Filomena Cabrido Nov 29,1924 - Dec 16,2016

Filomena Cabrido/Tiay Menang  Nov 29,1924  - Dec 16,2016

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, 

and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.Amen.

You were a beautiful person.  You may have looked petite and fragile, but you were a woman of strength and courage.  You were  always optimistic, come what may. You were hard-working, caring and loving.  You were always supportive of your children, and you gave all of us relatives, your moral support and love, as if we were also your children.  You were generous with whatever you had.  You never scrimp on praises of our small and big achievements, jealousy had never been a part of your nature.  Time and distance have separated us but we know in our hearts that your love and care never wavered.  We are glad that you had lived long enough  to enjoy the good life with Manang Emma.  Rest now, my dear Tiay Menang, where there is no pain from old age.  You will be sorely missed, and you will always be in our loving memory. 

Painful Leg Cramps During Sleep

Have you experienced being awaken by painful leg cramps during sleep? Were you scared that your calf muscle was turning hard as wood while experiencing intense pain? Added to that, the pain seemed to creep up from calf muscle to hamstrings.  You may have wondered if a stroke is going on,  I did, or you are slowly getting paralyzed. I thought of many scary crazy stuff.  I over reacted.

Thank you for this image.

Some people call this Charley Horse. I call it worst nightmare coming true. I have read painful muscle cramps have  no real causes, although I have several coincidences happening each time I experience the painful muscle cramps:

What causes these cramps?  Usually they are:

1.  Tiredness
The first time I experienced this was when I was 13 years old.  My friends and I joined the chuch procession is Isabela.  It was fun.   It was my longest participation in a church procession at that time.   Since I was with a friend, the hours just went by and we did not mind the sore feet and legs.  Coming home, I washed my feet and went to sleep, to be awaken later by severe calf muscle cramps. I screamed in pain.  Tatay came to the rescue at once and massaged my legs. The pain  subsided.

2.  Poor circulation or lack of circulation -
If you stay in one position (sitting, standing, lying)  for a long time your blood is not circulating normally.  Try shifting your position once you're aware that you've been in one position for long time.

2.  Cold weather
I like cold weather, I love walking on the streets on cold weather as I could wear my cool cold weather attire.  BUT, especially with older people like me, you can't enjoy it too much. Your muscles object and remind you of your age when you get muscle cramps.

3. Pregnancy
Muscle cramps during pregnancy is not as painful as this  severe calf muscle cramps,  but nonetheless, it's a discomfort.

4. Lack of potassium, calcium on diet
That's what the doctor says to pregnant women who experience muscle cramps.  This was true when I was pregnant, I can't even stretch out my legs without getting muscle cramps.  After delivery though, your muscles slowly return to normal and OMG, it feels so good to be able to stretch again.  You never miss one thing while you have it, but having the pleasure to do the things you used to do before pregnancy is like going to paradise.

5. Taking of diuretics or medicine that increase the amount of urine that you produce, too much coffee or any drink which has diuretic effects.

Treatment:

1. Massage the muscle for circulation and to warm the muscles.During my latest episode,  I was screaming in pain and had awaken my husband.   His help in massaging my leg helped much with providing warmth and increasing circulation.

2.  Pain reliever pills - Advil, Alleve, Ibuprofen- Follow instructions on the bottle, and take when your muscles are still sore.

2.  Enjoy warm shower or bath to relax the muscles.

3.  Drink lots of fluids during the day or your waking hours,  and another glass of water before going to bed.

4. Move your legs, stretch and contract muscles gently and slowly. You should do this regularly too, and before going to sleep to prevent night cramps.

5. Eat potasium-rich food -

• Bananas - some swear that eating banana after dinner insure them of good night sleep, free from painful muscle cramps
• apricots, nectarines, dates, grapes, or raisins
• Beans
• Cabbage/broccoli family of vegetables
• Oranges, grapefruit, and their juice
• Pork and lamb
• Potatoes and corn
• Saltwater fish (for example, tuna)
• Tomatoes and tomato juice

6.  Believers of apple cider vinegar advise  you to take it while you are experiencing muscle cramps.

7.  Believers of Vitamin C also advise you of regular intake of freshly squeezed lemon juice regularly.

8. Salt.   Some contradict the drinking of water while experiencing pain, and advise to shake salt into your palm and lick  it. (I am so reminded of drinking a tequila shot).

9. Regular exercise 
Do your exercises regularly - cycling, swimming - any activity  that strengthens your leg muscles. Of course don't do this when you're hurting.

9. Taking  vitamin supplements - phosphate, calcium, sellenium, vitamin B complex.  Consult yoiur physician  about this first.

