Pushing through the pain
- Kimberly Winters
- Jul 15
- 3 min read
Since my late 20's I have suffered on and off with plantar fasciitis. When I was first told this by a podiatrist, I had been wearing a lot of very cheap sandals. The doctor told me to knock that off and also to stop wearing any shoe with a toe thong. So, I did (mostly, at first, and eventually gave them up altogether.)
Eventually, the pain went away but it has come back with a vengeance more times than I can remember. The last time it happened wason that vacation to Massachusetts I mentioned here. It got worse because I kept walking on vacation and when I got home I was in so much pain that I stopped walking even though I knew I was going to wind up right where I had been when vacation first started.
About 5 days into my current walking adventure, it reared its ugly head again. I would be fine while actually on my morning walk but the rest of the day I was suffering. I would be hobbling around, my left foot so tight and painful I struggled to walk. I had to hold on to the wall, a railing, the table...etc. The more I tried to walk the more I compensated for it which meant I was starting to feel pain in my legs and my back. If I sit for a long time it feels impossible to walk when I first get back up.
I noticed that when I would take a day off from walking I was fine all day, I could walk without issue, my foot wasn't tight at all. At first, I pushed through the pain anyway. These walks are so good for me in all ways, I felt present, starting my day with a clear head made my focus better, I felt happier. I thought "how can I get healthy if I can't move my body? Everything involves my feet!" I tried yoga and made it 10 minutes before I was crying on the mat, the inflammation in my knees caused so much pain just doing a simple cat/cow.
I just want to improve my health and it feels like my body is working against me. I am frustrated and sad.
But, I am not giving up. I'm going to figure out how to move my body while everything hurts and am going to make big changes in what I am eating to reduce (hopefully get rid of) the inflammation.
I'm tired of being a person who just allows defeat when it comes to caring for myself.
I'd love to hear about something you'd struggled with for so long but you broke through and made it happen. How did you do it?
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My doctor has told me not to over extend myself when I'm hurting. I'm like you, I feel I have to push through, pain or no pain but that actually can cause more problems. My main problem is my shoulder that is due to a herniated disc in my neck. I push hard through the pain but that sets me back and then I get frustrated because I can hardly move for a few days. I'm trying to learn to slow down but still keep going.
That does sound frustrating! But not giving up is good!
For me, building up upper body strength has been a huge challenge. I walk a lot so my lower body strength is for sure there. But upper body? Not so much. On an impulse, I accepted a fitness challenge in late 2020/ early 2021 (what else was I going to do anyway during a lockdown?). I didn't have any weights so I used soup cans instead. Later on, I joined a gym, and now, I go there three days a week for circuit training class. I'm using weights up to ten pounds.
Progress is slow, but it happens!
I totally get it. When I was young, I was very active which led to a lot of sprained ankles, I am now paying for that with pain in my feet and ankles if I am on my feet for too long. I have found essential oils and castor oil applied topically helps a lot and allows me to be more active than when I don't use them.
How frustrating. It seems that the older we get the more our bodies work against us.
Right now my struggle is finding the mental bandwidth to try and learn new technology. I'm starting to make miniatures and want to learn how to use a 3d printer. I don't think I pick up things as fast as I used to so it's taking me a lot longer to learn. It's frustrating me.