Tape is the new crack

Physical therapist taped the hell out of my feet again Wednesday morning, and that felt so darn good I kept it on until last night. At that point, the toes that should have been numb after my neuroma treatments were actually slightly numb. Whoooooaaa.

There seems to be a tradeoff between pain from the tightness of the tape and pain from walking when the tape isn't tight enough. Often I'll take scissors to the edge of the tape where it's cutting deeply into my skin, and with a small snip I can release the worst of the pressure but keep most of the stability. How I feel with the tape on gives me the first ray of hope I've had in a long time.

(That stuff takes a while to dry after a shower!)

I wonder if you can get arrested and thrown into rehab for a sports tape addiction. Taaaaape, taaaaaaaaape, must have more taaaaaaaaaaaape...

Taking control of that "second job"

I'm probably still doing too much, but it's improving.

1. Today I ended, or suspended, sessions with one of the physical therapy places I had been using. It's expensive and I'm not at all convinced they've done a thing for me. (I'm also not fully convinced they haven't, so I may be back later.) This brings PT sessions down to 2x/week and shortens my daily exercises considerably.

2. I'm not guilting myself over skipping exercise in the wheelchair yesterday.

3. I've had my giddy fling with that parking placard. What a great object to have! From now on, though, I'll use it only when it truly makes a difference. At lunch today I really could have walked from the back of the restaurant without much problem. Those spots can be saved for people who need them more, or for times when I'm having a bad pain day.

My gut feel says that what my feet need right now is a) that tape for a while (PT), b) strength in all the little muscles of the foot (PT exercises), c) better alignment of the pelvis / hips / knees / ankles (chiro), d) good arch support (orthotics). Plus maybe some inflammation-calming thing, be it lotion or herb or frequent icing or medicine. So that's what I'll do.

4. No, I haven't quit square dancing limping yet, and yes, physiologically I absolutely should. (I have a goddam parking placard because it hurts to walk far! I realize how crazy this is.) I have obligations, though, as a dancer. I'm partnered with rfrench for an event in October. Finding partners for that weekend is done way in advance -- it's already months too late for Rob to find someone else. If I bail out on him, that's a big deal. I really really don't want to do it. I'd rather hobble in pain for two weeks afterward than bail out on him for this. So I am hoping to hang on until October. I will use the placard to conserve steps/pain/energy while I can, and if I neither deteriorate rapidly nor improve radically between now and October I'll quit square dancing then. That event would be a good dance to go out on.

The "Godsend" Kitchen Chair

daltong and mactavish, and anyone else who's ever wanted to be able to cook while seated, this is for you. :)

A while back I mentioned that someone I met at PT had a chair she loved to use while cooking.

It's a "WS23 Office Master Workstool", and when she got hers it was $138 plus sales tax and shipping. At its tallest the seat is approximately 32" from the floor. She got it from
If The Chair Fits
Wanda Walker
PO Box 4383
Mt View, CA 94040
650-386-6515 phone/fax
650-793-1586 cell
chairmasters@attbi.com

This page shows the WS23 along with several other "workstools". I get the feeling you order from a vendor, though, not directly from Office Master.