I do hope however that your leg cramps are occasional like mine, because this could also be a symptom of other diseases:

My leg cramps remain sore after one or two days, so I take pain reliever during those days.  If you experience leg cramps frequently, defintely consult your physician.

References:
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/nocturnal-leg-cramps-nighttime-calf-muscle-pain.html
http://transformationtrainer.com/2010/10/muscle-cramps-and-soreness/ 

Trigger Finger, Gotcha! Ouch.........

Go and reach into your pockets, or extricate your fingers from your bag pocket and if your finger(s) does not lock on you or does not give a catch, you're lucky.  I am not saying that trigger finger is the norm but my sisters, my friends have them and it's starting to be a little too common.  This reminds me of an asthmatic friend who at a party asked  me if  I brought with me a nebulizer. "What", I asked, although the term is not foreign to me, as my daughter used to have asthma before. Our other friends laughed, reminded the inquiring friend, "You're the only asthmatic person here, why should we have nebulizers in our bags?. You made it sound like we're not normal if we don't have it in us."

What is a trigger finger? Trigger finger is a condition that affects the tendons in your fingers or thumb. It is also known as trigger digit or stenosing tendovaginitis. According to Wikipedia, "trigger finger, trigger thumb, or trigger digit, is a common disorder of later adulthood characterized by catching, snapping or locking of the involved finger flexor tendon, associated with dysfunction and pain. A disparity in size between the flexor tendon and the surrounding retinacular pulley system, most commonly at the level of the first annular (A1) pulley, results in difficulty flexing or extending the finger and the “triggering” phenomenon. The label of trigger finger is used because when the finger unlocks, it pops back suddenly, as if releasing a trigger on a gun." It limits finger movement and  it's so painful, especially when it's locked. You have to massage it slowly to unlock or uncurl it or you have to soak your hand in warm water.

What causes trigger finger?
I am a hardworking person. Since I was a small girl I was the 'kargador' of my grandmother and my aunts. I was the youngest and smallest 'working' member of that family, but I was chosen to be the one to carry everyone's shopping bags, not only the ordinary grocery bags but also the bags of merchandise that my aunt bought and sold to the whole neighborhood. I felt like  Supergirl or Wondergirl those days.  I thought that I had 'special power' as I could lift better than my peers. With that kind of mentality, when I grew up and became an office employee later, I lifted boxes of files, typewriters, etc. When I became a photographer specializing in interiors and furniture photography, I felt comfortable lifting big sofas, chairs and even beds. I did not heed people's advice  to go easy on my hands, my fingers, my arms.   In fact I made myself stronger by lifting weights - barbells, dumb bells, way before going to the gym became fashionable. That's my theory of the root cause of my trigger fingers. Added to that, another friend's theory is that I always touched hot objects like lids of pots and pans while cooking without using a pot holder to protect my fingers from the heat, then while 'resting' as my dish is simmering or boiling, I go right ahead and wash the dishes on the sink with cold water (no hot water system in our house then).   Did I not tell you I thought I had super powers? 

What really causes trigger finger?

According to this site, http://www.davidlnelson.md/Trigger_Finger.htm, these are the causes of trigger finger:

We do not know exactly what causes trigger finger, but we do know some things. The tendon is subjected to significant forces at the A1 pulley, which is where trigger finger occurs. Trigger fingers show changes in the substance of both the tendon and the pulley called "fibrocartilaginous metaplasia", which means that some of the cells change into cells that have the characteristics of cartilage cells such as those found in inter vertebral disks. The cells show an increase in both the size of the cells and the number of cells. The smooth gliding layer of the tendon and the pulley change, with fraying and disintegration of the surface. We do not see these high forces or cellular changes in other areas of the flexor tendons, therefore we feel that these changes must be related to the disease called trigger finger. (Trigger Digits: Diagnosis and Treatment, by Miguel J. Saldana, MD; Journal of the AAOS, July/August, 2001, pages 246-252).

The normal tendon is composed of very parallel strands of collagen.
The trigger nodule has degredation products of collagen
accumulating within the strands of collagen inside the tendon,
creating a fat place or "nodule" in the tendon.
(illustration by Dr. Nelson) 

The nodule inside the tendon can grow so big
that it cannot pass under the pulley.

In addition, the molecules of the collagen (collagen makes up about 95% of the substance of a tendon) degrade and break up. The degradation products of the collagen, called "mucinous degeneration", accumulate within the tendon, enlarging the area (see illustration, below). This in part creates the bump or swelling of the tendon. This seems to be a natural part of aging (like gray hair and wrinkles) and is not a sign of disease or overuse. That is, we do not see trigger nodules more commonly in people who do heavy manual labor for a living and we do not see it more commonly in the dominant hand, even though we all use our dominant hand much more than our non-dominant hand. Trigger nodules are most commonly seen in adults of middle age, especially post-menopausal women and men of a similar age.

