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Grex > Health > #53: Foot and back problems - prevention and cure |  |
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keesan
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Foot and back problems - prevention and cure
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Jul 6 02:28 UTC 1998 |
What sorts of feet and back problems have people had and how do they deal with
them or prevent them? How do you look for shoes that fit? Are there certain
exercises that will strengthen your arches? How do you avoid injuring a back
that has already had problems? How long does it take a back to stop hurting
once it starts hurting? What sorts of exercises help to prevent back
problems?
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| 93 responses total. |
maeve
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response 1 of 93:
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Jul 6 05:04 UTC 1998 |
oh goodness, you don't really want me to start with backs and feet...but I"ll
say a little.
back problems are almost completely caused by weak abdominal muscles, so the
best thing is to start doing crunches, both upper and lower abs, about 100
correct a day for maintnence.
for feet, part of the problem may be incorrect walking, it's a bad idea to
let your feel 'roll' forwards, you should lift under your arches if you have
high arches, but not so much that you roll the other way. to strengthen your
arches, I suppose one excersize is to lay a towel on teh floor and scrunch
it up with your bare toes..that should work the whole ball-arch section of
your feet..
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scott
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response 2 of 93:
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Jul 6 11:51 UTC 1998 |
Yeah, backs are protected by strong abdominal muscles. You can get books just
on ab exercises, and that will help a lot. There are also back muscle
exercises that can help (once the current problems are healed). Stretching
by touching toes and also by pulling each knee up to the chest in alternation
can help with healing. Beyond that, correct lifting is very important; ask
any stagehand. Consider getting a lifting belt, too.
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rcurl
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response 3 of 93:
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Jul 6 17:08 UTC 1998 |
I got a "bad back" pickaxing rocks to make a patio in California. One
moment I was hard a work - in a blink I was on the ground in immense pain.
It got better, but never totally cured, and I must be careful. I can
usually tell when I'm exceeding my limits, and I have not had a serious
recurrance for a long time. I had Williams exercises for a while, but it
is hard to keep at that sort of thing when nothing seems wrong.
I got "bad feet" by too much Highland Dancing - at about the age people
start getting tennis elbow, etc. I just about creamed all the tendons in
my feet, and the Achilees too. For a very long time my feet just hurt a
lot, and I have never dared return to Highland. I was seen by podiatrists,
etc, and had insoles prescribed, but nothing made a difference except just
not overdoing foot impact.
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jep
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response 4 of 93:
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Jul 6 18:20 UTC 1998 |
Maybe two or three times per year, for reasons that are not apparent to
me, I will have agonizing back pain. If I stay still, I'm all right,
but if I get up from lying down, or move around at all, I have stabbing
pains in my middle lower back. I don't know the cause. The solution
I've always used is to not move much until it passes.
Once I had to call in sick because of it; that day it took me 2 hours to
get to the bathroom. Getting into a car to see a doctor was very much
out of the question. It was a Friday, and I stayed in bed over the
weekend, then was able to move (with great pain) for a few days
afterward, and after a few more days I recovered.
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mta
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response 5 of 93:
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Jul 6 19:06 UTC 1998 |
Be careful with back problems -- there can be serious reasons for the pain!
For instance. my family has a history of scoliosis -- a genetic curvature of
the spine. It can be as extreme as the "quasimoto" look, or almost
undetectable unless you know what you're looking for -- but either way, your
back is very fragile. The mishappen bone sctructure puts serious strain on the
muscles, which in return exacerbate the trouble with bones. Exercising wrong
can make the whole thing much worse.
If you suffer frequent back pain for no discernable reason, see your doctor
before you start an exercise program to make sure that you don't have a
condition that would be made worse by the exercises that you plan to do.
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mta
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response 6 of 93:
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Jul 6 19:13 UTC 1998 |
As to foot problems, aye!
For years I thought I had "bad feet". No matter what I wore, my feet always
hurt.
The I discovered that readily available "off the shelf" shoes were the problem.
They just aren't designed with my feet in mind. I have short (size 7) but
very wide (EEE) feet, so that if the shoe was wide enough (Size 9), it was too
long and the arch would be in the wrong place, as well as rubbing because it
didn't fit quite right. In addition I have extremely high arches, so most
shoes pinched the top of my foot, and the arch of my foot was up off the shoe.
Once I discovered special order shoes, I found out that my feet aren't "bad",
just wierd. I haven't had foor pain in a long time except when I let my
husband convince me to try a $2 K-Mart special. ;)
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senna
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response 7 of 93:
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Jul 6 21:04 UTC 1998 |
I have partially collapsed arches. I got some supports subscribed, which
worked for the better part of a year, but thing seem to have fallen off again.
Never really did help my back problems much.
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garima
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response 8 of 93:
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Jul 6 21:09 UTC 1998 |
Well, I don't have bad feet, but I have bad ankles. I can't stand continuously
(or walk) for more than a couple of hours, or my ankles hurt like hell.
I have asked doctors if it's a circulation problem (foot massage helps)
or an arch of the foot problem, and she didn't know but offered solutions
to try in each case... But, I still don't know the cause.
I do have small feet (6-6.5) , and they are a little wider than most.
Maybe it's the arch support problem. I looked for good shoes that seem
to have more arch support (in stores) but how can you tell what is enough
arch support?
