Feet

[rayjag]

After teaching for a couple years now and daily work hours being barefoot keep increasing I have been noticing an onset of some foot issues.

I feel as if I have a pinched nerve in my left foot in the middle arch area. It seems icing helps cause it may be do to some minor swelling.

The right foot feels like I may be getting the onset of plantar facitis as I feet a burning/pulling sensation in the inner arch area.

I am now doing a little icing and rolling whit a spiky ball in the evening but ultimately I am assuming I need to start wearing some type of a shoe with arch support while teaching. I wear size 14 so they do not make martial arts shoes in my size so I am going to try some wrestling shoes.

Just wondering if anyone has experience the same issues or has any suggestions?

[Rateh]

I have been dealing with these issues myself for about a year and a half. I finally went to a doctor and was diagnosed with plantar fascitis (sp) and achilles tendinitis on both of my feet. He recommended some stretching exercises (which I'm sure you can find online), the same kind of icing that you were doing, and special shoe inserts and heel cups. He also said to never take off my shoes unless I had to. I have found the inserts and heel cups to be of great help. I think the heel cups have to be prescribed (they are a silicon thing you put in the heel of your shoe). The shoe inserts were purchased at a sports store, they are the green ones...if that helps.

I find that training on mats helps TONS. Unfortunately I do not have mats at the three locations that I teach at, and the place where I train no longer has mats either. If you have a way to get mats, then I highly recommend doing so, it really helped me when we had them.

I have not been successful with martial arts shoes, as I have fallen arches (which contributed to the problem), and martial arts shoes tend to have no arch support. Even with shoe inserts my feet roll inward much worse with the martial arts shoes then barefoot, due to the design of the shoe. If you have flat feet you may find the same issue.

The thing that helped me the most was. A: wearing shoes with inserts and heel cups at all times that I wasn't training, teaching, or otherwise engaged in an activity where I couldn't wear them. B: staying off my feet when I did not have to be on them.

Also, when my feet started to hurt I would occasionally wear shoes while teaching anyway, if it did not interfere with the current lesson, and simply tell my students that I had problems with my feet and needed the shoes for medical reasons.

Currently my feet only give me problems off and on. I'm hoping it stays that way.

Additionally if needed, and it is a tendon problem, then there are steroid shots you can get, I decided against that unless it became absolutely necessary, but it is an option.

[ucmx1234]

Ther are foot wear which doctors suggest to avoid problem in the initial stage itself, i had the same problem and symptoms as you said after some stretching exercises and shoes am completely normal now.