Pain in Feet, Ankles and Knees

THE BEGINNING: When a person is out of shape, he or she is dealing with numerous health problems. Sometimes these minor problems can seem major and if they are not looked at in the early stages, then they can translate into serious problems. The pain in ankle and knee joints can become arthritis and can become serious.

LIMITED HELP FROM GADGETS: There may be numerous reasons for these problems to occur but there is help available. A few years ago, I had all of these problems, and each day I had to deal with foot pain and to correct it I tried flat sole shoes, shoes with slight heals, extra padding and support, but the problem continued to persist. I felt slightly better but the pain and stiffness was still there. With the aching feet, my knees and ankles also showed signs of pain and these areas were very sensitive to touch.

MY EXPERIMENTS AND SIDE-EFFECTS: I was doing a few exercise experiments for some other condition and one day I realized that all of these problems were completely cured, as I could run, jump and do thousand and one things but the pain and stiffness and sensitivity, were gone for good. I no longer got charlie horse, deep pain in the ball of the heel, the arches of the feet. All of my foot problems were gone for good.

YOGA AND REFLEXOLOGY WORKED FOR ME: I started to figure out what had caused all this improvement, and it turned out that pressing in the hollow to the front of and toward the lower point of the ankle joint ball for a minute or two, a few times a day, helped greatly with the ankle problems. The one thing that solved all of the foot, ankle and knee problems turned out to be a yoga asana (yoga pose). In the beginning I was unable to do it even for a few seconds and had to use some help of a chair, but I kept on trying each time I had a chance. I would try it while watching television or listening to the music. In the beginning this yoga pose was extremely difficult and the pain was unbearable, but I kept on trying. It took me about a month and by then, I was able to do it for almost a couple of minutes.

The yoga pose is called Veer Asana or the Hero Pose. You can search for Hero Pose on Google and you will find numerous photos of this. I will warn you again that the pose will be very painful and your feet, ankles, legs and the knees will show tremendous pain. Don't hesitate and grab a chair or sofa or anything to help with this pose in the beginning, and continue trying. Once you are able to do it for about 15 seconds, try moving away from the chair and any other help.

If you can, increase the time to 2 minutes and sit in this position at least twice daily, you will notice amazing improvement in all of the above mentioned areas. Remember, it is just a way of sitting, but because we have never done it, therefore we must stretch the ligaments and muscles and build some strength. Any stretching improves blood circulation, which helps healing. This is the pose Japanese people use for meditation.

The 2 minutes of practice used to cause throbbing in my feet, ankles and knees and the pain in my knees used to become stronger and it took a few minutes of just sitting or lying down before I was able to walk around easily. To minimize this pain, I used to sit in Sukh Asana for a few minutes and tried to stretch my feet in other directions by sitting in the Lotus Pose for a few seconds.

The important point is, do whatever is necessary to minimize the pain after sitting in the Hero Pose - if it feels good to lie down, then do it.

MY THOUGHTS: People with serious joint pains and arthritis should consult their family physician before attempting the sitting pose. the pose causes the upper side of feet to stretch and help form a curve in the soles. The pain is likely the result of top muscles and ligaments shrinking due to lack of exercise and the soles became weaker as the time went by, causing flat feet. Perhaps there are technical explanations for this to happen but this was my thinking. My body's natural safety mechanism worked perfectly as I was unable to sit for even 2 seconds in the beginning. As the top of my feet started to get flexible, the problems of flat foot disappeared.