Anyone who’s read my blog at all knows that I’ve been blathering on and on about my foot for quite a while. I had (have?) plantar fasciitis, which I received all sorts of treatments for, including shockwave therapy, and it’s better… kind of. Every day my husband asks me how my foot is doing and at this point I just look at him blankly. When I get up in the morning, it feels horrendous. But after I walk around for a few minutes, it starts to feel pretty good. I took some time off running but am now back to it, and so far it hasn’t hurt at all when I run. But then it will hurt randomly during the day, especially when I get up after sitting for a while.
The answer to the question “how is your foot?” really depends on the moment you ask me. It’s crappy! It’s amazing! It’s crap-mazing! I’m glad it doesn’t hurt when I run, but I can’t say the problem is resolved, and I’m worried it will flare up again and if I run farther or faster. I’ve tried everything I can think of- stretching, massage, strengthening, heat, mobility drills, but nothing seems to make a difference. I feel like there’s a piece of the puzzle missing.
Well, on the most recent episode of the Running Rogue podcast, the host, Chris McClung, talks to Somatic Educator Sarah Warren about her new book, The Pain Relief Secret: How to Retrain Your Nervous System, Heal Your Body, and Overcome Chronic Pain. I hadn’t even gotten past the intro of the podcast before I was on Amazon clicking “Buy Now.”.
This is a huge subject, but the way Sarah describes it on the podcast is that somatic movements re-train the nervous system. She gives the example of sitting hunched over a computer all day. In this position, your pecs and abdominal muscles are contracted. Over time, your nervous system notices that you’re frequently in that position, and in an effort to be more efficient, starts to contract those muscles all the time (this is what’s known as muscle memory.) In the somatic movement technique, you focus on contracting a certain muscle, then slowly, slowly, releasing it against the force of gravity (or against another resistance if gravity doesn’t work in that particular case.) All of your attention is focused inward, on the tension and release of that muscle. In this way you re-set the nervous system to its normal baseline of muscle relaxation, rather than the chronically tense state it’s become used to.
My book arrives Thursday, but Sarah Warren has a website which describes all aspects of Somatic Movement, and includes three videos, one of which is a routine for plantar fasciitis! (To clarify, the videos only seem to be accessible through a link on the podcast episode page.) I did the plantar fasciitis routine for the first time today, and it’s an eighteen-minute sequence designed to release the calf muscles, feet, and interestingly, the low back. Obviously I’ll be doing a full review of the routine and the book as soon as possible. In the meantime I would encourage anyone who’s interested to check out the podcast or her website. Fascinating stuff!!!
On a food note, more waffles happened!
They were very, very loosely based on this recipe. As usual, I made so many changes I can’t call this a review of the original recipe, but I’m sure it’s delicious (my version was!) One thing I can vouch for is the spice level, which I kept the same and it was perfect. I hate recipes that promise a certain flavor and then it’s too mild- not this time! As a matter of fact while I was making them I thought “isn’t this going to be a little too much cardamom?” but no- it was delicious.
One more thing- look at my mug in that picture- it’s one of my favorites and it has a huge chip right where my mouth goes. Sob! And I got it at Pier 1 which is now closed. Well… time for some mug shopping.
Anyone heard of Somatic Movement Therapy? And… who else is heartbroken that Pier 1 went out of business? I know they have an online store now, but the quality doesn’t seem the same.
14 Responses
This fascinating, Jenny! I have never heard of the somatic movement therapy.
One of my online fitness instructors always reminds her audience to “think about the muscle” that we are training. She says that having a mind-muscle connection makes the movement more effective.
Looking forward to hearing about how it went for you!
Yes, the mind-muscle connection is fascinating. There’s a lot going on in our bodies that we’re not aware of- until something starts to hurt. I’m giving this therapy a shot and I’ll let you know!
I have not ever heard of this treatment before and I will be interested to read about what you learn. I have had PF before and it’s awful. Sounds like you have been through a lot of treatment already but have you looked at Prolotherapy? I did it for my hip last year and lots of people use it for PF. Ifeel for you friend
I’ve never heard of Prolotherapy but I’ll look it up! I’ll try anything and everything.
I suffered from PF for a long time, including while I was training for Big Sur. Like you, I tried everything, including shockwave therapy. I’ve never heard of this therapy and am interested to hear how you like it. I ended up taking time off running and did deep water pool running and rode my bike in the trainer. It finally went away in time for my marathon. Now I do a lot of preventative work–particularly one yoga pose called ‘broken toe pose’, which stretches out the bottom of the feet. PF is the devil. I hope you find a solution.
I don’t know that pose but I’ll definitely learn it! At this point I think I need to get rid of the underlying issue (whatever that is) and then I’ll be doing lots of preventative work! I had PF in my other foot years ago and it was not that bad- I let this one go on too long before I stopped running.
What? Pier 1????? Apparently my small town (which never had its own Pier 1) has kept me under a rug. I loved almost everything about that store. Anyways, when I was battling PF (the last episode was almost five years ago), I was told to really keep the “back line” of my legs stretched (which included the Achilles, calves and hamstrings/glutes) because everything was connected in that chain. It’s such an annoying condition, and is probably a little different for every one who gets to experience it. Hope things feel better (and stay better)!
Yes, this treatment goes all the way up to the low back, which I never thought about affecting PF, but I guess it makes sense.
Sorry to be the one to break the news! All Pier 1 stores have closed, and the online store looks like it was bought by someone else and the reviews are not positive. I know- when I look around my house, all my favorite things came from Pier 1. What are we going to do???
I have never had PF before but this treatment sounds very interesting! I’ve heard from my runner friends in the past how annoying PF can be because it takes a while to heal 🙁 I hope that this treatment is it effective for you.
I’ll let you know what effect this has- supposedly you could use it for all sorts of chronic pain.
I have, indeed, heard of somatic movement. I’m all about that sort of thing!
I’ve never had PF, but I do have a suggestion that might help. I know it’s help me with other foot issues. So you probably have some kind of ball already. Don’t roll! Stand on it just in front of your heel pad, kind of where the arch just begins. Just let it slowly press into the ball stay there at least 30 seconds. Then just move it over to the outside of your foot, same thing.
Next move it between your big toe & second toe, just below the big toe mound. Same thing. Mover over to between second & third toes, then over towards the pinkie (all at the same level).
I know many people who’ve struggled with PF & I know it can be so hard to get rid of. I’ve had different sorts of pains like that — it’s so frustrating! Let me know if you try this & if it helps. I could demo it too if you want!
THANK YOU! I really appreciate this, and will try it tonight. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Again, many thanks for your feedback and encouragement! Looking forward to reading your blog! Evvie Ellwood Kruse