Part 2: The Chronically Bad/Weak Ankle is...

So my patient returned and wow. Just as I predicted, he did extraordinarily well. All his pains have pretty much resolved. The residual pain that he wants me to address is only about 10% remaining. I am quite pleased with that.

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Part 1: The Chronically Bad/Weak Ankle is...

a dislocated ankle that has never been reduced. I came to this conclusion when a patient of mine kept complaining of all sorts of pain following a really bad ankle sprain. He was playing basketball and came down from a jump on the outside of his ankle. Xrays were negative. This was one year ago. He wrapped the ankle and rested it. It has not been right since. Then six months later, he fell asleep at the couch. He woke up with a jerk of his head and continues to this day with neck pain and tenderness. While he continues with ankle and feet pain, he starts to develop a groin pain, same side. We find an inguinal (groin) hernia. He goes to a surgeon and is told he needs surgery. He returns several months after surgery and everything still hurts as before. We have had so many visits - i need to look back and count how many - still his pains are unchanged, with occasional temporary relief - I'm trying to figure out if it is his back, pelvis or SI joints. All the while he insists, that he was well prior to the accident, that this accident has led to all of his current problems. So...I take him at his word and go back straight to the ankle. On this visit, I decide that the only way to prove whether the ankle was causing all these problems from above was to get rid of the swelling, get the foot and ankle feeling normal again (which means that all the strains have been reduced) and whammo! everything else should fall into place. With significant force (which I usually do not do) I get his ankle back and with good solid pressures hold the bony placements. Lo and behold - the swelling and point tenderness of one area are almost completely resolved. Then I go to the rest of his body and treat. Lo and behold - everything is easier. I am convinced. Wow. Now I am excited to see what unfolds. I can hardly wait for his next visit.

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Suzanne Somers is Right!

I cannot believe that I am actually saying this, "Suzanne Somers is right!" How did I reach this conclusion? As in previous posts, in the last several years, 2 local neurologists started sending me patients. Generalizations about patients who come from other specialists are usually true. The patients are complex, complicated chronic pain cases. Some of these patients are so bad that some of them are on disability. In conjunction with our osteopathic work, I started considering their overall health. The really debilitated patients, their systems need all the help they can get. At first I started them on one supplement. I saw and they reported noticeable improvements. Then I started to do the same for my office staff. They reported immediate results. When I started doing this I was in my last trimester of a second baby. I wanted to wait after my delivery to experiment on myself, but towards the end, I started to get desperate. My hair was falling out despite taking my prenatal vitamins as well as the fish oil. So I supplemented myself and lo and behold - my hair stopped falling out. I started to consider, why this worked. Then I started to think about what else could be lacking and what else patients with certain conditions might need. I am currently still developing my supplementation secrets, but I wanted to give an acknowledgement to Suzanne Somers.

Plantar Fasciitis is NOT plantar fasciitis

This is one of my newest peeves. It seems that many of my male patients tell me that they have been diagnosed with 'plantar fasciitis.' ??? This diagnosis is given to those who have pain on the soles of their feet with walking; it is worse in the am and after activity and 'stretching' the ligaments of the feet, the pain gets better throughout the day.

I always, invariably, end up telling my patients, "Plantar-schmantar, blah-blah-blah." I do not wish to demean their pain but this is not what it seems. Instead I tell my patients that "plantar fasciitis is a distal manifestation of a proximal problem." This means that men who are/were active have acquired multiple strains which lock up their body, especially the pelvis, SI joints and lower back. This affects their gait and over time causes additional strains on the legs. I always end up being able to prove to them that I am right (and consequently everyone else wrong); I can say this because I learned all this from a great old Old Time Osteopath. In my treatment sessions the pain changes or even goes away immediately.

So, essentially, what does the diagnosis of plantar fasciitis mean? One, the patient usually has multiple problems. i.e., they are really messed up. Second, they seriously need to be treated globally by an osteopathic physician. What happens if the patient never gets treated? MDs will advise stretching, special shoes. Podiatrists will offer orthotics. Some patients will resort to prolotherapy (injections of a sugar solution). All these options are merely crutches that support the longstanding accumulated strains. Eventually, the patient will pay.

Toby would have been diagnosed with 'plantar fasciitis' if he had seen a doctor for his feet pain. It is only later on his second visit that he tells me he stopped walking on his treadmill because of it. Hear what he has to say:

previsit video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvQofVtq5mY&feature=channel
postfirstvisit video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKgMi_S-HGI