Plantar Fasciitis, my FOOT !! ( pun intended)

 

It started in Jaipur, two years ago. I would wake up in the mornings and would find it difficult to put my feet on the floor, because they hurt so much. The heels and the ankles won’t take the rest of the body’s weight and I would limp around the house. After about five to ten minutes, the pain would subside and I would carry on as usual. Met a couple of doctors and they dismissed it, attributing the “discomfort ” to my slipped discs. So, the “discomfort”and I got used to each other.

A year ago, we came to Fatehgarh and the morning limping continued. I carried on with the evening walks and had become quite blase to the “discomfort”. Then, one evening, after attending a friend’s birthday party; I came home and the heels of my feet hurt like hell. They gave a huge shriek when I put my weight on them.Some more days passed and one fateful day, I don’t know what came over me ( as I am not really big on gyming). I did a very short, adventerous jog ( which lasted for less than a minute before I keeled over because of the sharp and intense pain) on the treadmill. The heels now howled and completely gave out. And it was time to visit the doctor. This time, there was an X-Ray done, of my long suffering feet. The diagnosis was- ” Calcaneal Spur”, which is a bony outgrowth of the bone of the heel. The physiotherapy and the medicines started; but the problem persisted. Finally, went to see a doctor in the civvy street. One sentence from me and he diagnosed the condition as “Plantar Fasciits”. Another round of medicines and physiotherapy followed. No relief came. It seemed that the plantar fasciitis was quite comfortable with me ,feeling sentimental about saying “goodbye”.

What is Plantar Fasciitis? In simple words, The plantar fascia is a thin, web-like ligament that connects your heel to the front of your foot. It supports the arch of your foot and helps you walk. When it gets injured or inflamed, the condition is referred to as Plantar Fasciitis. Now let’s leave the technical part, shall we? Coz I am so damn fed up of this beast that if it were a person, I would have ruthlessly gone for the kill by now. It’s clung to me for too long now and I want to get rid of it, fast.
I have taken the bull by it’s horns now, before it completely robs me of all joy. Apart from the ongoing physiotherapy, I have consulted an ayurvedic doctor(recommended by the physiotherapist himself). He has banned rice, curd and refrigerated ( meaning “cold”) items from my plate. That’s a tough call, for a rice lover like me. Because of the ban on rice, there’s no joy for me during mealtimes nowadays.Also, no dahi vadas, which I love. Here’s a confession. I steal a few spoonfuls of rice that have been cooked for my husband, daily. Ahhhh! The pleasure one gets from doing something that’s forbidden! This is what Eve must have felt when she ate the forbidden apple!
As suggested by my husband’s colleague ( who had the same problem some years back), I am also doing a “desi ilaaj” for my feet. We bought a huge iron Kadahi from the market, procured sand from the river bed and got hold of a square shaped piece of red brick. A makeshift “chulha” with bricks was made in the backyard. Daily in the evening, a fire is lit up in the chulha and the kadahi containing the sand covered brick is heated over it for an hour. Then I sit on a chair in front of the kadahi and treat the heels of my feet to the “hot brick treatment”. This desi treatment is what seems to have helped me the most.

There has been a complete ban on wearing any kind of heels too. I have never been a very “heels” person, wearing them with sarees mostly. Infact, none of the pairs that I own have heels above three inches, because I know that if were to wear a pair of stilletos, I would definitely end up in a very un_ladylike heap on the floor. Hats off to all the women who wear and carry these beauties with elan. So, I attend the official parties in the officers’ mess as usual; all dressed up; beautiful chiffon saree, dainty jewellery, makeup in place; AND wearing Dr. Scholl’s cushioned sandals ( which look like a pair of slippers ). So much for glamour and style! The last time I wore a pair of heels was six months back. All the heeled pairs are sitting idle, neatly lined up in the shoe cupboard. Like I said earlier, anything that’s prohibited makes you notice it more. So I look wistfully at them and wait for the time when I would be able to wear them again.

But there’s been a couple of rays of light in this darkness of planter fasciitis. I got to shop for some new pair of flat soled shoes for myself. In these past few months, seven new pairs have been added to my shoe collection. In fact I have purchased a pair online too, much to the amusement of my husband. I told him that shopping is therapeutic in nature and will help in the healing of my feet. And now, for the cherry on top. Since my daily walks couldn’t possibly continue because of my ailing feet, I took up cycling,an old hobby of mine, a few months back. Every evening, I cycle for about an hour and it has turned out to be something that I am enjoying a lot. It was an effort from my side to continue with some physical form of exercise and there has been a free perk alongside. A few days back I discovered that I have lost two kgs weight. Whooaa! They say, every dark cloud has a silver lining, and loosing weight has been the silver lining in this case.

But hey Plantar Fasciitis, although you have found my feet to be a comfortable place to settle in; the owner of these feet doesn’t want to be friends with you at all. You are a hugely unwelcome guest and it’s time for you to leave. Just pack your bags and move out. Never return again. Find a place of your own and don’t ever leave it, you filthy pest!

© Aug 2017 Sapna Dhyani Devrani