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maeve
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response 9 of 93:
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Jul 7 01:07 UTC 1998 |
if your feet don't hurt after after standing up all day, it's enough. :)
for ankle weakness, try doing things like writing the alphabet with one foot
while it's elevated, or using a 'thera-band' (wide elastic band thing) to do
ankle circles (hold both ends in one hand, put your foot through the loop,
pull the band knd of tight and circle your ankles)
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keesan
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response 10 of 93:
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Jul 7 02:00 UTC 1998 |
Jim says he thinks it was the coughing that brought on this year's back
problem, he had some sort of bronchitis. He learned a new way to cough that
does not hurt the lower back - he arches his back backwards before coughing
instead of bending forwards. For the first time in a few days he is feeling
somewhat better. He thinks biking is good back maintenance. He also tried
doing exercises but it is hard to remember when the back does not hurt.
Coughing uses muscles that are not normally exercised - should he be doing
coughing exercises somehow?
C Keesan - only time my back ever bothered me was when I was strapped
into a very uncomfortable car seat (sort of concave) for a few days - I could
not stand for a couple of days after, it somehow stretched the tendons or
something out of shape. Does anyone have experience with improving on car
seats, or seats in general that are good for backs? I have not heard many
good things about those kneeling chairs - one of the problems is that the
padding is just for show and compresses to nothing, putting an awful lot of
weight on the knees. I find sitting cross legged with something to lean
against is much better for my back than sitting in a chair with feet down.
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rcurl
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response 11 of 93:
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Jul 7 04:46 UTC 1998 |
(The following anecdote is not to be taken as a medical recommendation). At
one time my dentist prescribed Darvon to prevent my bruxing at night. I
didn't like the effect, so stopped taking it. However, the next time I
had a severe back twinge, I tried the Darvon, and the effect was nearly
magical - twinge went away quickly and did not return on discontinuing
the drug. I never did tell my dentist what I used his prescription for....
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senna
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response 12 of 93:
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Jul 7 07:00 UTC 1998 |
That sounds like my problem, garima. My ankle is the one that suffers from
the standing, not the foot. Though the right foot will start to get tired
and rather sore after hours or days of making up for the inability of the left
to support my weight.
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scott
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response 13 of 93:
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Jul 7 10:53 UTC 1998 |
This item now linked to the Health conference.
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gracel
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response 14 of 93:
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Jul 7 12:41 UTC 1998 |
25 years ago, when I had a job that kept me on my feet much of the time,
I found that I could not wear shoes with heels over 1 inch without
suffering lower back discomfort. They felt good to my arches, but not
to my back.
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keesan
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response 15 of 93:
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Jul 7 16:45 UTC 1998 |
Why do shoes have heels at all? I find flat ones much more comfortable. A
friend of mine in Italy who grew up wearing at least 1" heels says her tendons
are too short to wear flat shoes even for hiking.
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mta
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response 16 of 93:
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Jul 7 17:56 UTC 1998 |
They don't have to, Sindi -- but elevated heels look nice. There is a grace to
them that flats like, snd so some people like to wear them from time to time to
suit a particular mood or outfit.
On the whole, flats are more practical, but often less fun.
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hhsrat
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response 17 of 93:
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Jul 7 21:25 UTC 1998 |
My ankles are fine (which is really helpful when playing hockey :) but
my feet start to hurt after I've been skating for a while. But, that's
probably because instead of having the width of my feet to support my
weight, all my 165 lbs are supported by a quarter inch metal blade.
My new job requires standing for long periods of time, and when I get
done for the day my feet are very tired. I'm thinking of asking my boss
for one of those pads that all the cashiers at stores stand on. Or some
sort of insert in my foot
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rcurl
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response 18 of 93:
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Jul 7 21:41 UTC 1998 |
One would think that if elevated heels "look nice" and have "grace", men would
wear them too. Generally only very vain or cross-dressing men wear them.
Therefore I think it has nothing to do with "nice" or "grace", but is
entirely sexual sterotyping.
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mta
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response 19 of 93:
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Jul 7 22:26 UTC 1998 |
Men, as a rule, don't concern themselves with gracefulness. They generally
accentuate other qualities.
When they do accentuate grace, they're called "cross-dressers".
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drew
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response 20 of 93:
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Jul 7 22:40 UTC 1998 |
Every shoe I've ever worn had the heal somewhere around 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch
higher than the ball of the foot - not much of a difference, but there
nonetheless. That just seems to be what's available regarding shoes.
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danr
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response 21 of 93:
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Jul 8 00:27 UTC 1998 |
I thought I heard somewhere that heels were an invention of the Romans
and were supposed to help soldiers march more quickly. It makes some
sense in that it pitches the body forward. I just checked my running/
walking shoes, and their heels are elevated, too.
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keesan
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response 22 of 93:
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Jul 8 01:49 UTC 1998 |
What I read was that heels were invented for wear by men in order to keep
their feet in the stirrups (after they were invented). In 17th century France
men wore high heels. Red was a popular color. You can see paintings of the
king in his red high heels, tights, bloomers, and ermine jacket, with long
curly hair. Women were also wearing high heels then, but by 1800 the fashio
was for absolutely flat shoes.
I was referring not to the very high heels but to the 1/4-1/2" type.
Perhaps the heels wear out faster than the sole and were therefore made
thicker. Who else recalls 'earth shoes', with the heels lower than the toes?
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senna
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response 23 of 93:
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Jul 8 06:09 UTC 1998 |
Goodness, the last thing I need is heels to give me even more height than I
already have.
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void
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response 24 of 93:
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Jul 8 08:11 UTC 1998 |
when at work, i have a tendency to drive by pushing on the
accelerator with nothing but my big toe, which often makes my driving
foot hurt afterwards. it's a bizarre habit, and i'm not sure how i
acquired it, but breaking it has been difficult...i often don't realize
that's what i'm doing until my foot starts to hurt.
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