It's hard for me to understand fully the goobledigook above, how about  you?

I agree with them on this, though, a doctor's view:
Who gets trigger finger?

Many people think trigger finger should come from a long history of hard work, but hard labor does not seem to be very related. It can come from an episode of overuse, but is usually not associated with any period of heavy use. It usually comes on gradually, and typically comes in our 40's, 50's, and 60's. It is about two to three times more common in women than in men, and the fourth finger is the most often involved. It is common for patients to get it in more than one finger. If they do, it is often either the same finger in both hands, or two adjacent fingers. I have only had one patient who had it in all 10 fingers, and he was a 60 year old who played handball. I think if you are 60 and go around whacking things with your palm, you should expect to get problems! Most patients will get it in only one or two fingers.

So what could be done for treatment?
The first step to recovery is to limit activities that aggravate trigger finger. Occasionally, your doctor may put a splint on the affected hand to restrict the joint movement. If symptoms continue, anti-inflammatory medications, such as ibuprofen or naproxen, may be prescribed. Your doctor may also recommend an injection of a steroid medication into the tendon sheath. If the condition does not respond to conservative measures or consistently recurs, surgery may be recommended to release the tendon sheath and restore movement.

Would you like to see how the surgery is done?


I had my first surgery on my right thumb.  After two years, I had my middle finger operated too, and recently and the worst ever, I had my forefinger operated. As you can see, I have two cuts for my middle finger surgery. After the first cut and the doctor's usual procedure (see above video), Doc asked me to curl my middle finger.  There was still a 'catch' so he made another cut and did his procedure again.  With my recent forefinger surgery, the doctor made me curl my forefinger after the procedure.  There was still a catch, so he made the cut wider, and did his procedure again. Then, he asked me again, and hayst, there was still a  catch.  We repeated this exercise four times!  Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouuuchhhhh!  Yes, I had local anesthesia, but I could feel the heaviness and I felt how my palm was poked repeatedly;  and of course the tourniquet got  painful and very uncomfortable.  Yes, Prescilla, the doctor ties a tourniquet on your upper arm to minimize blood letting, it could be messy, you know. 

My poor right hand, veteran of three trigger finger surgeries.

What are the possible complications of a trigger finger release?
Trigger finger surgery is very safe, but there are possible complications. The most common problem is that the trigger finger can come back if the tendon sheath is not adequately released. Other possible problems include infection, stiffness of the finger, and damage to the nerves of the finger. The likelihood of these problems is very small, and trigger finger surgery has a very high success rate.

Exercises for trigger finger:
This site offers good exercise for trigger finger:
http://www.ehow.com/list_6902465_alternative-finger-exercises.html

Flex Finger Exercise

• To gain flexibility and strength in your fingers, sit at a table, resting elbows and forearms comfortably on the surface. Test your degree of flexibility by trying to touch the ends of your fingers to your palm, then straightening them out again. If this is not possible, approach the task slowly by straightening each finger individually, starting with the easiest one to move and building it up by adding another finger every few days, as the previous one gains strength.  As with all exercise, proceed slowly, halting if you experience any pain. Carry out all exercises under the direction of your health care provider.

Bend and Straighten Fingers

• To bend and straighten your fingers, either all together or one at a time, begin with the joint nearest the nail. Keeping the palm straight and using the other hand to help if necessary, try to bend the first joint in towards the palm. Follow with bending in the middle joint and finish with the knuckle joint. Repeat for each finger. Switch hands and do the same routine, using the spare hand as an aid if you need to. Make these exercises part of your regular routine by scheduling them at a convenient time and try not to miss a day, since frequency is a big factor in the success of any regime.

Thumb Exercise

• While sitting comfortably, extend your wrist straight out in front of you, palm up. Supporting your forearm with a table top or the other hand, if necessary, touch the tip of your thumb to the top of your index finger to form the letter"O." Repeat with each finger and then move on to the other hand, pausing to straighten and spread the fingers between each letter.

Little Finger Exercise

• Sit in an upright chair at a dining table or office desk. Place your forearm flat on the table top with the palm facing down. Gradually turn and raise your hand, beginning with the thumb, leaving your little finger in contact with the table's surface. Use your other hand to support the hand performing this exercise by gripping about mid-forearm, not at the wrist.

It took one year for each of my fingers to feel good as new.  I hope and pray  that my latest surgery  be as successful as the first two, whew!  And you, take care of your hardworking hands.
References:
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=439018831876850134
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigger_finger
http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/handcondiitions/a/triggerfinger_2.htm



Do you think you have trigger finger(s)? If it's in an early stage, this product might help you!


