I'm wondering if any other BF'ers have input on what might be causing

this. I have a pain on the top of my right foot (and a bit on my left)

around the area of the 4th metatarsal, about in the middle of my foot.

I didn't run a lot over the summer, but I did wear flip-flops a lot,

and I suspect that is the cause.



It isn't a stress fracture--I'm able to run 5 miles BF, and it doesn't

hurt at all when I run. It does hurt the next day, and I'm wearing my

Waldies now to see if that helps. Otherwise, I'm icing and taking

naproxen to see if that helps.



Barefoot Kelly in Madison

----- Original Message -----

From: Kelly Cox

To: RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 4:45 AM

Subject: [RunningBarefoot] pain on top of foot?

I'm wondering if any other BF'ers have input on what might be causing
this. I have a pain on the top of my right foot (and a bit on my left)
around the area of the 4th metatarsal, about in the middle of my foot.
I didn't run a lot over the summer, but I did wear flip-flops a lot,
and I suspect that is the cause.

It isn't a stress fracture--I'm able to run 5 miles BF, and it doesn't
hurt at all when I run. It does hurt the next day, and I'm wearing my
Waldies now to see if that helps. Otherwise, I'm icing and taking
naproxen to see if that helps.

Barefoot Kelly in Madison

Hi Kelly,



I had a similar pain last summer about a month after I started running BF. The

pain was most noticeable when I dorsiflexed my foot. I had an MRI done and the

diagnosis came back as a 'stress reaction' in a couple of the metatarsals as

well as the calcaneal bone. From what I understand, that's a term that sports

physicians use to describe an inflammation of the bone tissue. This makes the

tissue weaker and more susceptible to a fracture. My short term remedy was to

switch to wearing shoes for all my running since I was in the middle of a

marathon training program and I didn't want to back off significantly and wait

for my feet to heal completely. In the mean time, I was doing feet and ankle

strengthening exercises similar to the yoga toes exercises that Ken Bob

referred to recently. Also, I did quite a bit of barefoot hiking over rugged

trails. I highly recommend that. It's the best thing you can do to strengthen

the various muscles/tendons/ligaments in your feet as well as all the auxiliary

stabilizing structures in the ankles and further up. It also improves your

reflexes and awareness, not to mention that it's a lot of fun! Other hikers

will think that you're superhuman for doing this even though it's quite

pleasurable.



In my experience, it takes about 2-3 months of consistent practice for your

feet to adapt to the point where you can run BF at about the same mileage and

intensity as you're used to with shoes without experiencing any niggling aches.

Patience and consistency are the key.



-Paul



--- Kelly Cox <wisc_galoot@...> wrote:



> I'm wondering if any other BF'ers have input on what might be causing

> this. I have a pain on the top of my right foot (and a bit on my left)

> around the area of the 4th metatarsal, about in the middle of my foot.

> I didn't run a lot over the summer, but I did wear flip-flops a lot,

> and I suspect that is the cause.

>

> It isn't a stress fracture--I'm able to run 5 miles BF, and it doesn't

> hurt at all when I run. It does hurt the next day, and I'm wearing my

> Waldies now to see if that helps. Otherwise, I'm icing and taking

> naproxen to see if that helps.

>

> Barefoot Kelly in Madison

>

>

Hi,



I also had this same pain when I first started.  After several terrible

doctors visits, I eventually found one who was willing to give me an MRI

and it came back that I had a stress reaction.  If you go to doctor and

all he does is an x-ray and then say you are fine, just smile and go find

another doctor.  An x-ray is not a good way to see stress fractures or

reactions.



I struggled for months with this pain, mostly because I didn't want to

stop running.  I took anti-inflammatories twice a day like I was told, but

in the end, that made things a million times worse.  I would take two

weeks off, then go run again, feel fine, and then the pain would be

horrible the next morning.  They did an excellent job covering up the

pain, but I don't think they helped the healing at all (maybe even

hindered it).  The drugs will only prolong your suffering, in my opinion.



Eventually, I found that by taking about 2 weeks off from running, I

could get the pain to go away.  I would also ice my feet every night and

wear my huge annoying support shoes during the 2 weeks.  Then for

the next 3 weeks or so, I did not run, but started to walk more barefoot

and in my sandals.  The main point is that it takes time to heal, and if

you ignore the pain, it will never go away, and will most likely get

worse, eventually turning into a stress fracture (at least that's what the

doctor said).



