On the x-ray, my Achilles showed to be thicker than average, which may be putting excess stress/pressure on the bursa sac. Also, there is some calcification starting there as well, probably due to being OLD and also a history of athletic endeavor. Swell. She also recommended I continue with PT and also get a gait analysis.
So, off to gait analysis at Drayer Physical Therapy I went. I met with Kris, the PT there who took videos of me walking. The command is to "walk naturally" which is funny because how else would you walk, except that now someone is videotaping you walk, which makes you walk unnaturally because walking naturally is what you do when no one is looking. It's all so complicated.
It turns out that I am VERY flatfooted, which is causing a roll inward of my foot to push off properly, and this is putting pretty intense pressure on my Achilles. The Rx is to get orthotics, inserts that will close the gap between my foot and the ground to create a more natural and efficient footstrike. I am just glad he didn't recommend those big, ugly Herman Munster shoes.
2 comments:
As we walk our feet go through some very complex changes we walk. They are fantastic feats of engineering! They need to be stable enough to take all of our bodyweight, then be flexible enough to adapt to the ground, and then become rigid enough to push us forward again, all of this in less than a second. Great post! I'm glad that your gait analysis was beneficial and your feet are finally on their way to feeling much better.
You should get a second opinion from the Ministry of Silly Walks.. I believe John Cleese is the senior walk analyst there and could have some good recommendations for you.
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