Now I know why Frankenstein's monster
usually looks so miserable. It's not existential
angst or loneliness, not even body image problems.
Nope, none of that. What's wrong with Frankenstein's
monster is foot pain. Specifically, plantar fasciitis.
Mayo Clinic definition: "pain and
inflammation of a thick band of tissue, called
the plantar fascia, that runs across the bottom
of your foot and connects your heel bone to your
toes."
I can tell by the look in his eyes. This guy
is in physical agony.
No doubt all his joints ache. But
the soles of his feet, they're in excruciating
pain. He feels like gravity is pummelling his
soles into the hard ground beneath his feet. If
he sits down, for a few minutes of relief, his
feet howl at him when he rises again. But staying
on his feet for more than a handful of a minutes
at a time is a problem too. The pain is more or
less constant.
When he's sleeping the stabbing
pain wakes him at least once a night, and makes
it difficult for him to fall asleep in the first
place. Granted, he probably wouldn't sleep like
a log anyway, because of the other issues I mentioned,
like the existential angst and feelings of alienation.
But it's the feet——the plantar fasciitis——which
is Frankenstein's monster's numero uno problem.
How do I know this? I recognize
that haunted PF look in his eyes because, man,
I'm feeling that Frankenstein's monster foot pain
big-time. For the first while——and by that
I mean, like, the first year——the foot pain
didn't interfere with my life very much. My heel
hurt a little when I got on my feet after a period
of sitting or sleeping and then the pain swiftly
disappeared. My doctor suggested I wear supportive
shoes at all times, even indoors (staring at this
full length photo of the monster, I seriously
think he needs to get his hands on some New Balance
running shoes!) and I did.
But that didn't help. Instead the
pain got worse. Then my knees started to hurt
too. Not a lot and not often. But enough for me
to return to the doctor, who diagnosed patellofemoral
syndrome (runner's knee) on top of my plantar
fasciitis. She prescribed physiotherapy, and off
I went, happy to hear from my physiotherapist
that I should begin to feel better in 2 - 3 weeks
and be back to my old self in 8 - 10. Unfortunately,
that didn't happen and instead my condition got
exponentially worse. After 5 weeks I was advised
to drop the physio, and now, about a month afterwards,
I'm at a place where the last two weeks have been
the worst yet.
The arches of my feet are in severe
pain. They're most comfortable when I'm lying
down, but even then they feel stiff and achy,
like someone else's feet have been roughly attached
to my body. Sometimes darting pains wake me up at night. During the day, I can't be on my feet for more than a handful of minutes at a time before the pain becomes unbearable. Sometimes the pain is so bad I'm driven
to tears and chills. My knees can't handle stairs
and feel like they're being sliced into if I squat
or bend at the knee at all, or even sometimes
if I don't. My calves are so tight that they feel
as though they're about to snap and my IT band
is a mess too. My normal gait doesn't exist anymore.
I limp and wince.
Just yesterday I began seeing a
sports doctor who says my severe case of plantar
fasciitis gave rise to patellofemoral syndrome
in both my knees and has affected my whole kinetic
chain, hence the pain in my legs, thighs, calves
and, well, just about everywhere from the waist
down. I was also diagnosed with this mouthful of a condition:
Flexor Hallucis Longus tendinopathy. Lovely, huh? Now I'm going to be trying a number of things
she's suggested——some of which will have to
wait until I get back from my upcoming trip to
Ireland (during which I will be spending more
time sitting down than anything!) because orthotics
and night splints need to be broken in gradually.
But these ongoing health issues
have been crowding my life since December/January
and are some of the reasons that I haven't been
online often. I'm almost as tired and beleaguered
as Frankenstein's monster looks in the top photo!
So once I kick this thing I'm determined to search
out the poor monster, share my weapons of choice
against planter fasciitis and finally, finally
bring him some much needed peace.
