Life is great - or not ?

Joshua really enjoys life. He is generally a very happy and content baby. He thinks that life is great.  Here are some recent pictures of him ...

His mom on the other hand is not so happy at the moment. Since Spring 2006, I have suffered with metatarsalgia and have not really been able to do much serious running.

 Now everyone who knows me, knows that running is one of my great passions. So obviously I have been very frustrated but have dealt with it as most professionals have been saying that it will go away, eventually. Well it's been three years and it hasn't !!!!. So I have just been managing it by wearing the right shoes, the right orthotics and by choosing the right types of surfaces to walk and run on. So I have really just been trying to "baby" my left foot and try and make life work as best as possible around it. So recently I have been increasing my weekly running mileage and have been feeling some side effects. My left hip, back and knee have all been acting up and have not been happy. So last week I decided to make a Physiotherapy appointment as the first step in getting to the bottom of my "foot problem" and the other problems that result from it. So Tuesday morning was my first session with this great physio and she really has been the first person who is attempting to fix the problem instead of just put a Bandaid on it. She diagnosed that the metatarsalgia is in the 3rd metatarsal and it is resulting in me compensate my gait and standing position. I generally weight bear on my right leg and don't place much weight on my left leg. This has resulted in some muscle atrophy on the medial leg muscle on my left leg. Hence the lateral knee pain and also the hip/back pain. So the treatment is as follows:

• topical anti-inflammatory on the metatarsals
• laser treatment
• ultra-sound
• exercises - to strengthen and stretch
• soft tissue massage

She is of the opinion that if the metatarsalgia is not sorted out then the other problems will persist and also worsen. So far she is the first professional that has said that something can be done about the metatarsalgia rather than adopting the wait- and- see approach. So I am stoked. I do my exercises, slap on the anti-inflammatory gel and follow her instructions to the word. Going back for a follow-up appointment this afternoon. Can't wait. Life is great after all !!!!