Sore Feet

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Our feet work hard and usually in hot, cramped and poorly ventillated conditions so is it any wonder that they get sore from time to time!.

Ingrown toenails, bungeons and neuromas can contribute to plantar fasceitis through changing the way we walk, ignoring one problem can be the beginning of other problems.

Plantar Fasceitis (PF) is a condition that commonly afflicts people who are on their feet a lot and is often accompanied by heel spurs.’ Plantar’ means the sole of your foot, ‘fasceitis’ refers to inflammation of the tough fibrous tissue beneath the skin of our soles.

I have treated many people over the years with PF , on each and every one of them their calf muscles were tight and sore and so too was the achilles tendon (tough cordlike structure joining your heel bone to your calf muscle).

When our muscles tighten or contract they shorten slightly, when this tightening becomes chronic it can start to inflame the fascia in the heel and sometimes tighten the muscles in the arch. It can change the way we walk and cause other lower leg problems.

If you are on your feet a lot in your job (nursing, restaurant waiting, shop assistance) or maybe do it for fun when you go on long runs and walks PF may sooner or later effect you.

Have a feel of your calves and achilles tendons now, sink your thumbs in, are they sore? do you stretch them enough? is the way they feel stopping you from doing things you enjoy ?.

Maybe you are not on your feet that much but still get PF, I have met a few drivers who get sore calves and heels from driving, so too with bicycle riders because they use their calves so much, PF is treated the same way if this applies to you. Overweight can cause PF too.

It is not uncommon for PF sufferers to have had shin splints at some stage (or concurrently if you are unlucky), PF can be a major nuisance but it is usually fixable and you can help yourself  with this.  If you use the methods described in the Self Massage book you can work the calves for longer without the sore thumbs. Stretching your calf and sole muscles afterwards helps too.

In Self Massage & +40 fitness you will find numerous massage techniques and exercises that your feet might respond well to.

Autumn

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Autumn in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) relates to dryness in the body. Many find their asthma and constipation worse during the autumn months, psoriasis sufferers often find their skin worse at this time of year too. Many plants pollinate in the autumn months, combined with the dry air this can really stir up hay fever.

In TCM the lungs, colon and skin are all grouped together as organs of excretion and are all impugned by dryness. Dryness of the airways fails to trap inhaled particles when we breathe and go straight down to the lungs. Dryness in your stool can cause constipation and can get very distressing. Dryness of your skin undermines it’s integrity and flexibility and doesn’t look very good either.

The heat of summer makes everyone thirsty but from a TCM perspective autumn can dry us out just as much. When the air is too damp in our living spaces mould and mildew can set allergies off too but in the circulating air we breathe some air moisture is desirable.

Air conditioning can dry air out as can smoke, dust and fan heaters. Many asthmatics struggle with arid air but even if you are not asthmatic breathing moisturized air by the sea or near waterfalls is a much more pleasant experience. Dry air tends to be ionized and moist air deionized, static electricity happens in ionized air.

Summer can be a very indulgent time of year because of all the socialising that happens then, exercise can make you over heat then. Winter time can be a very lonely time in a gymnasium, early nightfall and cold weather make only the keenest members  turn up regularly then. Autumn causes the trees to lose unwanted leaves and we can use it to shed unwanted body mass.

The flavour associated with autumn in TCM is pungent, garlic is a great example of an autumn flavoured herb that is good for your airways. In TCM it is believed that your condition for the next season is determined by how you treat yourself in the current season.

Drink water, lose what you don’t need and do plenty of breathing exercises this autumn.

 

 

 

Fitness and Massage

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Therapuetic massage has made some huge inroads into elite sport in recent years, this has come about because massage can help heal and prevent injuries as well as work as an early warning system for weakness or stiffness in your musculo-skeletal system that may otherwise go unnoticed.

There are numerous forms of therapuetic massage, Remedial, Shiatsu, Tui Na (Chinese), Bio-Energetics and Rolfing, to name a few, infact all cultures have their own forms of touch therapies. Massage therapy helps promote normal blood circulation aswell as give you a sense of emotional well being through stimulating the release of “feel good” hormones such as serotinen.

Even if you are not an elite athlete it is still advisable to get regular massage whether you are already fit and want to stay that way or you are about to embark on a fitness and/or weight loss program.

Over the years I have worked as a massage and acupuncture therapist I have treated many people who have injured themselves because they have attempted to perform physical feats that were once easy for them. Whenever you return to exercise or sport you must remember that you have to start at the beginning again if you don’t want to hurt yourself.

Whether you are using Self Massage or are being massaged by someone else it is important to remember that while you are recovering from an injury that it is not just the injured muscle or joint that needs to be treated. Other muscles are recruited to compensate for your injury. For instance a groin injury makes the calves work harder when you walk, likewise a calf muscle injury makes your hip flexors work harder.

No muscle works in isolation to everything else, the simplest motion requires a seamless chain reaction of muscles working cooperatively. Think about all the muscles in use when you walk- feet, calves, thighs, butt, abs, back and shoulders are all working in tandem.

