Six foot drill

[RearAdmiral]

I have been dealing with some sort of foot issue for 9 years or so in my left foot. For starters I have another bone(birth defect) that fuses my left ankle and heel. This causes some things to be out of whack in my entire left leg, but I don't really have to go into details there. The main annoying problem has been some sort of plantar fasciitis, lots of inflammation and annoying pain on the bottom of my foot.

It was suggested to me to start doing the six foot drill, which is to talk on the outside of your foot for a bit, then the inside, then toes pointed out, toes pointed in, walk backwards on toes, then walk on heels. I really don't know how but it seems to be working! It is crazy that I am seeing results with doing something so easy after only a couple weeks. I've been dealing with this annoying problem for 9 years and it is going away finally, amazing!

 

[Scarpozzi]

The ladies call me the 6'4" drill....but this is the wrong forum for that!

On your point, I am the above-mentioned height. I also have issues with my left foot and am a runner. In my experience, I've found that my left foot problem flare up when I run longer distances, don't rest enough, and don't do those kinds of stretches that work the muscles in my foot. Running tends to wear the same muscles and ligaments because the motion is repetitive. Once the muscles get tired, they don't support the ligaments enough and the ligaments stretch or pull until they don't support the bone enough...eventually, those overuse injuries can cause stress fractures...and it all happens pretty quickly.

The problem though....the drill you're probably doing is working....but you may have to continue this as part of a daily routine because when you stop, it won't take long for muscles to lose their conditioning. This has been my experience....3-6 months of not doing what I was knocks me back and makes me more suseptable to injury.

 

[IronWing]

The ladies call me the 6'4" drill....but this is the wrong forum for that!

They didn't call you a drill, what they said was that you were boring.

Anyway, sounds like a good stretching exercise. I walk a labyrinth which involves lots of tight turns and pivots to keep my ankles limbered.

 

[Muse]

For decades my main exercise was running, often as much as every day. Several miles on the sidewalks and streets, although I started on grass and dirt. I was poor, so I didn't buy new shoes often, instead repairing worn soles with shoe goo. That may have been a bad idea because it made the soles possibly too stiff. Ultimately and IIRC very suddenly I developed a very painful condition in my left foot and had to stop running. I went into a sports medicine clinic and the examiner (an MD, I assume) pronounced "plantar faciitis." His assistant said "take up swimming," and I did. A year later I tried running the streets again but the pain came on right away and I gave up running for good. I became quite the swimmer (2 mi/day 7 days/week), and started hitting the weight room in the same gym.

I may have avoided the foot injury if I knew what I was doing but I was on my own and didn't have the guidance I needed (no medical).

About 15 years after giving up running it became apparent to me I had something else going on in the left foot (probably developed during my running days). I saw one podiatrist after another. Had cortisone shots, nothing helped. Finally one said he thought I had Morton's Neuroma. It wasn't clear which foot knuckles were involved, i.e. between which toes the neuroma might be. Finally, we figured maybe I had two neuromas in the same foot, which is rather uncommon. I elected to have surgery and sure enough, he found and extracted two neuromas.

I still have some pain in that foot and the other has plantar faciitis off and on. I try to stretch both calves regularly, which is the only recommended treatment I know of besides orthotics, of course. I've been wearing custom orthotics for many years.

 

[Scarpozzi]

For decades my main exercise was running, often as much as every day. Several miles on the sidewalks and streets, although I started on grass and dirt. I was poor, so I didn't buy new shoes often, instead repairing worn soles with shoe goo. That may have been a bad idea because it made the soles possibly too stiff. Ultimately and IIRC very suddenly I developed a very painful condition in my left foot and had to stop running. I went into a sports medicine clinic and the examiner (an MD, I assume) pronounced "plantar faciitis." His assistant said "take up swimming," and I did. A year later I tried running the streets again but the pain came on right away and I gave up running for good. I became quite the swimmer (2 mi/day 7 days/week), and started hitting the weight room in the same gym.

I may have avoided the foot injury if I knew what I was doing but I was on my own and didn't have the guidance I needed (no medical).

About 15 years after giving up running it became apparent to me I had something else going on in the left foot (probably developed during my running days). I saw one podiatrist after another. Had cortisone shots, nothing helped. Finally one said he thought I had Morton's Neuroma. It wasn't clear which foot knuckles were involved, i.e. between which toes the neuroma might be. Finally, we figured maybe I had two neuromas in the same foot, which is rather uncommon. I elected to have surgery and sure enough, he found and extracted two neuromas.

I still have some pain in that foot and the other has plantar faciitis off and on. I try to stretch both calves regularly, which is the only recommended treatment I know of besides orthotics, of course. I've been wearing custom orthotics for many years.

Wow....had to google neuromas. That sucks man.

I always tell people the foot is such a complex appendage that simply labeling everything as a stress fracture or plantar facciitis is ridiculous....but it's how everyone seems to generalize foot pain. My pain is always in two specific areas and feels really pin-pointed to what I would say is like "Tailor's Bunion" and a recurring stress fracture on the inside of my left foot. My pain is always most prevalent either in the morning or when I've been on my feet for many hours. Since I've been running, I don't walk around the house without shoes and recommend everyone to wear something with cushion when they can if they run.

I feel like foot pain and back pain have a lot in common. Everyone seems to have both...it's just a matter of how much people are willing to complain about them....with your neuromas and other growths/nerve issues, that's an exception. Hopefully you're doing better.