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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Plantar Fasciitis!

All human beings should be able to perform
basic maintenance on themselves



Above: Kelly Starrett, of mobilitywod.com


I have had plantar fasciitis.  Most people who walk and/or run a LOT eventually develop this problem!   And it is a real problem- quite debilitating, really.  Each and every step is... a pain. Not a good way to go through life!

What to do?

The first thing to understand is that the pain is caused by inflammation; this is the same inflammation causing most of the other ills in our bodies- all of the "itis" diseases-  all are inflammation of our tissues to some extent or other.

The main cause of inflammation, of course, is our diet, which is off the charts high in grains, sugars, and industrial seed oils. 


So, the first order of business is to get these out of our diets!


The next step is to add omega 3 oils INTO our diets.  Wild caught Salmon, sardines, and a good quality cod liver oil, such as Carlson's, should become staples of your diet!

I know, I KNOW-  you're in pain, and we all want immediate fixes in the modern day world.
After all, that's what drugs have always promised us!


Let's get past the "quick fix" mentality- it's too good to be true, and it's not true.  We want to correct the cause, not the symptom.


The primary cause of foot (and knee, and hip, and BACK pain is):

SHOES!

Really!  We think:

 "Oh, my foot hurts, I must need more padding/arch support/insoles/cushions etc. in shoes and around my feet!"

The thing is, our feet are meant to function barefoot; balancing our weight throughout the complex foot structure, making minute adjustments to our gait as we amble along- shifting from big toe to little, and all in between... like a cat.  Encasing our feet in shoes, while necessary in our modern world, is still like putting them in casts.  

What happens to your arm in a cast?  And Quickly, too??

Your arm withers, loses strength, and gets... really small!  

Now think of your poor feet.  They have been encased in little "casts" for most of your life!  They are almost as weak as the feet of the Chinese brides whose feet were "bound" so they could be artificially made tiny!  

Just by wearing shoes most of the time, your feet are weak, and frail, and ready to fail!  (Hey- note to self: great song lyric!)

So, that's how it happens- your weak, pampered little feet, encased in the little casts you constantly wear on your feet, finally get so weak and inflamed that they start to really hurt!!

WHAT TO DO?

Firstly, go barefoot as much as possible!  (Stockinged feet counts as barefoot!)

Start to walk around your yard barefoot!  Just like Tom Sawyer!!  Really- it's how our feet were meant to function!!  Eventually, graduate to barefoot sprinting, detailed elsewhere in this blog, (and elsewhere on other sources).

In shoes, less is more.  Less cushioning/padding is really more natural, and better for your feet than more padding is!  Go Natural!!  God made us a certain way for good reason!!
And Forget the High Heels!!  Geez...

Now, I know you wonder:

"But PaleoJay- WHAT DO I DO IN THE HERE AND NOW??"

Check out this video, pilgrim: plantar fasciitis exercise video

Some very effective, no-nonsense fixes here!  This guy really knows what he's talking about- not a fancy video (to say the least!), but if you really want to address your problem, not just be coddled (like those silly little immobilizing "boots" that physicians and others try to sell), Kelly Starrett here tells you how to really fix the underlying problem!

And all you need is a La Crosse ball or two...

OK- follow the above, and not only will you solve your plantar fasciitis foot pain:

But, following the dietary anti-inflammatory advice, 

You will cure most of the modern day diseases of civilization!  

Really!!

No (Wheat, Rye, Corn, Soy) GRAINS!  No (Corn Syrup, Cane Sugar, Agave) SUGARS! 
 No SOY, CORN, or other Industrial, (Rancid) Seed Oils!!

=

NO MODERN DISEASES!!

It really is that simple.  

J
And, for a reward for reading through all of that information, I offer you this photo of my daughter Holly (in the RED), riding her bike with her cherished, paleo cat, ZEKE, in her basket.  
Obviously, Holly does NOT need a headlamp!!

Does an all-meat and fat, paleo CAT diet lead to lambent eyes?
Possibly the subject of a future post...

1 comment:

Unknown said...

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