Godd luck,



--Nate

--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, Paul L <hewlettp2@...>

wrote:

>

> Hi Kelly,

>

> I had a similar pain last summer about a month after I started running

BF. The

> pain was most noticeable when I dorsiflexed my foot. I had an MRI

done and the

> diagnosis came back as a 'stress reaction' in a couple of the

metatarsals as

> well as the calcaneal bone. From what I understand, that's a term that

sports

> physicians use to describe an inflammation of the bone tissue. This

makes the

> tissue weaker and more susceptible to a fracture. My short term

remedy was to

> switch to wearing shoes for all my running since I was in the middle

of a

> marathon training program and I didn't want to back off significantly

and wait

> for my feet to heal completely. In the mean time, I was doing feet and

ankle

> strengthening exercises similar to the yoga toes exercises that Ken

Bob

> referred to recently. Also, I did quite a bit of barefoot hiking over

rugged

> trails. I highly recommend that. It's the best thing you can do to

strengthen

> the various muscles/tendons/ligaments in your feet as well as all the

auxiliary

> stabilizing structures in the ankles and further up. It also improves

your

> reflexes and awareness, not to mention that it's a lot of fun! Other

hikers

> will think that you're superhuman for doing this even though it's quite

> pleasurable.

>

> In my experience, it takes about 2-3 months of consistent practice for

your

> feet to adapt to the point where you can run BF at about the same

mileage and

> intensity as you're used to with shoes without experiencing any

niggling aches.

> Patience and consistency are the key.

>

> -Paul

>

> --- Kelly Cox <wisc_galoot@...> wrote:

>

> > I'm wondering if any other BF'ers have input on what might be

causing

> > this. I have a pain on the top of my right foot (and a bit on my left)

> > around the area of the 4th metatarsal, about in the middle of my

foot.

> > I didn't run a lot over the summer, but I did wear flip-flops a lot,

> > and I suspect that is the cause.

> >

> > It isn't a stress fracture--I'm able to run 5 miles BF, and it doesn't

> > hurt at all when I run. It does hurt the next day, and I'm wearing my

> > Waldies now to see if that helps. Otherwise, I'm icing and taking

> > naproxen to see if that helps.

> >

> > Barefoot Kelly in Madison

> >

> >

>

Nate and others, thanks for the input. I've been running BF for over 3

years now, and I thought the bones and tissues in my feet had

toughened up quite a bit, but I also am still 210 lbs, and this is

probably why my foot is suffering. I'm OK with taking a couple of

weeks off of running, and wearing cushy shoes in the meantime. I'm

biking plenty, and I'm going to get my paddleboard out on the Madison

lakes a bit too.



I'll take your advice and stick with the ice, and avoid the

anti-inflammatory meds. Once I'm pain-free for a week or so, I'll

start back slowly.



Barefoot Kelly in Madison



--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, "Nate Polaske"

<tiggermaxcocoa@...> wrote:

>

> Hi,

>

> I also had this same pain when I first started.  After several terrible

> doctors visits, I eventually found one who was willing to give me an

MRI

> and it came back that I had a stress reaction.  If you go to doctor and

> all he does is an x-ray and then say you are fine, just smile and go

find

> another doctor.  An x-ray is not a good way to see stress fractures or

> reactions.

>

> I struggled for months with this pain, mostly because I didn't want to

> stop running.  I took anti-inflammatories twice a day like I was

told, but

> in the end, that made things a million times worse.  I would take two

> weeks off, then go run again, feel fine, and then the pain would be

> horrible the next morning.  They did an excellent job covering up the

> pain, but I don't think they helped the healing at all (maybe even

> hindered it).  The drugs will only prolong your suffering, in my

opinion.

>

> Eventually, I found that by taking about 2 weeks off from running, I

> could get the pain to go away.  I would also ice my feet every night

and

> wear my huge annoying support shoes during the 2 weeks.  Then for

> the next 3 weeks or so, I did not run, but started to walk more

barefoot

> and in my sandals.  The main point is that it takes time to heal,

and if

> you ignore the pain, it will never go away, and will most likely get

> worse, eventually turning into a stress fracture (at least that's

what the

> doctor said).

