love thy feet-Liz

I went to the Podiatrist the other day, for the first time, to have a "foot physical" before we hit the trail and I left his office a more enlightened person. He informed me, as I was standing in the hallway, that I'm not a flexible loose person. Duh, I haven't been for decades. I never could bend and touch my toes, the stigma from PE still haunts me. I learned I don't walk correctly, my right foot pronates. I'm going to blame my trail clumsiness on that and not the fact that I'm a klutz. He stressed the need to do stretching exercises to loosen my shoulders, hips, back, and legs. Sit ups, push ups, bike riding, and hiking isn't enough, damn. On the good side, he did say my feet looked nice. Just a couple of callouses because of walking incorrectly. The loss of toenails didn't bother him, "just keep them trimmed". His advise for blisters was exactly what I've been doing for years, pin prick hole to release the fluid, don't cut. It allows the blister to
heal faster and not get worse. Good to know I was doing something right. He thought my boots were fine but he ditched my OTC orthotics and gave me new ones to try. The hour I spent with him was well worth it and I have a new respect for my feet.