in his stride - only support and love there.
I hope this blog appeals to other young mums out there. My children are 6 and 8 years old and they have been a major consideration when deciding wether to go ahead with the operation or not. Yes, I am living with low grade pain that affects my sport and is a general irritation but it does not affect them. The surgery and recovery will affect them. Major planning is needed before having your foot above the level of your heart for 2 weeks post op. 14 balanced meals have been cooked and frozen, friends have been e-mailed rosters of their taxi duties. Full time domestic help has been booked for 2 weeks. Bulk purchasing of milk, toilet paper and all the other daily need items.
I work for myself, so my small business has to shut doors for 6 weeks. Six weeks of no income.
All in all, I feel blessed because all of the above is possible for me. I have 2 wonderful kids who will help their mum, get themselves ready without drama, help their Dad to prepare the meals and feed the dogs. In South Africa we have affordable home help and Honji is only too pleased for the extra days work and pay. I have friends that are happy to help, people my kids know well and trust. Last but not least, I have a hubby that takes everything in his stride - only support and love there.
History
Sometime a year ago I managed to fracture the medial sesamoid in my right foot. We have 2 sesamoids under each big joint (some folk are born with more or split sesamoids and this is fine). I imagin them as a small chickpea that is to the big toe joint what the kneecap is to the knee, it allows the large tendon, that gives mobility to this extreemly important joint, to articulate with the joint. It allows the tendon to slide happily while we walk and run and as far as I understand has other benefits such as shock absorbing.
To complicate my story, the large joints in both my feet have been osteoarthritic since my teens. I have always managed it well, so much so that my choice of exercise has always been running (5-20km per week usually).
I thus assumed that the pain was a long overdue flareup of the arthritis and slowed down the running but the symptoms persisted and worsened.
In Feb 09 I had an x-ray and was very surprised to discover that I had sesamoids (had never heard of it) and yes, it was fragmented. I assume that in the months of running on the fracture, I had managed to well and truely destroy the medial sesamoid. An MRI followed, confirming the x-ray results and showing an oedema in the bone, bone spurs and perhaps a tear in the cartilage. This would explain the feeling of 'something' stuck in the joint.
To complicate my story, the large joints in both my feet have been osteoarthritic since my teens. I have always managed it well, so much so that my choice of exercise has always been running (5-20km per week usually).
I thus assumed that the pain was a long overdue flareup of the arthritis and slowed down the running but the symptoms persisted and worsened.
In Feb 09 I had an x-ray and was very surprised to discover that I had sesamoids (had never heard of it) and yes, it was fragmented. I assume that in the months of running on the fracture, I had managed to well and truely destroy the medial sesamoid. An MRI followed, confirming the x-ray results and showing an oedema in the bone, bone spurs and perhaps a tear in the cartilage. This would explain the feeling of 'something' stuck in the joint.
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