>

> Godd luck,

>

> --Nate

> --- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, Paul L <hewlettp2@>

> wrote:

> >

> > Hi Kelly,

> >

> > I had a similar pain last summer about a month after I started

running

> BF. The

> > pain was most noticeable when I dorsiflexed my foot. I had an MRI

> done and the

> > diagnosis came back as a 'stress reaction' in a couple of the

> metatarsals as

> > well as the calcaneal bone. From what I understand, that's a term

that

> sports

> > physicians use to describe an inflammation of the bone tissue. This

> makes the

> > tissue weaker and more susceptible to a fracture. My short term

> remedy was to

> > switch to wearing shoes for all my running since I was in the middle

> of a

> > marathon training program and I didn't want to back off significantly

> and wait

> > for my feet to heal completely. In the mean time, I was doing feet

and

> ankle

> > strengthening exercises similar to the yoga toes exercises that Ken

> Bob

> > referred to recently. Also, I did quite a bit of barefoot hiking over

> rugged

> > trails. I highly recommend that. It's the best thing you can do to

> strengthen

> > the various muscles/tendons/ligaments in your feet as well as all the

> auxiliary

> > stabilizing structures in the ankles and further up. It also improves

> your

> > reflexes and awareness, not to mention that it's a lot of fun! Other

> hikers

> > will think that you're superhuman for doing this even though it's

quite

> > pleasurable.

> >

> > In my experience, it takes about 2-3 months of consistent practice

for

> your

> > feet to adapt to the point where you can run BF at about the same

> mileage and

> > intensity as you're used to with shoes without experiencing any

> niggling aches.

> > Patience and consistency are the key.

> >

> > -Paul

> >

> > --- Kelly Cox <wisc_galoot@> wrote:

> >

> > > I'm wondering if any other BF'ers have input on what might be

> causing

> > > this. I have a pain on the top of my right foot (and a bit on my

left)

> > > around the area of the 4th metatarsal, about in the middle of my

> foot.

> > > I didn't run a lot over the summer, but I did wear flip-flops a lot,

> > > and I suspect that is the cause.

> > >

> > > It isn't a stress fracture--I'm able to run 5 miles BF, and it

doesn't

> > > hurt at all when I run. It does hurt the next day, and I'm

wearing my

> > > Waldies now to see if that helps. Otherwise, I'm icing and taking

> > > naproxen to see if that helps.

> > >

> > > Barefoot Kelly in Madison

> > >

> > >

> >

>

Nate Polaske wrote:

>

> I struggled for months with this pain, mostly because I didn't want to

> stop running.  I took anti-inflammatories twice a day like I was told, but

> in the end, that made things a million times worse.  I would take two

> weeks off, then go run again, feel fine, and then the pain would be

> horrible the next morning.  They did an excellent job covering up the

> pain, but I don't think they helped the healing at all (maybe even

> hindered it).  The drugs will only prolong your suffering, in my opinion.

>



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

"Inflammation (Latin, inflammatio, to set on fire) is the complex biological

response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged

cells, or irritants. It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove

the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the

tissue. Inflammation is not a synonym for infection. Even in cases where

inflammation is caused by infection it is incorrect to use the terms as

synonyms: infection is caused by an exogenous pathogen, while inflammation

is the response of the organism to the pathogen."



anti-inflammatories suppress that reaction, but do not fix the cause for the

inflamation. It's a good way to releive the pain when it is such that you

cannot sleep for example. But, if a pain prevents you from doing something

(your body telling you something), taking anti-inflammatories and doing it

anyway is asking for trouble, because your putting your body through

something that hurts it, but are now death to the signals (the pain). This

is a common cause for stress fracture ; your bones are reacting to say an

added load (more mileage), and rather than wait and let them grow stronger

you suppress the pain with the anti-inflammatory and force the bones to go

beyond what they are able to.



In the "The cutting edge runner", Fitzgerald explains that different part of

your body adapts at different paces, and contrary to popular belief, the

cardiovascular system is the fastest to adapt, then the muscle, then the

bones, and finally the articulations. That's why you need to increase

mileage slowly. Remember the story of the first marathon !





--

Yves.

http://www.SollerS.ca

Kelly,

   I agree that this pain could well be a stress fracture.  Although it

may not be the only possible explanation.  A couple of years ago I had

a pain on the top of my foot on the 4th meta tarsal that I was sure

was a stress fracture, but it wasn't.  Instead it was a knot in the

muscle between my metatarsals.  I could dig my finger in between the

bones and find a very sore spot.  There was a little lump on what I

thought was the bone but then I realized the lump moved a little, and

discovered it was on a muscle.  After a few days of massage the pain

lessened and eventually went away.



Good luck with your injury.



