More than just sore feet…..
Sore feet…… the longer you have them the more impactful they can become.
Life these days is all about movement for most of us. We move for work; we move to exercise; we move to keep up with our kids; we move to be influencers; we move with our friends and coffee in hands; we move sometimes just to get away…..
An interesting case came to my rooms not too long ago. A professional woman with a busy and successful career. Her career is so stressful that she took up running a few years ago as a form of therapy and escape. Running for only 5-7kms gave her time to think, process and rationalize away from the distractions of home or work. Sounds absolutely cathartic…..
Problem - she developed plantar fasciitis. A common problem among women in their 50’s that exercise. It is a form of tendon type overuse that creates pain in the soles of the feet either during activity, immediately as you get up in the morning or BOTH.
With time the problem had gotten to the point she could no longer run without pain and had to stop. That’s when she came to me.
Following a strict program she is now getting back to running after 8 weeks.
As we were reflecting last week on her successful return to running, it became apparent just how important this movement to her LIFE! After not being able to run for a couple of weeks she developed insomnia - unable to sleep EVERY night thinking, processing and rationalizing things happening in her professional life.
Another I can recall was a young man who loved playing golf. The problem - his feet became so sore that rarely could he complete more than 13 holes of golf! He had flat feet and painful bunions that made it difficult to walk the entirety of the course, and so eventually he needed to get a golf buggy while most of his mates walked to course….. took some of the fun out of what is mean to be a game of leisure! The origin - SORE FEET
After another few weeks her work began to suffer, she started to put on weight and in a moment of honesty openly admitted she was harder to be around! The origin to this - SORE FEET.
Take another example. Another person from recent memory although this one had a lot more riding on it (you’ll get that pun as you read on).
A young man who is looking to compete in the Tokyo Olympic games in cycling (you get aforementioned pun now).
His problem - sore feet and legs with both cycling and training. The soreness becomes noticeable enough that it starts to affect his focus during his rides. In a sporting environment where focus, intensity and commitment are absolutely crucial you can ill afford moments that take away from any of these - could be the difference between placing for a medal at the Olympic games or not placing at all!!
This is a real world problem where this young man has built an entire life around this sport and the Olympic games is the pinnacle. The last thing I’m sure he wants to remember in the future is how soreness limited his full potential and possibly career defining moment. The potential origin to this - SORE FEET.
SO the point I’m making is DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPACT OF SORE FEET.
They are the moving parts of our body we use all the time. Be kind to your feet, look after them and most importantly do not ignore soreness because the impact it can have may end up being greater than you imagined.