Severed EHL Tendon- Goodbye 2011!

On the road to recovery?

It's almost the end of the Year 2011. What have I done?

I'd say as an adult this has been; bar none one of the most challenging years in my life. From the get go on January 1st, 2011 it's been challenge after challenge. Each day, week and month had a new set of horrors present itself over and over to me, testing my abilities emotionally, mentally and physically. Yes severing my EHL Tendon was a big slap in the face. It shook me into a different dimension. It pinned me down and held me there until just the right time, and then it released me. I am different now. Everything tastes, smells and looks different. I want to say I have served my time. I want to say that one person can only take so much. Really though in the grand scheme of things I continue to give thanks that I am surrounded by beautiful and loving friends and family. That no matter how the going gets tough, the tough will still get going.

I've rekindled an all but dead relationship with my parents, I have accepted that although we won't always see eye to eye, they are good people with good intentions. Age doesn't always bring wisdom, experience does. Family and firm true friendships are the keys to happiness. It always was and always will be. No one is perfect, we all have to work at our relationships, and we are all dynamic and different. We’re not meant to be the same. Our injuries may be similar, but how we deal with the experiences can be worlds apart.

As I reflect on my ever present gregarious nature, I'm stricken silly that my injuries have brought out some of the best attributes in my friendships and relationships with people. I definitely know who will be in my corner for the long haul. I have connected on a different level with certain people; my eyes are wide open now more than ever before.

So all I’m asking for in the Year 2012 is to keep on this new journey--the one that opens the doors to all the magnificent new friendships and that still has a stronghold on the old ones. Oh yeah and that Zipperfoot has inadvertently set a new cornerstone in my life.

Happy Holidays to all. May you find love and joy in even the smallest things.

EHL Severed Tendon and Acupuncture.

Acupuncture was the next venture into my rehabilitation campaign. I didn't have a shred of knowledge on the subject of acupuncture. No one in my inner circle had ever required that type of alternative medicine.  I knew it had something to do with really fine needles being inserted into specific pressure points of the body. The thought gave me anxiety.. I mean all those needles pushed into my body. Unthinkable.

I wanted to go in blind; I didn't want to know about side effects or risks. I was going to take a chance, go out on a limb, and go all the way with no reservations. I was introduced to the Acupuncturist, Keith who has a gentle nature and is well educated as a Physiotherapist. He prefers the holistic alternative like acupuncture as a means to rehabilitate. A belief that the points of energy reached during the process acts both as a pain reliever and stimulator of joint and tissue.

The way Acupuncture works: It’s an understanding that the neurophysiologic pain relief mechanisms (eg. Endorphins) are stimulated and will assist the body in strengthening the immune system; it decreases muscle and tissue tightness and can increase joint flexibility. Originating in the Orient (however there is a dispute that it actually originated in Central Europe) the traditional understanding is that the body is divided into 12 energy channels (or meridians) that run vertically within the body. If any of these channels are affected by illness or injury the energy flow is interrupted, the belief that acupuncture (shallow needling or deep needling) into the specific channel will stimulate energy flow and healing back into the body.

As the small hair like needles pierced my skin (they are in a fine sterile tube which is slightly shorter than the needles themselves- they are positioned over the desired area and tapped into place- shallow needling in my case), there was a slight prickly sensation. He put them in various points of my foot and calf. We started with about 6 needles in our first session. I tried shifting my leg while the needles were inserted. Those little suckers were wielding quite a power beneath the surface and were almost paralyzing upon any movement. I felt an awkward pain in each of the points where the needles lay. Keith advised that being still would enhance their healing effects. Best not to move around or it will hurt!  I was left to relax on my own (more like a Zen type of relaxation) for about 15 mins.

Removing them was effortless (a few spots of blood from the top of my foot area). There was some slight bruising the next day, and a bit of soreness in the areas punctured, which I’m told is normal.

I’ve done quite a few sessions now, tackling different areas of my foot to stimulate the tissue around the scar. I have to say that I am a believer. The numbness at the top of my foot has subsided and I am actually feeling a bit of sensation now.

By no means is my Zipperfoot fully mobile at this point, but we’re still working on it one day at a time.

 

Acu: Week 1


Acu: Week 2





Acupuncture

The tendon is still tight along the Hallux to the ankle.