Bursa

I thought I would share what I have learned about bursas. You probably have heard people say something like, "My bursitus is killing me." Well. The cause of bursitus is one or more bursas. Since I have been suffering with one one near my achilles tendon of my right foot I'd like to share how to treat one. The first symptom I had was of constant and growing pain emanating from my right heel. However, it did not go away and it started to cause me to limp. But as the month and then 2 months went along my foot started to get black and blue in different parts as the pain shifted from one spot to another. I think lack of circulation is one of the problems since I am now 61 and had a heart virus 10 years ago which seemed to affect my circulation.

So, ever since then and before I have kept very active and walked at least 1 to 2 to 5 miles a day with my dogs whenever possible. I also have an Exercycle, several bicycles on which to exercise as well so even when my foot is acting up I can keep in shape.

However, eventually I went to a podiatrist and she was concerned about me. Eventually, she said I should buy Crocs, a type of rubbery shoe that is like walking on about 4 to 5 inches of sponges. In other words it cushions and supports the feet in a maximum way. Not going barefoot anymore and making myself wear them at all times indoors when walking at all and going to the east coast where it is warmer than that 60 to 65 degree Fahrenheit summers where I live has been good for me as well. Eventually, I started to go to a physical therapist as surgery isn't really a good option. So now I'm about 5 months into this which is very difficult for me as I am used to being a physically active person who exercises by walking and hiking in the woods with my dogs every day or riding a bike or Exercycle. One of the other things I have done for myself just to make me feel like I still have hope and am alive is to buy myself a motorcycle. This has helped a lot to keep me from thinking of myself as a cripple because of being in constant pain whenever I walk.

The other thing the physical therapist said was that I must not limp because eventually this will cause me to lose my balance. So I have learned to walk normally through the pain. All the heat and warmth on the east coast and human temperatures from 75 to 95 degrees also seemed to help my foot get better as well. Also, my physical therapist used cold lasers to force the bursa which is actually scar tissue to heal. So, I'm starting to heal from this injury.

Bursas are very tricky because of you don't rest them enough they never heal but at age 61 if I don't keep fairly physically active it is the end for me. So it is definitey a catch 22 situation. However, as counterintuitive as it was to go east it has been the defining thing I believe that has started my bursa to seriously begin to heal. I hope this helps you if you are suffering something like this or your loved one or friend is dealing with something like this.