Ask a Question about Your Condiition

It is good to start with the foot doc to get proper info about what you have. I have been to 2 foot specialists and they both suggested the same things. The thing that has helped me lately is wearing the night splints when I am watching TV at night after work or reading. When I get home I put a cold pack on my feet and really stretch them out, then put on the night splints. I am sorry to say nothing gets rid of my pain completely. It started in my left foot, just woke up with it one morning. But the last few months it has moved to the right also. I am a bank teller and on my feet alot. Although, I can sit on a stool most of the time. This is a difficult condition and I have tried everything including 2 weeks rest off the feet and cortizone shots. But being on my feet keeps it flared up. Best of luck.

Pansy,

Have you ever had a severe ankle sprain, or any other leg injury that put you in a "walking boot"?

Stretching is good, and night splints help, but there is a special kind of stretching that reprograms the muscles to accept and hold the longer length. it's easy to do, and you can do it while watching TV. It's called M.E.T., we discovered it in the 40s & 50s when we were fighting the adaptive muscle shortening that comes with polio, and other types of paralysis.

MET Basics

MET stands for Muscle Energy Technique. It is a type of Neuro-Muscular Re-education. Throughout your muscles are little receptors called Golgi Tendon Organs. The highest concentration of them in each muscle is where the muscle thins down into the tendon. They tell the muscles how far they are allowed to stretch, and how fast. If they think a muscle is going to far too fast, they will contract, with great force, in an effort to “save” the muscle. Unfortunately, this will usually tear it. What MET does is teaches these receptor to accept the longer muscle length. This can be done with just about every skeletal muscle in the body. The best part is, it’s easy to do.

To do MET, you have to figure out what muscle you have to stretch. In the calf, the two big muscles you need to worry about are the Gastrocnemius, and the Soleus. The gastrocnemius is the muscle everyone thinks of when they think of the calf, it starts ABOVE THE KNEE, and attaches to the back of the femur (thighbone). About halfway down to the heel, it turns to tendon, and joins up with the tendon of the Soleus, to form the Achilles Tendon. The Soleus starts at the top of the tibia and fibula, (the shin) and looks sort of like a mountain. It is thick and long, and turns to tendon about 1-2” above the heel, depending on how tall you are.

You will need, a chair or a couch. A long yoga strap or old tie, pretty much anything that is 1.5” – 3” wide, and 5 –6 feet long. It should NOT be a stretchy material.

Specific Directions, MET for the Calf

v STEP 1: M.E.T. to Soleus
Ø While you’re sitting in a chair, with your leg bent and your foot on the floor, place the strap across the bottom of your foot so that it’s partly on the ball, but partly on the toes as well.
Ø Stretch the foot and toes by pulling the foot up toward your body until you feel a little resistance.
Ø Breathe in and hold it
Ø Press gently down with the ball of the foot using ONLY 10% of your strength.
Ø While pressing with the foot, pull upward with your arms just hard enough so that the foot doesn’t actually move.
Ø If you feel the muscle going “flutter, flutter, twitch” THIS IS NORMAL, don’t “power through it”. This little “flutter” means you’re actually feeling the Golgi Tendon Organs re-set themselves. (YAY!)
Ø Hold for 7-10 seconds
Ø As you release both breath and muscle tension, take the foot gently but immediately into further stretch. Do not wait, do not pass go, and do not collect $200. Don’t slam it into position, but don’t release the pressure either, just take it into further stretch.
Ø Repeat for a total of 3.

v Step 2:
Ø With the strap still in place, lift and point the foot all the way back and forth with gentle additional stretch and the lifted end of the range of motion.
Ø Repeat for a total of 5.

v Step 3: MET to Gastrocnemius
Ø While you’re sitting in a chair, or on the floor, with your leg straight out in front of you, place the strap across the bottom of your foot so that it’s partly on the ball of the foot, but partly on the toes as well.
Ø Stretch the foot and toes by pulling the foot up toward your body until you feel a little resistance.
Ø Breathe in and hold it
Ø Press gently down with the ball of the foot using 10% of your strength
Ø Hold for 7-10 seconds
Ø As you release both breath and muscle tension, take the foot gently but immediately into further stretch.
Ø Repeat for a total of 3.

v Step 4:
Ø With the strap still in place, lift and point the foot all the way back and forth with gentle additional stretch and the lifted end of the range of motion.
Ø Repeat for a total of 5.

Kaelyn