I'm not really sure where to post this... As i thought about it in terms of my ability to move around and excercise, this seems as good a place as any.
For the last year I have been dealing with chronic pain in my heel and frequent night time muscle cramps in my calf. I have been stiff every morning and none too steady on my feet when I get out of bed and had to have grab rails put on the stairs and in the shower. The pain wore off to a certain extent as the day went on, although I had taken various different pain killers, bought ice packs to ice it and had physio session after physio session.
My physical problems are a bit complicated as I have some old whiplash injuries after a series of car accidents starting in 2007 :shock: 4 accidents in total :shock: None my fault! I thought there was a target on my car. The first accident damaged my foot - my physio thought a lot of my other problems were related to limping as a result of this injury. I have just had an operation on my foot to try to recitfy the problems in the forefoot and this is looking quite positive now.
My excellent physio helped loosen my ankle up and kept me mobile - all the bounce had gone out of my walking and this was aggravating a lower back problem and a shoulder problem. But after 6 months of seeing him every 2-3 weeks he directed me back to my GP for more investigations. My GP was also getting a bit twitchy about the amount of ibuprofen I was swallowing - I eventually found ibuprofen gel was more effective for the pain.
Anyway... an ultrasound scan diagnosed insertional tendonitis/tendinopathy but all the NHS could offer me was surgery on the tendon or a steroid injection. I didn't fancy either of those options, given the nature of the problems I have and the success rate.
However, when I was talking to the podiatric surgeon who performed the carpentry in my forefoot about my worries about mobilising afterward the op, because of the achilies thing, he suggested I consider Extra Corporeal Shock Wave Therapy for the heel problems. This treatment is not available on the NHS and he referred me to a local private day unit where this procedure is carried out.
I was assessed and my problems were suitable for the treatment, which cost me £300 for a series of 4 sessions :shock: The publicity blurb about Shock Wave Therapy told me I might experience some "discomfort". The first 2 sessions were really painful but my limping was reduced after the very first session. After the 4th session the problems had reduced substantially, I was told healing would continue for some months and I have founbd this to be the case. The treatment finished at the begining of April, less than 2 weeks before my op.
The Shock Wave Therapy was worth every penny. I was in almost constant pain and the limping was making my back problems worse, but I can now excercise again, I'm looking forward to walking the dog in the mornings with my son, once I have recoved from the op on my forefoot, and the pain medication I take is almost none - I'm only taking pain relief for the after effects of the op.
If you have a long term problem such as tendintis/tendinopathy you ought to consider Shock Wave Therapy. At present it is available as a private treatment only and if I'd been unsuitable all it would have cost me was the £35 for the physio assessment, but the NHS is researching it at present and I hope it will be available on the NHS very soon.
If it suggested for you, give it some thought, it cost me a lot of money but I think it was worth every penny. i don't naturally use private healthcare but i think this non-invasive technique is far superior to the options available on the NHS - both are quite invasive. I felt a benefit when I got off the treatment couch after my first session and I felt more benefit as the course of treatment went on - the NHS options both require a bit of recovery time.
I have only been weight bearing after my foot operation for about 3 weeks, but I am now excercising again, I hope this will get my weight loss moving again (it has been stuck for a while). I can see a positive impact on my insulin resistance and blood glucose levels already and excercise feels good
For the last year I have been dealing with chronic pain in my heel and frequent night time muscle cramps in my calf. I have been stiff every morning and none too steady on my feet when I get out of bed and had to have grab rails put on the stairs and in the shower. The pain wore off to a certain extent as the day went on, although I had taken various different pain killers, bought ice packs to ice it and had physio session after physio session.
My physical problems are a bit complicated as I have some old whiplash injuries after a series of car accidents starting in 2007 :shock: 4 accidents in total :shock: None my fault! I thought there was a target on my car. The first accident damaged my foot - my physio thought a lot of my other problems were related to limping as a result of this injury. I have just had an operation on my foot to try to recitfy the problems in the forefoot and this is looking quite positive now.
My excellent physio helped loosen my ankle up and kept me mobile - all the bounce had gone out of my walking and this was aggravating a lower back problem and a shoulder problem. But after 6 months of seeing him every 2-3 weeks he directed me back to my GP for more investigations. My GP was also getting a bit twitchy about the amount of ibuprofen I was swallowing - I eventually found ibuprofen gel was more effective for the pain.
Anyway... an ultrasound scan diagnosed insertional tendonitis/tendinopathy but all the NHS could offer me was surgery on the tendon or a steroid injection. I didn't fancy either of those options, given the nature of the problems I have and the success rate.
However, when I was talking to the podiatric surgeon who performed the carpentry in my forefoot about my worries about mobilising afterward the op, because of the achilies thing, he suggested I consider Extra Corporeal Shock Wave Therapy for the heel problems. This treatment is not available on the NHS and he referred me to a local private day unit where this procedure is carried out.
I was assessed and my problems were suitable for the treatment, which cost me £300 for a series of 4 sessions :shock: The publicity blurb about Shock Wave Therapy told me I might experience some "discomfort". The first 2 sessions were really painful but my limping was reduced after the very first session. After the 4th session the problems had reduced substantially, I was told healing would continue for some months and I have founbd this to be the case. The treatment finished at the begining of April, less than 2 weeks before my op.
The Shock Wave Therapy was worth every penny. I was in almost constant pain and the limping was making my back problems worse, but I can now excercise again, I'm looking forward to walking the dog in the mornings with my son, once I have recoved from the op on my forefoot, and the pain medication I take is almost none - I'm only taking pain relief for the after effects of the op.
If you have a long term problem such as tendintis/tendinopathy you ought to consider Shock Wave Therapy. At present it is available as a private treatment only and if I'd been unsuitable all it would have cost me was the £35 for the physio assessment, but the NHS is researching it at present and I hope it will be available on the NHS very soon.
If it suggested for you, give it some thought, it cost me a lot of money but I think it was worth every penny. i don't naturally use private healthcare but i think this non-invasive technique is far superior to the options available on the NHS - both are quite invasive. I felt a benefit when I got off the treatment couch after my first session and I felt more benefit as the course of treatment went on - the NHS options both require a bit of recovery time.
I have only been weight bearing after my foot operation for about 3 weeks, but I am now excercising again, I hope this will get my weight loss moving again (it has been stuck for a while). I can see a positive impact on my insulin resistance and blood glucose levels already and excercise feels good
