Having spent 22 years teaching & running for pleasure, about a year ago my body began to feel the aches and pains it so rightly should do after what I put it through……. So it was time to pay regular visits to our local massage team at Therapy & Life Centre.  They’ve helped me no end and I’ve been religiously going every other week.  In the hands of either Vida Canon or Tanya, the aches are sorted & normal work resumes.

Just recently the start of a bunion has then lead to a constant ache in my heals.  Ignoring it and putting it down to old trainers I kept going, teaching & running until the other week I could hardly stand up in the morning.  The pain was horrendous and it was time to do something about it.  I simply can’t afford to have a long term injury.  My first point of call was Vida and her team who gave me an hours treatment which seemed to ease the pain instantly and diagnosed the injury as plantar fasciitis.  Since then a visit to intersport where they tested my gauge (the way a walk, run, move) and a new pair of trainers based on the results, and my constant aching feet are slowly subsiding.

So what is Plantar Fasciitis?

A band of connective tissue that runs along the base of the foot from the heel to the toes. It can become tight and inflamed causing intense pain when standing or walking. Quite often the cause can come from a lack of mobility in the big toe. If the toe is stiff, this will cause the fascia to become rigid, which in turn causes the big toe to rotate outwards and over pronate. This increases pressure on the outside of the joint and can form bunions in the long term. It is therefore common for bunions and plantar fasciitis to occur together.

So basically this is me right now and whilst there isn’t a lot sports massage can do for bunions, it can certainly get help where plantar fasciitis is concerned. Vida’s sports massage team have mobilised the joints, loosened the connective tissue, and worked on the many many muscles found in the foot, all of which have helped to get me back up and running again (literally), phew!

So, if there’s a niggle it’s not worth ignoring it as long term damage can be detrimental to your fitness, work and life in general.  Yes it costs money but this type of expense should be absolute priority when it comes to our heatlh.  After all, we manage to spend our heard earned cash on  hair, nails and other beauty treatments.  That goes for you guys too ……

So If you have any niggles you can phone Vida on 07904 386793 for advice, and they now take bookings online via facebook and their website at https://therapyandlifecentre.co.uk/