My Feet

Throughout my life I have been to doctors and physical therapists for my feet multiple times. From dancing for 20 years my feet are BEAT UP! My biggest issue has always been my arches. It started as a pulling sensation when I was dancing and has now progressed into cramping. When I first went to the podiatrist they said that the issue was plantar faciitis. I got a bunch on exercises to do on my own to stretch and strengthen my feet.

Now if you have ever seen the kind of dance I do, strengthening my feet doesn't seem like the right course of action. I went home and looked up Plantar Faciitis to see what the symptoms were and if I had them. Big fat negative on that one.

A few years later ..... I went to a new podiatrist. Told them what was up and what they had diagnosed me with before. They said that my achilles tendon was too tight and sent me home with some different stretches. This made more sense to me, however the stretches didn't help.

Last year..... I went to a sports doctor for knee pain and my feet. He sent me to physical therapy for my knee and had them work with my feet too. Chris, my physical therapist, was baffled by my feet. He watched me walk (no real problems, slightly pronating), watched me dance, watched me just point my feet, looked at my dance shoes, everything. He got together with a friend of his that works with the local professional ballet company to talk about my feet. After all that we tried stretches, ultrasound, massage, manipulation, taping techniques, stuff in my shoes, soooo many different things. Taping my feet worked .....sorta. The rest felt good but didn't do anything for the cramping or hurt and didn't help. He eventually kind of gave up on it. I went back to the sports doctor and he started doing ART (Active Release Therapy). This is basically deep sports massage and some of the most painful therapy I have ever received. 6 to 8 sessions later I wasn't noticing a difference so I stopped going for that.

Last week..... My mom was headed to a oriental medicine center that offers acupuncture along with it's other treatment options. Acupuncture is covered under my insurance, so I figured I would give it a try. I have been for two treatments with my third one today. I haven't noticed a difference yet, but I don't know how many treatments they suggest. I"m going to ask her tonight. I thought you guys would like to see what my feet look like during these treatments. :) So here is a picture for you. There are a few needles that you can't see, but most of them are visible in this picture. I also have to add that this has been one of the least painful treatments for my feet so far.