About a month back, my left foot swelled up and was relatively painful to walk on! I consulted my GP who referred me to an Othopeadic Surgeon in the hospital at Ballito.
This guy arranged Xrays - cost my medical aid a fortune - and assessed the problem. Turns out that your heel controls how your foot is planted when you walk. The heel is a series of stacked bones, with muscles along either side, to control how straight your foot is - as needed.
Thw muscles along the outside of my heel, are more agressive than those on the inside, and this has pushed my heel out of alignment. I have been referred to an orthotics specialist and he will be constructing orthotic inserts to my shoes so that the balance of the muscle is corrected.
I was in town the other day, on my feet for a really short time and I could feel my foot was not sitting correctly and when I got home, my foot was screaming blue murder and trying to kill me!
I have a follow up appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon at the end of the month. He will assess me for a possible operation where the bones of my heel are “fused” – my opinion is that fusing means either putting in staples, or more long term, putting in steel pins. In either case, the heel will not be able to bend sideways, but the ankle should still be able to bend. I can bend my toes upwards, but not to have my heel flexing (much) sideways.
The insert will only be a temporary “fix” – until my heel is “fused”.
The one thing that I will have to get used to is going through security detectors; I WILL set off the alarms. Someone advised me that if I go through these barriers, I need to put my left foot first, so that the security guards can see that my foot is what set off the alarms, and not imaginary hidden firearms!
I have a follow up appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon at the end of the month. He will assess me for a possible operation where the bones of my heel are “fused” – my opinion is that fusing means either putting in staples, or more long term, putting in steel pins. In either case, the heel will not be able to bend sideways, but the ankle should still be able to bend. I can bend my toes upwards, but not to have my heel flexing (much) sideways.
The insert will only be a temporary “fix” – until my heel is “fused”.
The one thing that I will have to get used to is going through security detectors; I WILL set off the alarms. Someone advised me that if I go through these barriers, I need to put my left foot first, so that the security guards can see that my foot is what set off the alarms, and not imaginary hidden firearms!
No comments:
Post a Comment