New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

feet

post #1 of 24
7/27/08 at 12:42pm
Thread Starter 
I thought maybe I was soft or something, with my feet screaming in pain each night. I was wrong. I went to a podiatrist who took x-rays and I have bone spurs. Joy. Rapture.

1. Do you have bad pain?
2. Do you do anything for it?
3. Corrective methods?
4. Drink? Just kidding. I take advil a lot.

Currently, I am off my feet for a week and get casted for orthotics tomorrow, but I wanted to find out what everyone else was doing. Mostly just because I am nosy.
Reply
post #2 of 24
7/27/08 at 4:38pm
You would be surprised how many people have bone spurs in their feet and have no pain or discomfort at all.

What may be the cause of your feet hurting is plantar fascitis(sp?) or plantar bursitis. These eventually can effect the rest of your leg.

Anti inflammatories can help to some degree but cushioning the feet from hard surfaces is about the best that can be done for either condition. 12 years ago I was nearly to the point of being unable to walk from the combination of these two conditions. Currently I can't stand to be on concrete floors for more than 45 minutes which really limits my job choices.
Reply
post #3 of 24
7/27/08 at 5:44pm
You should probably stretch your legs and back every morning. I have a physio friend who was telling me that's its all connected together.
Reply
post #4 of 24
7/28/08 at 12:28am
Thread Starter 
Well, I am hoping that I get back to work as soon as the orthotics get mashed up to my feet. The Pod. gave me several stretches to do along with rolling a tennis ball with my arches before I get out of bed. I can't stay off work too long. I get bored. Then I do dumb stuff. Why do they call it stalking? Just Kidding!! I can go play with sugar some where....:beer:
Reply
post #5 of 24
7/28/08 at 5:22am
I do have pain--or at least I did--but it's not with my feet--it's my right arm. Tennis elbow and carpal tunnel--I call it baker's arm!

My Dad is a correctional officer and he had terrible trouble with bone spurs. He got orthotics and they helped immeasurably. In fact I haven't heard him speak of any troubles with his feet in years.

As far as trying to get relief from baker's arm--well--I tried alot of different over the counter meds--none of them worked long term. I tried ice--that made it worse. Deep Cold helped. As you can see--I'm still trying to figure it out myself!!!

I can relate to the boredom problem. If I get one day off I end up with sugar splattered all over the kitchen at my house as I work on experimenting with all kinds of stuff! We pastry chefs must be too high strung!!!!!
Reply
post #6 of 24
7/29/08 at 10:33pm
I had terrible tennis elbow, actually "herb gardeners elbow".....woke me up at nite, very painful.....I got a shot of cortisone in the elbow joint..... not very painful, but it was painful and stiff about two hours after the injection, the next day it was amazingly painfree and remained that way for a long time. I have a flair up occasionally, but never to the extent I had it before. Ice only works if you do it for at least 20 minutes a session and take lots of naproxium sodium,,,,aleve.
Reply
post #7 of 24
7/30/08 at 11:51am
For the bakers' elbow, look in a good drug store for a band made from plastic and foam that you wear just below your elbow. For some reason, it really helped mine. I have no idea why, but once the pain stops, who cares.

I also have bad feet. Dansko clogs helped immeasurably. I really should go the orthotics route, but for now, the clogs are great.
Reply
post #8 of 24
7/30/08 at 1:07pm
IIRC, the idea of the band is to create a different anchor point for the tendon that is inflamed. This gives the inflamed tendon a chance to rest and heal.
Reply
post #9 of 24
7/30/08 at 3:42pm
i have a mantra... it got me back to work 4 weeks after having all the muscles and tendons in my left knee surgically severed then stiched back in the right place... (apparently knee caps arent supposed to be on the side of your leg... go figure!)

"pain is weakness leaving the soul" works for me... i got on with the physio, got on with everything i was told to do, and if my phone makes my monitor wobble one more time like im about to get a call, but then not ring or do anything... im gonna .. im gonna... oh shucks.. who am i kidding im going to keep on ignoring it... lol typical british

btw what are orthotics?

edit - also what is a foot doctor??? i only have the NHS, if im not bleeding to death i dont get to see anyone
Reply
post #10 of 24
7/30/08 at 5:24pm
Yeah, I have heel spurs, arthritis in a few toes, and last year finally got rid of a nasty 3 or 4 year bout of plantar fascitis on both feet.

Not a big fan of pain killers or nerve blockers, that's all they are, they don't correct or get rid of the original problem.