Product Description
The TFS provides a pad over the A-1 pulley to relieve pressure during daily activities without interfering with hand function. It cushions the fat pad at the base of the finger and may completely reverse the trigger finger, making more aggressive treatments unnecessary. The TFS also assists in identifying the cause of the inflammation, which is often handling of certain objects. For size measure finger circumference mid-way between the base of the finger and the PIP joint. Due to anatomical differences or swelling, a larger size may be necessary.

An Answer to My Letter!

Surprise!  I received an answer to my "Letter to my Crush"

Here it is:

Sweetheart,
        I was thinking about last night at Sit-in-Bull, when I felt as relaxed as if I was laying on a cloud.  I wasn't doing or saying anything, just laying there like a slug, guzzling beer, but the time past so pleasantly.  For a moment I didn't know why, but then I realized it was because of you.  I feel comfortable just being near you, even when we don't have much to say.  I luxuriate in just being in your company.
       I guess the reason is that no one ever cared about me before.  In my entire life!  I've been telling you of my exploits, and they are not exaggerations.  In fact, they're just the tip of the surface of the aloofness between myself and absolutely every other person in my sixty-seven-year life.  I appreciate you more than I've ever cared for any other person or any other thing.
       I'm sorry if I haven't been a model husband.  I know I'm grouchy most of the time, but I just can't help myself. I'll try to do better, but please forgive me if I lose my grip some of the time.  Your happiness is very important to me, and I want to do all I can to assure it.  It's the objective of my life, my love.
       Thank you for giving me your caring.

             With the deepest heartfelt affection.

             Husband David

Idiomatic Expressions, PC Lingo, Chat and Texts Language, Emoticons, etc.

What can be harder than having discussion with your husband about the trip to Snake Island when distractingly he says, "I'd throw in the towel on this manuscript, I can't smooth out the rough apples.   That rhymed fine, but it's painful.  For one, we have only two brand new  fluffy pastel towels.  All the rest are fluffy and stained pastel towels.  Blame that on my hair's henna wax treatment. I have completely forgotten the Fuji apples, tsk tsk, I hope they have not rotten yet.

Okay, okay. Now you can surmise  my husband is an alien I am an alien.   Do you speak American?  I do, I also speak Filipino or Tagalog, and Ilonggo too, and some sprinkling of French, Spanish and Arabic.  Don't we all do?  But do we all understand the  idiomatic expressions devised by  the native speakers so  it would be easier to spot the aliens aside from spying them beamed up to their mother ship.  To make life harder now,  we also have PC lingo, chat and cell phone texts language and computer speak (did I  invent that term).

I compiled a few idiomatic expressions and used them in a sentence:

A1 - if something is A1, it is the very best or the finest.
Wife after receiving her monthly allowance from husband: "Sweetheart, your A1".
In a street in Saudi Arabia:  "Filipina, you're number 1", the man in Thob inside a Porsche car shouted.
Beat a dead horse - to engage in pointless and repetitive discussion
"The camel's dead, do you think it would come back to life if we beat a dead horse?",  the Bedouin  asked his wife.
Crash - to go to sleep
My computer crashed, I might as well crash too.
Over the hill - to be past (your) the prime
These steaks  are over the hill, my husbands been aging then for a week now. 
Rub someone in the wrong way - to annoy someone
Rob my neighbor, rib my enemy, you don't rub me in the wrong way, ever.
Age before beauty -  this idiom is used in a way of allowing an older person to do something first, though often in a slightly sarcastic way.
Hey, don't look at me.

PC Lingo
Elvis year - the peak of something's popularity
My husband's Elvis year is when he married me, ahem.

Plug-and-Play - a new hire who does not need any training.
A newly married guy is boasting to his friend, "My wife is plug-and-play, she does not need any training in bed.
Under mouse arrest - getting busted for violating an online service's rules of conduct.
Shit, my Farm Town is under mouse arrest, somebody must have clicked Report Abuse.
Cobweb site - a site that has not been updated for a long time, a dead web page.
I am updating, alright, don't call my blog a cobweb site yet, huhuhu.
404 - someone's who's clueless, from the Worldwide Web message, "404, URL not found", meaning that the document you've tried to access can't be found.
Don't ask me for more PC lingo, I am a 404 girl.