Barefoot Brian



--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, "Kelly Cox" <wisc_galoot@...>

wrote:

>

> I'm wondering if any other BF'ers have input on what might be causing

> this. I have a pain on the top of my right foot (and a bit on my left)

> around the area of the 4th metatarsal, about in the middle of my foot.

> I didn't run a lot over the summer, but I did wear flip-flops a lot,

> and I suspect that is the cause.

>

> It isn't a stress fracture--I'm able to run 5 miles BF, and it doesn't

> hurt at all when I run. It does hurt the next day, and I'm wearing my

> Waldies now to see if that helps. Otherwise, I'm icing and taking

> naproxen to see if that helps.

>

> Barefoot Kelly in Madison

>

My theory is that many of these pains are simply (or not-so-simply)

counterparts to bottom-of-the-foot pain (platar fasciitis). P.F.

responds well to stretching and exercise.



As with any exercise (especially if you're starting with a possible

injury), start gently and pay attention. Do not continue if the

exercise exacerbates the pain.



I wrote an article about this earlier this year, including some

exercises I do for top-of-foot pain:

http://runningbarefoot.org/?p=1186



Have fun,

-barefoot ken bob



--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, "sls1j" <brian.dickey@...>

wrote:

>

> Kelly,

>   I agree that this pain could well be a stress fracture.  Although

it

> may not be the only possible explanation.  A couple of years ago I

had

> a pain on the top of my foot on the 4th meta tarsal that I was sure

> was a stress fracture, but it wasn't.  Instead it was a knot in the

> muscle between my metatarsals.  I could dig my finger in between the

> bones and find a very sore spot.  There was a little lump on what I

> thought was the bone but then I realized the lump moved a little,

and

> discovered it was on a muscle.  After a few days of massage the pain

> lessened and eventually went away.

>

> Good luck with your injury.

>

> Barefoot Brian

Kelly,

   I agree that this pain could well be a stress fracture.  Although it

may not be the only possible explanation.  A couple of years ago I had

a pain on the top of my foot on the 4th meta tarsal that I was sure

was a stress fracture, but it wasn't.  Instead it was a knot in the

muscle between my metatarsals.  I could dig my finger in between the

bones and find a very sore spot.  There was a little lump on what I

thought was the bone but then I realized the lump moved a little, and

discovered it was on a muscle.  After a few days of massage the pain

lessened and eventually went away.



Good luck with your injury.



Barefoot Brian



--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, "Kelly Cox" <wisc_galoot@...>

wrote:

>

> I'm wondering if any other BF'ers have input on what might be causing

> this. I have a pain on the top of my right foot (and a bit on my left)

> around the area of the 4th metatarsal, about in the middle of my foot.

> I didn't run a lot over the summer, but I did wear flip-flops a lot,

> and I suspect that is the cause.

>

> It isn't a stress fracture--I'm able to run 5 miles BF, and it doesn't

> hurt at all when I run. It does hurt the next day, and I'm wearing my

> Waldies now to see if that helps. Otherwise, I'm icing and taking

> naproxen to see if that helps.

>

> Barefoot Kelly in Madison

>

----- Original Message -----

From: Yves Dorfsman

To: RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 11:44 PM

Subject: Re: [RunningBarefoot] Re: pain on top of foot?

Nate Polaske wrote:
>
> I struggled for months with this pain, mostly because I didn't want to
> stop running. I took anti-inflammatories twice a day like I was told, but
> in the end, that made things a million times worse. I would take two
> weeks off, then go run again, feel fine, and then the pain would be
> horrible the next morning. They did an excellent job covering up the
> pain, but I don't think they helped the healing at all (maybe even
> hindered it). The drugs will only prolong your suffering, in my opinion.
>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflammation :
"Inflammation (Latin, inflammatio, to set on fire) is the complex biological
response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged
cells, or irritants. It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove
the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the
tissue. Inflammation is not a synonym for infection. Even in cases where
inflammation is caused by infection it is incorrect to use the terms as
synonyms: infection is caused by an exogenous pathogen, while inflammation
is the response of the organism to the pathogen."

anti-inflammatories suppress that reaction, but do not fix the cause for the
inflamation. It's a good way to releive the pain when it is such that you
cannot sleep for example. But, if a pain prevents you from doing something
(your body telling you something), taking anti-inflammatories and doing it
anyway is asking for trouble, because your putting your body through
something that hurts it, but are now death to the signals (the pain). This
is a common cause for stress fracture ; your bones are reacting to say an
added load (more mileage), and rather than wait and let them grow stronger
you suppress the pain with the anti-inflammatory and force the bones to go
beyond what they are able to.

