Foot and leg exercises for neuropathy

 

https://www.sitandbefit.org/foot-leg-exercises-neuropathy/

Foot and Ankle Exercise #1 – Keeping heels on the floor, lift your toes off the floor, and tap them vigorously. Repeat as many times as tolerated.

Foot and Ankle Exercise #2 – Keeping heels together and on the floor, lift your toes off the floor as high as possible. Turn toes out, and put them back on the floor. Your feet should form a “V”. Lift your toes again, bring them together, and put them back on the floor. Repeat as many times as tolerated.

Leg and Ankle Exercise – Straighten one knee, lifting the leg an inch or two off the ground. Point and flex your foot and ankle 5-10 times. Circle the ankle clockwise then counter clockwise 5-10 times each. Repeat on the other leg.

Foot Somatosensory Exercise – Roll a small ball (such as a tennis ball) underneath one foot for several minutes and change feet. This gives the feet a great “self-massage” and stimulates the receptors on the bottom of the foot. Those managing neuropathy would benefit from doing this exercise daily.

Hmm.  Maybe this is easier without shoes.  She doesn't mention it in the instructions.  I'm wearing my brown leather "Mary Janes" and they are rather stiff.

Sit and Be Fit TV Host, Mary Ann Wilson, RN

How to Relieve Plantar Fasciitis, Shin Splints, Achilles Pain and Compartment Syndrome

I haven't tried this since I don't have the rolled foam, but thought I'd save it because it does address some of my leg issues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTVP-WRMuLY

Leg crossing and body alignment

Although I do a lot of walking in the summer (5-6 miles a day in short segments) I also do a lot of sitting in lectures and programs. Sometimes it takes several blocks to get the kinks out when I start for home. So I finally decided I'll need to break a very bad habit--sitting with my right leg crossed over my left knee. Yes, as always, I researched it, and was horrified to read all the back, neck and leg problems that causes. That's why your hairdresser always (at least mine) tells you to uncross your legs when you're getting a hair cut. Really throws everything out of alignment. But breaking a habit of 60+ years is very hard. Now, I'm only 12 hours in to this new life style change--hope it helps. My FB friend Debbie says that she gave it up after years of pain, and it was like a miracle!

When seated with your feet flat on the floor and both buttocks in contact with the chair, the force of the position is applied naturally and equally to the lower body.

However, when sitting with the legs crossed, all the downward force is applied to only one side of the lower body, concentrated on one half of the buttocks, the sacroiliac joint and the hip socket. http://www.sciatica-pain.org/sciatica-from-crossing-legs.html

http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/Handouts/patellofemoral_pain/patellofemoral_pain.html

Cross-legged sitting resulted in a relative elongation of the piriformis muscle by 11%, compared to normal sitting and by 21% compared to the length of the piriformis when standing. It should be noted that the leg that was crossed over top of the other was resulted in the greatest elongation. The leg crossed over the top is in a position of
relative hip flexion, hip adduction, and hip external rotation. http://www.damienhowellpt.com/pdf/crossed%20legs.pdf

Yes, I’m still in Virginia!

I’ve now cycled over 440 miles since Christmas and am still in Virginia according to “Tools to Keep You Active” chart. This photo is near Cedar Springs, VA, in  Wythe County. The health sites say your waist needs  to be at least one half your height measurement, and exercise should be 30 minutes a day. At least for certain health problems.   I’ve lost 22 pounds. No more leg pain. Well, that was easy. Medicare has spent thousands on tests in 2014 for me for blood clots and poor circulation all of which were negative, and all I needed to do was stop snacking, eat more healthy meals and exercise more. Nothing like lugging 40 extra pounds around to make your legs hurt. While I exercise on the bike I also use a finger strengthener.  I always had to ask for help to open detergent bottles or olives or even juice.  I think plastic bottles are sometimes the worst because it’s hard to get a grip. Hand strength is coming a bit more slowly; not sure I’ve seen improvement.

Great legs

No one has ever suggested I have them. I had short, stubby legs as a kid, and still do. Fat does shift around. My waist is now larger than my right thigh, but that wasn't the case for many years. I've even tried standing on my head, but nothing worked.

Small waists and pear shape are definitely the healthy plan, but that's not how you get attention. Here's what one of those waist to hip calculators says:

Your shape puts you at reduced risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Frequently referred to as pear shape, you tend to keep fat off your midsection and more on your hips. Your body does not convert this lower body fat as readily as midsection fat, which keeps cholesterol down.

Recently I've seen a stunning blonde at the coffee shop. Don't know her age, but if she's not 40, she's at least close (either side). She has long, long legs; high high heels; short short skirts. I'm not usually a leg watcher, but I tell you, she is something else and turns a lot of heads.

I don't know her career track, but it's somewhere at the bottom (or else she's the boss of a small company) because they send her to pick up the morning snacks. Yesterday it was bagels; today it was 8-10 cups of orange juice. I may not have great legs but I gave up being a go-fer when I was 21 and the secretary in an Indianapolis tool and die company.

Come to think of it, if she were the owner treating the staff or clients, she'd buy a gallon of OJ at the grocery store instead of purchasing individually filled cups.

Hillary Clinton's legs

There's a good article in today's Wall Street Journal by Christina Binkley about "Women in Power"--their fashion tastes. Hillary is shown in that bright yellow blazer with black slacks we've seen on TV. Most of the other powerful women are shown in more feminine attire. Of the outfits shown, Condi's was way out in front with a very attractive skirted suit that showed off her lovely features, but looked smart. Nancy Pelosi's suit was a tad short and bunchy, and looking at her person you can't help but see she is a Californian with various enhancements and injections a part of her regimen. The PepsiCo CEO also looked lovely in an outfit that spoke to her heritage. Would it be racist to suggest that minority women in the US have a flare that the rest of us lack?

Yes, Hillary looks like I loaned her my legs, even though she's a pro-abortion, feminist, socialist who might go to the White House, not on the coat tails of her husband, but his fly. (There's some pretty good theory out there that she might not be where she is today if it hadn't been for Bill's indiscretions, particularly 10 years ago with Monica.)

But here's something to consider. She's probably healthier than the other candidates, both Republican and Democrat. Those of us with pear-shaped bodies (which almost always means heavier legs) are much healthier than those of us with apple-shaped bodies (usually they have great legs). If you don't believe me, google it. But I think she should get out of those omnipresent, omni-coverage slacks, and flaunt her healthy, solid, sturdy legs. Just lengthen the skirts a little, because wide thighs are just murder when you sit down on stage in front of an audience--even for skinny candidates.