Chat Speak/ Cell Phone Text Codes 
Here are some of them:
AAK - Alive And Kicking
ADN - Any Day Now

AFAIK - As Far As I Know
AFK - Away From the Keyboard
BCNU - I'll Be seeing You 
BWL - Bursting with Laughter
BBL - Be Back Later
BBS - Be Back Soon
BFN - Bye for Now
BTW - By the Way
btw -   between you and me
CID - Crying in  Disgrace
CRS - Can't Remember Sh**
CYA - See you
EG -    Evil Grin
EOT - end of thread, meaning End of discussion
FWIW - For What it's Worth
GMTA - Great Minds Think Alike
HB - Hurry Back
HHIS - Hanging Head in Shame
IGP - I Gotta Pee
IMCO - In My Considered Opinion
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
IRL - In Real Life
JAS - Just A Second
JK - Just Kidding
KIT - Keep in Touch
PITA - Pain In The Ass
PPL -   People
TYT - Take Your time
WTH - What The Heck, or substitute H with F
YR - Yeah Right (sarcastic)
YW - You're Welcome

Emoticons
:-|      Ambivalent
o:-)   Angelic
>:-(   Angry
:-[{}  Blowing a Kiss
\-o    Bored
:( )    Can't Stop Talking
:'      Crying
:"-)   Crying with Joy
:-*     Drunk
{{{name}}} Cyber hug
{{{{{{name}}}}}} Warm Cyber Hug
{{ }}:**   Hugs and Kisses
:-#     Lips are Sealed
:~/     Mixed up
:-\      Undecided
 
Lastly, here's a cool way to have your computer  speak to you, worship you or make it tell you just about everything you like :)

This a super nice feature of Windows that can be abused so that you can make your computer talk or speak whatever you tell it! This method takes advantage of a built-in API installed on most Windows XP machines called SAPI (Speech Application Programming Interface). The Microsoft Speech API is what is used for the Narrative accessibility feature built into Windows. You can also write programs that call the API, which would allow you to let your applications speak. But making your computer say what you want is pretty easy actually! Here’s how you do it: Step 1: Open Notepad and paste the following text into a new document: Dim message, sapi message=InputBox(”Enter the text you want spoken”,”Speak This”) Set sapi=CreateObject(”sapi.spvoice”) sapi.Speak message   After copying and pasting the above, go back and retype all the quotation marks, as they don't save right.   Now when you go to save the file, give it any name, but make sure you also type .VBS after the name. Also, for the Save as type box, choose All files instead of the default Text Documents. Now double-click on the VBS file and you should see a input box where you can type in the text you want spoken! Go ahead and type something and click OK. That’s it! Your computer will speak to you in the default voice.  Some find the voice scary, some find it seductive.  I like it when it tells me, "Rich and famous Malou, I am giving you a million dollars to dine with me."  It even pronounced my name right!  What about yours?    If you did not understand  the above instructions above, go here:

http://www.online-tech-tips.com/fun-stuff/make-your-computer-talkspeak-what-you-type/

Do you have new text/chat codes or emoticons to add?

Would you like to be more internet savvy? Here's a practical Internet Dictionary for you: Review "A living dictionary devoted to the often cryptic and comedic vocabulary of the Internet, which is evolving at record speed." -- PC Magazine Product Description With emphasis on the personal, business, and technology aspects that make using the Internet so unique, this handy reference presents more than 2,500 computer-related terms and industry-specific jargon for anyone who needs to learn the new language of the Net. Newbies as well as techies will find commonly used shorthand, modern office phrases, and a large collection of emoticons and ASII art. An index sorts the terms into 10 popular categories with a complete list of international country codes and file extensions.

Love my Heel Spur

Are you loving your heel spur yet?

Young people, before you check the latest fashion forecast on shoes or the accessories for fall fashion, let me explain what heel spur is:

Heel spur is the more common name for a condition that is medically referred to as plantar fasciitis or heel spur syndrome. Plantar fasciitis is a location-oriented term that refers to the bottom of the foot(i.e. plantar warts). Fascia is a tough, inelastic band. 'itis' is a term used to describe something that is inflamed (i.e. tendonitis, bursitis).

Fascia tissue is located throughout the body, usually providing support to the musculoskeletal system, providing rigidity, much like guide wires support a cell phone tower. Together with ligaments and tendons, fascia allows our body system that allows us to be mobile. Plantar fascia (foot fascia) originates on the base of the heel and runs across the arch of the toes. The primary function of the plantar fascia is to support the arch of the foot.
(http://www.heel-spur-treatment.com/_heel_spur_treatment_guide.php)


From http://www.plantar-fasciitis.org/

This cute spur was detected on my left foot a year ago. Before I knew what it was, I could not explain why my heel hurts. My husband and I are hikers, being a member of HHH.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers

I was embarrassed telling my husband how my feet hurts, him being 66 years old and I, 53 years old and my feet hurts unbearably! I limped and sometimes I was close to tears. My thoughtful husband, bless him, insisted that I consult my orthopedic doctor. I have a regular orthopedic doctor who loves my tendinitis (that’s another blog subject later) so I consulted him about my painful foot. Not many people know what heel spur is. In fact when he sent me to an x-ray technician the technician took my x-ray but he himself has not heard of a heel spur. Nevertheless he took an x-ray and later my orthopedic doctor told me how my foot would have been better positioned for x-ray.

