Background
From October to November 2012, I was limping. My right ankle was swollen up like a balloon. What happened, you wonder? Had I stepped in a pothole? Played rough sports? Fallen down the stairs? No…
I had decided to re-learn how to walk.
In the past, I walked exclusively on my toes. I had completely flat feet. My ankles were embarassing. My knees collapsed inward. I couldn’t even balance on one leg without severely compensating. There had been evidence of arthritis in my sacroiliac joints by the time I was just 20 (though I didn’t know until several years later). At work, in my massage therapy practice, I was getting intense pain between my toes by the end of the day, and aching fatigue in the hips.
I was only 28, but I had had enough. Most people make it until at least 30 before they start to feel like they’re falling apart. But my 2.5 years (at that time) practicing massage therapy in a physical therapy clinic gave me all too clear an insight into what was in store if I didn’t start learning how to use my body better.