I am continually surprised by how often a client tells me that they feel all the pain in one part of their body but when I start pressing around the main stiffness is often elsewhere, when I massage that other location the problem is often quickly resolved. Use Self Massage the same way, go exploring with it, don’t be surprised if your back feels better if you massage that surprisingly stiff calf. Where ever you have muscle it needs to be massaged atleast periodically..

As we age physical recovery times lengthen, so rigorous activity such as contact sport high impact exercise becomes  less viable for us. At the other end of the exercise spectrum are disciplines such as Yoga, swimming and Tai Chi- these types of exercise (when properly executed) can keep us fit into our 90’s and beyond.

There 4 basic types of exercise- Cardiovascular, Stretching,  Strengthening and Neuro Motor.

* Cardio helps give your heart the ability to respond to physical and emotional stress, to keep elasticity in your blood vessels and keep our lungs clear and expandable.

*Stretching helps keep your body lithe, your joints more resistant to arthritis and muscles are less likely to tear.

*Strengthening exercise is perhaps the most misunderstood of the 4 forms, it is less about getting huge muscles and more about symmetrical muscular development as evidenced by good deportment.

*Neuro motor exercise keeps us moving safely and freely with good posture and balance, it incorporates elements of stretching, cardio and strength.

 

 

Weight Loss

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About once a year I get a surge of enquiries about weight loss, after a TV program this week about acupuncture and weight loss it’s happening again.

Acupuncture can help you lose unwanted body fat BUT you must still diet sensibly, drink enough water and exercise regularly, acupuncture is no magic substitute for self discipline.

Acupuncture helps people improve their body mass index in a variety of ways, firstly if you want to exercise but are too tired to, acupuncture can help you sleep better (see insomnia blog). If you sleep enough but still have low energy, there are acupuncture points that can help raise your physical energy, this type of acupuncture is used by athletes and on race horses for better performance and can work surprisingly well. 

If you sleep well and your physical energy is up to scratch but find it hard to limit your food intake you may need to remove temptation from your path, just like drinkers drink more when they hang around with other drinkers you may need to spend less time in the company of people who eat too much, eating like drinking is a social activity and there may be peer group pressures that need to be recognised, I have had numerous clients over the years who have lamented losing their thinning-resolve when in the company of certain friends and acquaintances.

Your excessive food intake may be related to comfort eating, if so it may be stress related, some people lose their appetite completely when they are stressed- out, others eat more, kind of like alot of smokers smoke more when they are stressed-out. Acupuncture can help you if this applies to you, whether your stress is related to worry, fear, anxiety or anger there are acupuncture points that if properly matched to your particular needs can help you achieve your goals.

I do stress the point about the acupuncture points matching your needs because there are numerous acupuncture points that are associated with weight loss, your attempts at utilizing this form of therapy will usually be more successful if administered by a traditionally trained acupuncturist rather than by some one who doesn’t really specialize in it.

Some people have slow metabolisms, I have known people who think it’s normal to defecate only once a week (or even longer), if you never eat breakfast it won’t help you either. Laxatives are a poor second best to good dieting but are better than being constipated.

If you are chronically constipated perhaps you need more water, fruit and vegetables, a recently released Australian study showed that 70% of Australian adults do not eat enough vegetables. Exercise can help keep you regular too, when you are moving about our internal organs gently rub up against and massage one another. Like wise having massage applied to your abdomen and lower back can help you go to the toilet more regularly, you can learn to do this for yourself from the Self Massage book.

Weight loss is a big subject, not all methods work equally for all people but if any of the above helps you that’s great.

Posture

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Good posture is important for a variety of reasons, firstly it’s healthy, when you stand and sit straight it’s easier to fully inflate your lungs (go on, try it now, try taking a deep breath without straightening your back). Your stomach has more room too to do what it must when your back is straight , indigestion is more likely to happen when we slouch forward.

Over many years bad postural habits can damage your joints and even deform the shape of your vertebrae (spinal bones), when this happens standing straight becomes difficult (if not impossible) and even painful.

Good posture has another important advantage too, it just looks better, people appear more confident, dignified, trustworthy and attractive when they stand, sit and walk straight. How many times have you seen a person with a nice face and well proportioned body spoil the whole effect by slumping their shoulders and sagging to one side. Stand infront of the mirror yourself and ask yourself what looks better, good or bad posture.

Bad posture looks lazy, it makes you look tired and older than you really are.

The good news is that you can do something about it, exercise regimes such as Yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais can all help you on your way to better health and posture. Even better still get your body prepared for corrective exercise with acupuncture and massage, it really does make exercise easier to do so you can get results faster.

If you are tall don’t try and hide it, you will only wreck your back if you do. If you have large breasts holding your shoulders forward to disguise that will damage your spine too, teenage girls are particularly susceptible to this. For women with particularly large breasts the actual weight of breast tissue can pull your upper forward, breast reduction surgery can help with this. Try and look confident even if you are not that will help your posture too.

Your posture and body language will usually be the first impression you make on others, before a person is close enough to get a propper look at your face and eyes they are already unconsciously beginning to form an opinion based on what they can see.

Nobody gets a second chance to make a first impression so make it a good one.