Foot Results

I went to a physical therapist today to get my foot evaluated... I went to the same office where I had done PT for my knee, so that was good. I feel very comfortable there. I did not have the same PT guy, however... but the guy I do have is very knowledgeable about feet... and he gave me a pretty thorough evaluation. Bottom line... my flat feet are causing a lot of problems... my flat footedness is pretty extreme. So... the knee pain that I had begin feeling.. oops did I mention that before? the inside of my knee had started bothering me, and I knew it was because of my foot bothering me. So... this issue that has caused pain in my left foot is present in both feet and I need to deal with it. As part of my evaluation I learned that some of my calf muscles are so strong that it is a bit detrimental because it isn't allowing my foot to flex as much as it needs to to compensate for the flat footedness... so ... I need to have some deep tissue massages on both of my legs to try to get those muscles to release a little... I will learn some new exercises to help the muscles/ligaments. And the good news? He is not restricting my activity... he said that it appears that I know my body well (Thank you for realizing and appreciating that, new PT guy... completely validating!) and said that if it hurts or starts to feel that I am heading towards pain, to stop or change what I am doing. yahooooo! He also said that chances are he will want me to get new orthodics, but he doesn't want to do that yet... (I have had orthodics in the past, one set that were great and another that sucked... so if I could get a good pair, I would be happy about that!)

I had a lot of fear and anxiety about the appointment today. Fear #1... the idea that pvns may have contaminated another part of my body... Fear #2... that I would be told to really reduce my activity level... and mentally that would really bother me right now... it would feel like I was once again losing control of my physical being/ability... and Fear #3 was that I was going to be told that there was nothing wrong and that I didn't need to be there...and that they would think I was a crazy lady.

So... those fears... make me realize how differently I see things... B.PVNS, (before pvns) I would have gone into this appointment confident that there was something wrong and that it would be easy to fix... but since pvns... my mind... really makes me be hard on myself, question myself... I knew the mental effects of pvns would hold on longer than the physical ones... and this is just one example. I haven't slept well for a few nights... because of having anxiety about it. That didn't happen to me B.pvns... this is just another step towards recovery.

I did not go swimming tonight. I just needed to take this information in... process it... and let it be ok. That may sound dramatic to some people, but... I need to take care of myself mentally and physically and that's what I needed to do today.

I need to say a special hello to a woman in upstate NY, K... who, on Friday, will be seeing the same doctor I see for pvns. I feel good knowing she is in good hands! Also, I want to say hello to Dawn, a new blog buddy in Scotland! And... to another new blog buddy in VA. It really means a lot to me to hear from people who have found and follow this blog. I realize that the bulk of my blog is no longer about PVNS, but... pvns is never far from my thoughts and it still greatly affects me. So, Thank you to you all who follow the blog, and to those who have taken time to reach out to me. hearing your stories makes me feel great and knowing that I am not alone in what I have gone through is nice. (Not that I am glad that other people have gone through this torture, but it helps knowing other people truly understand.) Hang in there all my PVNSers!