A while back I saw a knee surgeon regarding my knees. Both hurt from time to time and produce a crackling sound when moved through a normal range of motion. Since then I have been following a regimen of Aleve (2 at a time, twice a day) to reduce inflammation, and liquid Glucosamine (2 tablespoons twice a day) which has eliminated nearly all my pain. Now my knees only hurt once in a while.
My right big toe, however has continued to hurt almost every day. And in the past few weeks my right elbow (injured years ago in martial arts training) has been quite sore too. So I made an appointment to see a chiropractor last week. The results have been amazing.
She pointed out that the heel spur I had reduced through ultrasound treatments the winter of 2000/2001 most likely involved the tendon that anchors on the front of the heel and the base of the big toe, traversing the arch in the process. My arches have fallen putting stress and strain on this tendon. As the tendon is stretched it pulls on the big toe resulting in the constant pain I’ve had for some time now. Over the weekend I purchased a set of arch supports to wear inside my work shoes. The difference is amazing. My toe doesn’t hurt. The pain is gone as if by magic.
The chiropractor has also been working on the soft tissue around my elbow, particularly below the elbow in my forearm and also on the muscles on that side of my neck. While my elbow is still slightly sore, the overall discomfort level is vastly reduced from where it had been. I know that many people view chiropractic with skepticism, but for me the active nature of the process seems to work wonders.