The orthotics help--alot (orthotics are custom molded plates that fit between your feet and the shoe, kind of like glasses for your feet, a foot doctor is called a Podiatrist). But orthotics can only help if you have good shoes to support them.
Reply
post #11 of 24
7/30/08 at 10:49pm
Dansko's are amazzzing... worth every penny. I have worked 14 hours in them and will say my feet were fine, what I needed was a Dansko for the brain.
Reply
post #12 of 24
7/31/08 at 3:43am
HA!! What I need is Dansko slippers. My feet honestly feel better in them than in my slippers.
Reply
post #13 of 24
7/31/08 at 10:24pm
I never thought I would say this, but I finally broke down and bought a pair of Crocs the other day. The Bistro model, totally enclosed with a non skid sole. I want to tell you that my plantar fasciitis gave me no pain the day after I bought them. For the first time in two years I woke up with no foot pain at all. They are amazing. And cheap. $39.95 anywhere you buy them. They have great support, are cushy and soft and have the massaging beads on the sole. As long as they are available, I will be buying them.
Reply
post #14 of 24
8/1/08 at 3:33am
Glad they're working for you. I had a pair of crocs my DD gave me. I wore them once to a catering job, and had to force myself to leave them on all day. They're plastic so my feed didn't breathe. Halfway through the day, I wanted to wring my socks out. Besides that, I found that they're too loose or wide and allowed my feet to spread out- if that's the right word- to the point that I felt like my bones were- well, spread out. For my feet, I found that the heel is too low on crocs and that bothers my heel and arch.

DD is a nurse and had bought crocs in cute colors to match her cute scrubs;), but after awhile, tossed them and bought a couple of pairs of Danskos in decidedly un-cute colors of black, brown, and white. Although her feet carry only 110 pounds, she found the support of the Danskos work better for her also. She can still put on high heels when she wants. Geez, I'd love to be able to do that! The thought makes my dogs hurt!
Reply
post #15 of 24
8/1/08 at 3:36am

Thanks for the explanation. I was grateful no matter what the science was!
Reply
post #16 of 24
8/1/08 at 1:45pm
We bought one of our daughters a pair of Dansko's today. Even just trying them on, she could feel a difference. She tried a couple of other brands as well and in the end felt like the Dansko's would be the better choice. This evening will be her first full shift wearing them. If they help her, I may get a pair.
Reply
post #17 of 24
8/1/08 at 2:20pm
Well I bought a pair of Dansko's and will never ever do that again. I call them my torture instrament. Many times I would try to wear them but would be brought to tears. (Not even my ex can do that...LOL) If I had not spent so much money on them they would of found the trash can more than once.
Reply
post #18 of 24
8/1/08 at 8:54pm
They're great on my heels and arches, but my toes needed more time to get used to them. I developed corns on my little toes, and I had never had that problem before. After awhile, they stretched enough to fit the bumps of my feet and now they're perfect. I do worry about getting new ones!
Reply
post #19 of 24
8/2/08 at 6:39am
Kona,

Can you explain why you call the Dansko's your torture instruments? I am thinking of getting some if my daughter likes them but might reconsider if there is other information availble.
Reply
post #20 of 24
8/2/08 at 6:50am
I can't answer for that poster, but for me, they took some getting used to. They are stiff leather and need to mold to the foot. I had been wearing sneakers so my feet were used to the give in sneaker material. That was minor compared to how good they made my heels and arches, and knees and hips feel. I had to have my Dansko sandals stretched for my left foot, but now I wear them all the time.

Keep in mind that only a couple of styles of Danskos have the footbed that is recommended by podiatrists. I believe they are the original style of clogs and they've used that footbed on a couple of other styles.
Reply
post #21 of 24
8/2/08 at 7:04am

Attn:chefelle

Try putting one of those bands they sell in athletic departments on your arm. I'm talking about the ones that are a couple of inches wide and close with vecro. Put it about two inches above your elbow and pull fairly tight. It should eliminate most of the pain. I learned this from a guy who is a welder. The company he works for keeps them around because everyone in the shop uses them. Works pretty good.
Reply
post #22 of 24
8/2/08 at 7:15am
Lentil,

Thanks for the info! The style we bought was the clog style as it had been recommended by a friend who works on bare concrete floors. We did see some sandal styles there and I believe one other.
Reply
post #23 of 24
8/2/08 at 7:09pm
Sleeping with a firm pillow under my calves, and semi-regular visits to an acupuncturist keeps my arms and feet in reasonable shape.

I can't get Dansko clogs to work for me, despite trying for a year. My toes kept going numb, and I tired quicker. The shoes which finally worked were a pair of el cheapo rubber Frogz from Shoes for Crews! So my 100$ pair of Danskos gather dust while my 30$ pair of fugly rubber Frogz see full-time. Plus I can toss them in the dishwasher after work, whatsmore.
Reply
post #24 of 24
8/4/08 at 9:14pm

Love my danskos

The trick that was explained to me from the sales person was that you need to do two things: 1) you NEED to wear wool socks with them...otherwise, they are pretty ineffective; and 2) You need to practice rolling off the balls of your toes like when wearing flip-flops (I grew up calling them thongs--thanks for ruining that word Victoria's Secret!)

At first, I didn't believe that the wool socks would make much difference...but they definitely did! And I don't just mean socks made from wool....I am talking about those thick wool socks that you find at an REI or other hiking store.

Once I bought some of those sox...WOW! Never had a problem since.

The hard part is that when you buy your first pair of clogs, they don't fit like regular shoes. So buying them from the right retailer who knows how to size them for you is a great starting point. I got mine from the Walking Store.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Professional Chefs Forum