In the "The cutting edge runner", Fitzgerald explains that different part of
your body adapts at different paces, and contrary to popular belief, the
cardiovascular system is the fastest to adapt, then the muscle, then the
bones, and finally the articulations. That's why you need to increase
mileage slowly. Remember the story of the first marathon !

--
Yves.
http://www.SollerS.ca

---

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 8.0.100 / Virus Database: 270.6.7/1631 - Release Date: 24/08/2008 12:15 PM

<<< I agree about this ice and antiinflatmmatory thing. I think people are

using ice/antiinflamatory too much to think they are getting healing. >>>



I've always suspected this given the stuff I've been reading in natural

hygene and naturopathic medicine. We have a modern love affair with

resisting every attempt of the body to heal itself, and like you I believe

that tactic should be limited to times when the body's response is too

painful and debilitating and needs to be moderated. Even Arnold Ehret, the

guru of fasting, said that detoxification can usefully be "regulated as to

speed" given the fact that often the process can be painful and, if it

happens too fast, even dangerous.



But when I get fever, which causes chills because the body wants to be hot,

I cooperate and help the body get comfortably warm. I've actually read

advice to do the opposite, to try to kill the fever with cold. CRAZY idea!

Since the fever is there to "burn" away something that shouldn't be there.

Now if it gets dangerously high and/or disruptive, I am for regulating it

even if it requires, god forbid, a Tylenol. Once someone said in an article

that when you feel a cold first coming on, bundle up and go for a light jog

so that you are hot and sweaty. This may head it off by helping the body

"fever" it away.



I talked with someone who was describing a store called "Bano" which is a

health spa that specializes in alternating immersion in hot and cold water.

This is thought to invigorate the body in unique ways. While I haven't gone

there yet, I do a similar thing in the shower. I've been persuaded as of

late that many of the best things for our body and mind involve some sort of

alternation between extremes (fast and slow, tension and release, hot and

cold, high and low singing, "ins and outs" eye exercises, and so on).



Billy

Billy Gard wrote:

>

> But when I get fever, which causes chills because the body wants to be hot,

> I cooperate and help the body get comfortably warm. I've actually read

> advice to do the opposite, to try to kill the fever with cold. CRAZY idea!

> Since the fever is there to "burn" away something that shouldn't be there.

> Now if it gets dangerously high and/or disruptive, I am for regulating it

> even if it requires, god forbid, a Tylenol. Once someone said in an article

> that when you feel a cold first coming on, bundle up and go for a light jog

> so that you are hot and sweaty. This may head it off by helping the body

> "fever" it away.



Some people think that the higher than normal temperature when we have a

fever kills some germs. On the other hand, I have read (no idea if it is

sustained by studies) that very high temperature (>= 42) can damage the

brain. Another worry is dehydratation, especially in young kids.



About the tylenol, I believe that sleep helps us healing, and if I or my

kids are so sick that we cannot sleep, we use small doses (1/4 to 1/2 of the

prescribed dose for our weight) to help falling asleep.



--

Yves.

http://www.SollerS.ca

When I feel chilled from a fever, I crawl under a pile of blankets,

and drink lots of water. Within an hour, except for wanting a good

shower or bath, I feel much better.



Our bodies responses to various diseases are all compromises. For

example, dogs and cats have higher body temperatures, and, at least

my dogs and cats, historically, rarely caught colds and fevers.

However they only live a couple of decades, and have smaller brains -

though in some ways, they might, at times, seem much smarter than us.



In any case, it seems our typically lower body temperature, while

allowing us to live quite a bit longer than most other mammals, also

leaves us a bit more susceptible to catching colds and flus.



Of course, body temperature is only one, of many, factors in the

complex makeup of life on this planet. What we eat, whether we feel

we have a purpose, how much we eat, where we live, how hard we play

and/or work, how much we worry, whether we share our work, play,

worry, and love with friends and family, etc., all contribute to the

dance we do between health and disease.



Try to dance, as much as possible, near the healthy side.



Have fun,

-barefoot ken bob







--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, Yves Dorfsman <yves@...>

wrote:

> Some people think that the higher than normal temperature when we

have a

> fever kills some germs. On the other hand, I have read (no idea if

it is

> sustained by studies) that very high temperature (>= 42) can damage

the

> brain. Another worry is dehydratation, especially in young kids.

