blame it all on the feet!
i am saved.
all my running woes. my tales of tragedy and pain. struggle and heartache... gone. in the blink of an eye!!!
hoorah!!!
what am i talking about?!
well....!! i'll tell you!
a few days ago i had a post-event massage. the dude, Massage Guy, is a freakin' genious.
while massaging my ganked-up feet, Massage Guy, being the glorious knower of all things feet related, noticed an oddity.
moi? never!!!!
apparently, it turns out, i am in the early stages of bunion, and i was completely unawares!!!
i asked Massage Guy what exactly he was talking about, because i thought bunions were just big ugly callouses... and ohhhh how i was wrong.
basically... let me explain
this is what my feet look like now:
see how the big toes point outward... making a little "V" shape between them?!
yes, well... much to my dismay.... thats bad.
figures.
turns out, what they're supposed to look like, is THIS:
i think they look completely ridiculous in this photo, but, whatever..
anyway. the long and short of it is this.
the inner foot muscle... the one that runs down the side of your arch (seen here)..
apparently.. that muscle is lazy. lazy to the point of non-existence, and isn't doing its job of keeping my big toe in line. this in turn is putting strain on the muscle(s) that run up the front of my ankle, and attach to my outter shin!
hmm. ankle. shin.
lots of ankle and shin pain when i run....
ding ding ding!!! by jove i think we're onto something!
upon further investigation, we found that my left foot is decidely worse than my right... making all the pain in my right shin/ankle...especially during the marathon.. make perfect sense, as i was more than likely having to compensate for the left.
how FREAKING brilliant is this, huh!?!?!?
SOOOOooooo.. how to fix it.
oh, here comes the fun part. towel exercises!!! stretching and pulling my feet to stimulate the weak muscle, and hopefully reverse the on-coming bunion-having-ness... as well as, hopefully, getting rid of that stinkin shin/ankle pain that has me so tied up when i run!!!!
genious!
so, what are towel exercises?!?!
towel exercises are a series of exercises, where basically, you scrunch your toes. kinda like this:
putting the towel out in front of you, to the left and to the right, to work your feet muscles and make the strong and healthy!!
yay!
so... like i said.. Massage Guy is a genious, i'm officially blaming all my running woes on my feet... and i am saved.
now all i have to do is get that arch muscle in working order, and i'll be able to get back out there and conquer the world.
sweet. i love conquering things!
Comments
DATE: 5:12 AM
Well, he's got it partially right. The exercises are good. Continue to do them. The bunions also have to do with the toe joint,ill fitting shoes - not just running shoes but regular shoes - calcification of the joint, etc. If it gets bad, you get surgery - they break the bones, scrape out the calcification and reset them. After about 8 weeks of recovery, you are able to walk without pain. I know two people who had them done. They said even though their surgeries turned out well, it's best not to get into the situation. Oh, an heredity has something to do with it as well. Cheers,J the Runner Girl in Boston
Posted by: J | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 4:52 AM
my word. that's a lot of foot photos. glad your massage guy figured it out and the world is right again. i may do those exercises to prevent such a thing from happening.
Posted by: Susan | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 4:15 AM
wow! Who knew?!
Posted by: Habeela | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 11:22 PM
This post has been removed by the author.
Posted by: 21st Century Mom | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 10:20 PM
Only YOU a.maria could have us all looking at our feet. My toes point out and form a 'v' also, but only from the first knuckle, not as drastic as yours. I don't have the pain you mention either. Hmm... towel exercises huh?
Posted by: Tammy | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 8:11 PM
The visuals in this post are priceless. You've got quite the feet Pantsie. I just tried said exercise, and it gets a bit exhausting after a bit!!And kudos for conquering your running woes. :)
Posted by: Running Jayhawk | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 8:07 PM
OH, my. she was so young, too.i have an entire series of posts on bunions and bunion-related things, and no one has mentioned picking up towels with my feet!I'm adding it to my repertoire of lotions, potions, sox, shoes, and strides.yeah, running is simple. just get out there and run...my FOOT!
Posted by: jeanne | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 5:51 PM
All together now... "The toe bone's connected to the foot bone; the foot bone's connected to the leg bone..."Seriously, tho. That's a great post.FYI, the foot muscles that curl and extend the toes are called the hallucis.Stay tuned...
Posted by: TriBoomer | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 11:10 AM
Well for being a runner I have to say your feet and toes look fabulous. If I were to post pictures of my feet I may upset some people. Missing toenails, sweling - yuck! But rumor has it that after a tonenail falls off the new one that grows back is stronger. How can dead skin be stronger?
Posted by: Al Durham | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 9:49 AM
Wait, what causes this? I just checked my feet and I can see my two big toes heading in the wrong direction--eek! Thanks for the warning...towel exercises here we come.
Posted by: tmt4TNT | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 9:18 AM
Thanks for the bunion education! *Comparing my toes now*
Posted by: Running by.... | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 8:50 AM
ooohhh, that's interesting!! i think maybe i need the name of this 'Massage Guy'.
Posted by: Katie | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 8:45 AM
A longer second toe is actually a sign of royalty. (I'm with you in this freakishness.)
Posted by: KT | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 7:25 AM
i hear ya on the bunion issue. my podiatrist told me to get rid of all my super cute, but horribly-bad-for-my-feet pointy toed high heeled shoes... i cried. i really did.seriously, the things we do for running..glad you've got a handle on it though and are working to correct it because the pain is a beeeyotch.
Posted by: pinaypower | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 7:14 AM
Could always start a new blog for those with a foot fetish...I think after posting the 3rd foot pic it qualifies fetish status....just sayin'Oh, can you play the piano with those toes? They seem very 'independent'. :)
Posted by: Haight | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 7:04 AM
Forget bunions, what you need to be worried about is that second toe taking over the world! It's huge! It's not supposed to supercede the captain toe (big toe).
Posted by: Jess | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 11:49 AM
Foot fetishist everywhere rejoice!
Posted by: Daniel | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 11:15 PM
I just looked at my feet and they look awfully lazy too. GREAT. Looks like I will be lifting towels with my toes too.:-)
Posted by: lauralohr | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM
DATE: 6:36 PM
All right, other than that going in the whole wrong-ass direction thing, you're feet are actually very cute. This is a coveted assessment coming from me, just so you know...
Posted by: Wil | July 4, 2006 8:02 PM