My doctor gave me a cortisone shot. So considerate of him, I had to buy the f******g injection myself from the drug store, about 400 meters away, went back to him, then he injected the area near my heel. I felt the painful injection but it did not do any good for my painful heel. Okay, the pain that I regularly felt on my right arthritic arm went away, my trigger finger (tendinitis) pains was lessened, but it did not do squat to my heel. I tried heel pads, in fact I have different kinds, different brands of them, I even had one custom made! It lessened the pain for every step I take but it did not help in taking out the pain.

I went back to my orthopedic doctor, and he referred us to a doctor, a physiotherapist, whose treatment we’ve used earlier for my tendonitis. His treatment was his useless ultrasound machine and oil, etc. I stopped going to his clinic after the second session as I felt\t no improvment for my tendonitis.

We went to another physiotherapist that was again recommended by my orthopedic doctor. You see how loyal we are to our orthopedic doctor :) My husband had gone to this physiotherapist before for his back pains. We were turned off by the doctor’s sweeping statement, “as you grow old there will be more pains” . . . . . He said that smilingly and victoriously, as if he was saying to us, . . . "welcome to the club. . . of old people who moan and groan everyday of pains". I don’t like that kind of doctor either. I researched on the internet and found exercises for the heel spur. The exercises are mostly for stretching and contracting the legs and feet.


Here are the exercises I found in internet:
http://www.heel-spur-treatment.com/_plantar_fasciitis_treatment_guide.php

Stair Stretch


This is a great stretch to do. Begin by finding a step, curb and something you can hold onto to maintain your balance. Remember to slowly ease into the stretch. Bouncing may cause further trauma to the area.
• Balance yourself on the balls of your feet. While doing this you may listen to Michael Buble on your iPod.




• Slowly allow your body weight to gently stretch the calf muscles until you feel tension.





• Hold this position for 30 seconds

Wall Stretch
While wearing shoes, locate a doorway.
1. Reach through the door way so that you can balance yourself.
2. Position one of your feet so that:
1. The ball of the foot is firmly against the wall.
2. The heel of the foot is firmly pressed into the ground.



3. Begin to slowly apply pressure by pulling your body towards the wall, making your lower leg more perpendicular to the floor.







4. Repeat with the other foot.

I added more – my warm up Tae Kwon Do exercises that I used to do when I was in my 20s. This exercise I do while listening to Santana's Samba Pa Ti :) It’s just that when I am not able to do these exercises and I had to keep walking or hiking everyday just like what happened when we went for a vacation in Las Vegas and New Orleans, that we had to hike/walk everyday to see interesting places. My heel spur killed me each night, and more so each time I woke up in the morning. Then I went around limping like and old woman that I am.


Recently I found a miracle cure: Your head will spin by the simplicity of the cure: ice pack!

The importance of Ice

(Http://www.heel-spur-treatment.com/heel-spurs/plantar_fasciitis_exercise.php)

Icing your foot is recommended as long as the inflammation is present. The cold temperatures help to slow down local metabolism in the foot. Depending on the type of injury, you may want to continue icing the area for as long as inflammation is present, even after the pain has subsided. This may mean icing the area during the entire rehabilitation process. It may be particularly beneficial to ice the area as you return to more strenuous activity.
There are many ways that you can ice your elbow. There seems to be 2 distinct methods:
• ice the area with a cold pack
• ice massage
The most common way is to simply put and ice pack directly on the foot. You can fill a ziploc bag with ice and just put that on the area. It may be a good idea to wrap the ice pack in a light cloth so you don't freeze your skin. It can happen, so you have been warned.

Since then, the pain from center of my foot to the heel vanished and the heel spur felt like the small wart that it actually is. It only hurts in the little area on my heel each time I walk. The ice pack vanished the inflammation and so I walk like normal human being again! F*****g shit! What a simple solution. I so believe in the usefulness of the internet. My husband always advised me from believing what’s on the internet, but on this issue, he grudgingly acknowledged that if its good for my beloved heel spur, go for it. But he tells me, we don’’t stop looking for a doctor who could rid of the heel spur, and so he calls every week a different doctor, asking how he’d treat a heel spur. Those who advises on cortisone injection or ultrasound, etc, they were counted out.

We are looking for a doctor who would mention surgery.

We would even listen to a doctor who will mention Extracorporeal Shock Wave therapy( ESW), although I could not imagine that my heel spur “listening” to acoustic will make it run away for good. I am so ignorant of these process, it does not sound good to me.