>

> About the tylenol, I believe that sleep helps us healing, and if I

or my

> kids are so sick that we cannot sleep, we use small doses (1/4 to

1/2 of the

> prescribed dose for our weight) to help falling asleep.

>

> --

> Yves.

> http://www.SollerS.ca

>

Yarrow root tea. It raises the body's temperature and creates

sweating, cleans the skin. Good for fevers.



Ryan





--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, "Ken Bob Saxton" <KenBob@...>

wrote:

>

> When I feel chilled from a fever, I crawl under a pile of blankets,

> and drink lots of water. Within an hour, except for wanting a good

> shower or bath, I feel much better.

>

> Our bodies responses to various diseases are all compromises. For

> example, dogs and cats have higher body temperatures, and, at least

> my dogs and cats, historically, rarely caught colds and fevers.

> However they only live a couple of decades, and have smaller brains -

> though in some ways, they might, at times, seem much smarter than us.

>

> In any case, it seems our typically lower body temperature, while

> allowing us to live quite a bit longer than most other mammals, also

> leaves us a bit more susceptible to catching colds and flus.

>

> Of course, body temperature is only one, of many, factors in the

> complex makeup of life on this planet. What we eat, whether we feel

> we have a purpose, how much we eat, where we live, how hard we play

> and/or work, how much we worry, whether we share our work, play,

> worry, and love with friends and family, etc., all contribute to the

> dance we do between health and disease.

>

> Try to dance, as much as possible, near the healthy side.

>

> Have fun,

> -barefoot ken bob

>

>

>

> --- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, Yves Dorfsman <yves@>

> wrote:

> > Some people think that the higher than normal temperature when we

> have a

> > fever kills some germs. On the other hand, I have read (no idea if

> it is

> > sustained by studies) that very high temperature (>= 42) can damage

> the

> > brain. Another worry is dehydratation, especially in young kids.

> >

> > About the tylenol, I believe that sleep helps us healing, and if I

> or my

> > kids are so sick that we cannot sleep, we use small doses (1/4 to

> 1/2 of the

> > prescribed dose for our weight) to help falling asleep.

> >

> > --

> > Yves.

> > http://www.SollerS.ca

> >

>

In my experience, ice does NOT heal an injury.  What it may do is

reduce swelling, allowing more bloodflow in the area of interest while

it warms back up.  I remember from some physiology classes I took that

the inflammation response in the body is a positive feedback mechanism

and can easily get out of control.  Do you NEED to ice to get it back

under control?  Of course not.  But in some cases, at least in my

experience, it seems to accelerate healing, or at least make the pain

tolerable enough that I can relax.



--Nate





--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, "Billy Gard" <billygard@...>

wrote:

>

> <<< I agree about this ice and antiinflatmmatory thing. I think

people are

> using ice/antiinflamatory too much to think they are getting

healing. >>>

>

> I've always suspected this given the stuff I've been reading in natural

> hygene and naturopathic medicine. We have a modern love affair with

> resisting every attempt of the body to heal itself, and like you I

believe

> that tactic should be limited to times when the body's response is too

> painful and debilitating and needs to be moderated. Even Arnold

Ehret, the

> guru of fasting, said that detoxification can usefully be "regulated

as to

> speed" given the fact that often the process can be painful and, if it

> happens too fast, even dangerous.

>

> But when I get fever, which causes chills because the body wants to

be hot,

> I cooperate and help the body get comfortably warm. I've actually read

> advice to do the opposite, to try to kill the fever with cold. CRAZY

idea!

> Since the fever is there to "burn" away something that shouldn't be

there.

> Now if it gets dangerously high and/or disruptive, I am for

regulating it

> even if it requires, god forbid, a Tylenol. Once someone said in an

article

> that when you feel a cold first coming on, bundle up and go for a

light jog

> so that you are hot and sweaty. This may head it off by helping the body

> "fever" it away.

>

> I talked with someone who was describing a store called "Bano" which

is a

> health spa that specializes in alternating immersion in hot and cold

water.

> This is thought to invigorate the body in unique ways. While I

haven't gone

> there yet, I do a similar thing in the shower. I've been persuaded as of

> late that many of the best things for our body and mind involve some

sort of

> alternation between extremes (fast and slow, tension and release,

hot and

> cold, high and low singing, "ins and outs" eye exercises, and so on).

>

> Billy

>