The Story of my feet – part 2
I was about to write this article the other day when I remembered that I wrote one a few years ago about the saga of my feet. So, I dug it up and had a read.
Here is, what is now The Story of my Feet Part 1 . Not that my feet are particularly exciting, but having a quick look at that one will give some perspective to this.
When I look back at that article that I wrote almost exactly 3 years ago, I am reminded that 2016 was a pretty tough year for my body. I also realised that I was feeling pretty flat, a bit depressed perhaps and I felt like there wasn’t a whole lot of hope for how my body felt.
I spent about 8 months investigating why my feet hurt all the time. I had lots of scans, saw a podiatrist, an orthopaedic surgeon, had orthotics made and spent a fair bit on shoes. I was so upset when the surgeon wouldn’t operate and I was disheartened when I found out it was arthritis causing me pain. I was only 42.
Once I got my head around it though, I realised it was another inflammatory problem in my body. My Hashimoto’s is an auto-immune disease and at the heart of that is inflammation. I was already orienting my life around reducing inflammation, I just had to refine what I was doing more.
One of the best things I’ve done is invest in SUPER SHOES. Ok, I call them SUPER, that’s not their official name. I’ve now had 3 pairs, the ones in this photo are the latest, and I think the best looking!
What are super shoes?
On the recommendation of my friend Jules (who also has feet issues) I saw an orthotist called Brad. Brad’s recommendation was to wear rocker bottom shoes most of the time. When you walk, your feet bend and flex and, in my case this constant bending & flexing was causing inflammation, so rocker bottom shoes are designed to take the bend & flex out of your feet… the shoes rock & roll 😉 These shoes are custom made (by Brad, the orthotist!)… he chops the sole off and custom makes the rocker.
What a massive difference they have made to my feet (although I must admit my fashion has taken a hit). If I wear them most of the time, my feet just don’t hurt. When I’m not wearing these I tend to wear decent shoes with a bit of a heel.
It does mean I tend to determine what to wear based on my shoes! I do wear a lot of pants and luckily I’m not in a high flying corporate job!
What else have I done?
Looking after my health (including my feet) is such a multi-faceted thing. That’s why I bang on about wellness being a lifestyle. It’s never just one thing. It’s not just my super shoes, although they have helped a lot. It’s not just diet, it’s not just essential oils. It’s the whole package. There are no shortcuts.
My diet – I avoid foods that are inflammatory to my system – gluten, grains, sugar, alcohol (wine in particular) and dairy. I do have some sugar, dairy and alcohol but not a huge amount.
Supplements – I take doTERRA’s Life Long Vitality as my base support. Many of in the ingredients help with maintaining a health inflammatory response. These also support my moods, sleep, cellular health, my brain, energy and overall wellness.
Essential oils – Back when I wrote the part 1 article in 2016 I had only just started using essential oils. I had made a ‘sore feet blend’ that I used to rub in or I added to my bath. From memory it had oils like frankincense, marjoram, basil, cypress, wintergreen. I don’t really need to use that any more, not often anyway.
I do use essential oils generally though all the time. Some of my favourites for overall body/feet support would be frankincense, copaiba, doTERRA’s Ice Blue Rub and Aromatouch (massage blend) and turmeric.
Reduced Stress in 2016 my word for the year was tranquility. I was looking for ways to deal with day to day stress better. Stress causes inflammation. One of the ways essential oils have helped me the most I think is in giving me easy tools to use when I feel stressed. I can put on the diffuser with calming oils. The tree oils are my favourite eg Siberian Fir, Cypress, Cedarwood. I can roll something down my forearms, in my palms and breath in deeply. Neroli, Peace and Easy Air are my favourites for that. I also do puzzles as a form of mindfulness and relaxation.
Gentle Exercise After I was out of acute pain in my back, I knew I had to work on my core strength, so since then I have been doing Pilates. I found a total Pilates legend, Monique from Meta Pilates who lives around the corner from me and slowly but surely I’ve been building core strength, back strength and foot strength!
I’ve been able to walk for days at a time on holidays multiple times since 2016 and I’ve skiied for a week too.
There is Hope
Around the time of my feet and back issues I remember thinking, ‘how can I do another 40 years with this constant pain’? I really couldn’t imagine it. It was very disheartening to think that would be my life.
With chronic illness and pain, it’s not until you can look back that you can often see how far you’ve come. That’s certainly true for me. Nothing changes quickly but over time it does change.
I love to chat health, wellness, food, lifestyle and essential oils, so feel free to contact me via my website www.annabelbateman.com if you’d like to arrange an appointment.