What does internet say about it? “…Shockwave therapy, Extracorporeal Shock Wave therapy uses a acoustic energy wave that is focused at the area of pain. It is believed that the shock wave causes micro-trauma to the area. This micro-trauma stimulates an intense focused inflammatory response that promotes healing at the insertion point of the plantar fascia.”

This is a technique that has recently been developed to break the cycle of re-injury associated with plantar fasciitis. Shockwave therapy was originally developed to treat kidney stones non-invasively. Shockwave therapy revolutionized the Urology ( urinary system surgeons ) by giving surgeon the options of treating the kidney stones without:
• Invasive surgery No cutting
• Overnight hospital stays, before stone removal surgery require multiple days in the hospital
• Less damage to the kidney area

But we have not found any doctor who does that here. My dear husband would like a doctor who will tell us, "okay, I could take the heel spur out through laser technology, I will pulverize the heel spur and send it to another planet, never to come back and bother your wife again".

And they say that surgery is the last resort:

..."Surgical options should be the last resort as they have the greatest risk of complications. Plantar fasciitis surgery has come a long way in recent years, even though the basic technique remains the same. The basic idea of surgery is to manually release the fascia of the foot with the hope that the pain will be eliminated, medically termed plantar fasciotomies. Older techniques involved a large incision made in the foot and then removal of the calcium deposit ( bone spur ) or a removal of part of the heel. The technique has evolved to release the fascia because the bony heel spur does not seem to be the source of the pain but rather a side effect of the inflammation of the area".

Surgery has the risk of further complications dues to changes of the structural support of the foot. Possible complications include:
• Fallen arches
• Lateral Column Syndrome
• Infection
• Nerve damage


And here are some useful TIPS if your doctor had convinced you that your heel spur’s gone:
How can you prevent re-injuring the heel?

To avoid re-injuring the fascia and causing further pain, the here are some recommendations:
• Always consult a foot specialist before starting a new exercise program
• Allow your body to adapt to the exercise program by starting slowly. It takes time for the body to adapt to the additional stress.
• Purchase and maintain good shoes and replace them regularly. Investing a little more money in good shoes will pay dividends in pain-free living.
• Remember to stretch your feet and Achilles tendon before and after exercise.
• Always try to exercise on an even surface. Uneven surfaces can but strange stressed on the foot and can result in pain.
• Avoid walking barefoot on hard surfaces. Without your shoes, you fascia has to support your entire body weight.
• If it hurts, STOP. Don't try to bear through the pain.

But for me, it's ice pack two or three times a day for now. We are still looking for a competent doctor. How’s your heel spur treating you lately?

Need more information about Plantar Fasciitis. This may help you:



"I am an avid runner and have suffered through plantar fasciitis twice and lasted for months. I got a copy of Injury afoot and followed the recommendations. I am happy to say I no longer have plantar fasciitis and follow the suggestions in the book to keep it from coming back. Excellent book and easy to read and understand."

Review by Just a Hobby

Lost in Red Rock Canyon

According to Redrock.org., the Red Rock Canyon area is, arguably, the most beautiful area in Nevada—perhaps the southwest. Whether you are a rock climber, a hiker, a rock hound, or just appreciate the beauty of wild horses, bighorn sheep, and wild burros roaming free, this part of Nevada is just for you.

Check out this site too : http://www.sunsetcities.com/redrock.html:

'Red Rock' as it is known to the locals, gets its name from the red colored sandstone formation embedded in the mountains that form the western and northern margins of this small valley. The distinct red colored layers of sandstone streak horizontally across mountains known as the Wilson Cliffs and can be seen from almost anywhere in Las Vegas valley.

Dave, the hiker, the adventurer just have to "conquer" the Red Rock Canyon.



On the picture below, do you see the four people who are on the top of the mountain? That's where Dave wanted to go.



As you could see the Red Rock Canyon is quite colorful, from yellow to orange to brown, and some green moss too.






So off we went climbing. It's not steep at all, in fact it's an easy climb, not slippery, not scary. Of course you must be prepared as usual with your water, candies (okay, maybe that's only for me, I prefer candies to drinking water as I don't like to be looking for a toilet in the middle of the hike).



A woman with a dog hiked with us, leaving her husband and a small boy behind. Her dog is so cute and delicate looking.



Later though, she decided it was too hot for her dog to go hiking that far, so she went back the trail.



We were almost at the top, but my heel spur acted out again, can't go on anymore, it was so painful. I told Dave I need to sit and rest. He said we're almost at the top, why don't he climb up to the top and take some pictures while I wait for him. I was okay with that so I handed him the camera.



