Hello, Doctors!
Let me apologize in advance for a lengthy post. I would really like to stay barefoot, and my body appears to disagree with me. I don't know how much info you need, so I'm just going to start typing.
I'm a 33 year old female, standing 5'8” and about 170lbs, I have been as high as (at least) 240, and as low as 159 in my adult life. Right now I fluctuate between 178ish and 165ish. I am a massage therapist and have been teaching Yoga for about 2 years. I spend a lot of time unshod, if I can help it.
I have decent arches, my feet seem to be wider now that I'm shod less often. I often have a heavy step, my heels hit hard and sometimes the balls of my feet drag a bit before the heel makes contact.
In the past 10 years or so, I have developed knee pain. It started with grinding (without pain) when I went up stairs, and progressed to pain in the lateral knees, down into tibialis anterior. It's also ITB pain and up into the greater trochanter area.
I am a creature of ease (that sounds so much nicer than lazy). I don't like exercise unless it's fun, or going somewhere. Swimming, dancing, hiking, bellydancing classes, that sort of thing. I was drawn to barefoot/minimalist living about 2 years ago, because it seemed like a way to make running fun, and I had heard about how it helps one run without knee pain. I am not a runner, other than some long jump in High School track junior year. I read Jason Robillard's The Barefoot Running Book, and did some of the exercises, and then started walking/running in preparation for the Color Run 5k. I may not have done enough of the preparatory exercises in the book. I cannot do a full squat with heels down unless I'm holding onto something in front of me. I wear Vibrams when walking/really slowly running. It seems that riding my bike makes the ITBs worse. I live in a small town, so I like to ride to work and running errands, if possible.
I have been seeing a physical therapist who does Alexander Technique and Postural Integration. My understanding of his diagnosis is that I have ITB inflammation, tight gastrocs, piriformis that are angry, and Gluteus Medius that aren't firing. At first he was okay with the vibrams, but he has me now wearing shoes with arch contact, firm heels and no flexion in the sole (from heel to ball of the foot) while I massage. The arch contact is meant to help keep the glute meds firing. It seemed to work for a while, but I'm still sore. He has me doing pt exercises to stabilize the pelvis, strengthen the glute med, and stretch the mediastinum area (I have a weird hitch/cough when I inhale while twisting from side to side), and stretch the calves. I get to exercise my feet by jumping on landscaping rocks. No, really. I also try to foam roll my ITBs, it's excruciating (of course).
I see the Chiropractor (the office I have my massage practice in) once a week for adjustments, he also does gait assessment and a technique to encourage glute med to fire when walking. He also cold lasers my ITBs. It was 2+ times a week, now we are down to 1x.
Would it be helpful to wrap or tape my arches when I am unshod? Should I wear shoes more often? I want to Warrior Dash next year, and need to decide if I am going to stick with my Vibrams or change to traditional shoes. Are there things I can do more or less of?
I want to keep doing this, but I'm tired of hurting. I hope I've given you enough info to help me, would gladly give more if you need it.
Let me apologize in advance for a lengthy post. I would really like to stay barefoot, and my body appears to disagree with me. I don't know how much info you need, so I'm just going to start typing.
I'm a 33 year old female, standing 5'8” and about 170lbs, I have been as high as (at least) 240, and as low as 159 in my adult life. Right now I fluctuate between 178ish and 165ish. I am a massage therapist and have been teaching Yoga for about 2 years. I spend a lot of time unshod, if I can help it.
I have decent arches, my feet seem to be wider now that I'm shod less often. I often have a heavy step, my heels hit hard and sometimes the balls of my feet drag a bit before the heel makes contact.
In the past 10 years or so, I have developed knee pain. It started with grinding (without pain) when I went up stairs, and progressed to pain in the lateral knees, down into tibialis anterior. It's also ITB pain and up into the greater trochanter area.
I am a creature of ease (that sounds so much nicer than lazy). I don't like exercise unless it's fun, or going somewhere. Swimming, dancing, hiking, bellydancing classes, that sort of thing. I was drawn to barefoot/minimalist living about 2 years ago, because it seemed like a way to make running fun, and I had heard about how it helps one run without knee pain. I am not a runner, other than some long jump in High School track junior year. I read Jason Robillard's The Barefoot Running Book, and did some of the exercises, and then started walking/running in preparation for the Color Run 5k. I may not have done enough of the preparatory exercises in the book. I cannot do a full squat with heels down unless I'm holding onto something in front of me. I wear Vibrams when walking/really slowly running. It seems that riding my bike makes the ITBs worse. I live in a small town, so I like to ride to work and running errands, if possible.
I have been seeing a physical therapist who does Alexander Technique and Postural Integration. My understanding of his diagnosis is that I have ITB inflammation, tight gastrocs, piriformis that are angry, and Gluteus Medius that aren't firing. At first he was okay with the vibrams, but he has me now wearing shoes with arch contact, firm heels and no flexion in the sole (from heel to ball of the foot) while I massage. The arch contact is meant to help keep the glute meds firing. It seemed to work for a while, but I'm still sore. He has me doing pt exercises to stabilize the pelvis, strengthen the glute med, and stretch the mediastinum area (I have a weird hitch/cough when I inhale while twisting from side to side), and stretch the calves. I get to exercise my feet by jumping on landscaping rocks. No, really. I also try to foam roll my ITBs, it's excruciating (of course).
I see the Chiropractor (the office I have my massage practice in) once a week for adjustments, he also does gait assessment and a technique to encourage glute med to fire when walking. He also cold lasers my ITBs. It was 2+ times a week, now we are down to 1x.
Would it be helpful to wrap or tape my arches when I am unshod? Should I wear shoes more often? I want to Warrior Dash next year, and need to decide if I am going to stick with my Vibrams or change to traditional shoes. Are there things I can do more or less of?
I want to keep doing this, but I'm tired of hurting. I hope I've given you enough info to help me, would gladly give more if you need it.