While waiting, I amused myself by collecting stones. Yes, I collect nice stones. I imagine some of them could be made talistones. I think I have accumulated about seven colorful stones in all. I kept looking at the top, hoping to see Dave waving at me. No such thing happened.



I saw people going up, in twos, like two women who were talking non-stop and did not even notice me. I also saw two lovers, sweetly holding hands climbing. There was an oldish man who after a while went back, the top did not appeal much to him, I guess. There was also a young girl with ipod listening to wonderful unknown music. They all seemed preoccupied, they did not see me. I always felt like saying hello or waving at them, but it seemed to me I was invading their privacy. They were so engrossed with their climbing or with their companion or with their picture-taking. Some of them came back later, following the same trail they had before. I waited and waited and waited. After about 45 minutes, I started to worry. I thought 15 minutes would be enough for Dave to take pictures and come back! I started hollering, "Dave, I am here, where are you?''. I did that like every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. Then I made it more frequent, like non-stop, hehehe. I looked at the stones I gathered, and something occurred to me. Maybe the Indians or someone out there don't like me taking anything from the mountains. That's me, I am superstitious. I talk to the mountain, I talk to the stones, of course I talk to myself too. So I bargained with that "someone"- please bring back Dave, my husband. I won't take all of these stones, but three only for souvenir. I kept negotiating - for two, for one, until I finally gave up and decided I will not take anything at all, all the while hollering for Dave just in case he was lost and didn't know how to come back. Five minutes after I decided I will not take anything, here comes Dave, also hollering for me.




What a reunion! We hugged. He handed me back my camera, I gave him candies, and we related how we thought of each others as gone :( And you know what, we're been looking for each other for about one and a half hours. We went back the trail, I telling him how the others went down, how they chose the easier path.




Dave said that after taking pictures, he went down. It's just that it seemed all the trails going down looked the same and he did not know which one to choose. He chose one after the other but could not find me. He even asked other climbers if they saw me, "my Asian-looking wife". Nobody saw me, I was like invisible. Yeah I knew that. I was invisible to everyone, while I was holding on to the stones. He hollered for me too, "Sweetheart", "Malou", over and over like I did for him.

I thought my hollering would echo up and down the canyon, as I had seen movies about people calling out in rock formations. So I was sure my voice would carry the entire length of the canyon which was a mile or so long and he had to hear me. When he didn't answer, I thought something had to be wrong, because if he called out I would certainly hear him. He thought the same and thought something happened to me. (We both dreaded the other fell and was laying unconscious somewhere).

I didn't hear him hollering until he was within 50 feet of me. I could have heard him from a greater distance if he would have called for me on a street somewhere! This puzzled me. Was all that I heard about echoes in canyons wrong? Dave and I discussed the situation and realized what happened. Dave believes that echoes in canyons occur when the walls are relatively smooth. They reflect and propagate the sound, focusing it. The walls formations and huge boulders in Red Rock Canyon are very irregular. Instead of focusing the reflection of the sound, they defracted and diffused it, relayed the noise in all directions, dampened it, according to the same principle used in designing sound proofing building materials, which have a rough irregular surface. So the next time you're looking for someone in a canyon with huge boulders and randomly shaped formations, save your voice. They're not going to hear you. Unless they're almost close enough to see.



Now that Dave and I are together again, I could appreciate the surroundings again, like this beautiful plants.













We passed by this arranged stones. I am reminded of the arranged stones we saw at Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Monks do stone arrangements. The stones look too sacred to disarrange, much more to collect and bring home! The more reason I justify to myself that I decided right in leaving the gathered stones behind. In my thought, between the stones and my husband, I would choose him, and what a ridiculous argument!





And these two big rocks seemed to agree with me. They look like a sweet couple, don't they? Aren't they two heads looking at us?

Okay, so you think I am goofy.
















And back to mundane things, this is the U.S. of A, but look at this primitive toilet bowl. Actually, I've seen more primitive stuff like this - in Cambodia, in remote villages of Saudi Arabia, and why should I go too far, in the Philippines!











But as this is America, we have abundance of toilet paper.



Upon reaching our hotel, surprise! I found in my pocket a stone from the Red Rock Canyon. During my "negotiation with someone" up there, I kept emptying my pocket, then putting some of them back again, then emptied my pockets finally. I thought I had nothing. "They" gave me one remembrance after all.




Thanks a lot, Red Rock Canyon!



Would you like THE best guide book to climbing Red Rock Canyon? This is the best!



This review is from: Red Rocks, a Climber's Guide (Paperback)
Very well organized with color photos and detailed drawings. Don't climb Red Rocks with any other book. I bought Red Rock Canyon a Climbing Guide and it is almost useless compared to this book.