My achilles tendonitis has flared up again, I’m so worried I’ll end up housebound for months again. Whenever people talk about strokes they never talk about this - how you can end up with one side so weak that even the simplest everyday activities can give you literal sports injuries that keep flaring up and never go away. An inflamed achilles tendon probably doesn’t sound like a big deal, but I’ve already spent months this year housebound because of it, gone through shockwave therapy and physiotherapy, it keeps coming back and as I don’t really have anyone to help me it means being unable to do basic things for myself for god knows how long. Being trapped indoors like a prisoner.
And to add even more stress I’ve had a letter from the DWP - they have a huge backlog of appeals and assessments so I’ve been told my appeal will take longer than originally estimated. It won’t be sorted by January. And I don’t know how I will manage as I have no family to fall back on and mutual aid seems to be dead now.
This is on top of all my usual stress and problems, I’m having a flare up of side effects from my thyroid cancer treatment, my eczema is infected again and I’m covered in oozing, itchy sores. I thought I’d be getting a hysterectomy to solve my bladder issues but that’s looking unlikely now. Bank charges that can’t be paid off piling up on my maxxed out overdraft, struggling to keep up with my medical appointments and absolutely nothing to look forward to whatsoever. It’s my shitty 42nd birthday this month and what have I got to show for 42 years on this earth? A wrecked body, no money or property, not a single friend in real life, no family and no hope. Can’t even do anything for xmas or my birthday, my landlady is going away and I’ll just be alone with nothing to do and no company. I wish I had some shrooms or acid at least, but that’s a distant dream.
I agree with Greatsquare about elevation, infrequent strength exercises, and icing. Ice is good to “power through” pain and reduce the swelling, but the swelling is there for a reason, your body is pumping blood into an injury to help heal.
Heat is what i prefer, as it dilates blood vessels and improves circulation, which is what your body is already trying to do. The pain may be more but this is only for when you are in treatment (and to prepare for PT/stretch/strength, as you will be warmed up and more limber)
And when you are resting your foot and leg, especially while sleeping, its good to put medicine on. I make a compress (a bandage holding medicine) of camphor oil (of tiger balm, or chinese white flower oil) and epsom salts, whipped into a paste with hot water. The camphor promotes circulation and the epsom salts help with tissue repair. If you can spread this over your heels, and wrap a bandage for it to sit overnight, it has always helped me tremendously.
You can also try drinking comfrey tea which helps with tissue repair but its a strong medicine and depends on the individual
Also… stretching and strength/flex exercises. You want to do for stretching what feels deep but not painful. This can be tricky at first… basically if your joints pop or strain its too far. It gets easier with consistency.
Try yoga… alignment is super important. But the standard sun salutations will be painful to do in full motion with your injury, so only reach as far as feels just slightly uncomfortable. Your body will loosen over time. Even if your injury and stroke is on one side, its good to do mirror exercises on the uninjured side for alignment, core strength, and balance.
I hope you find this information helpful, comrade! Feel free to ask any clarifying questions.
I have ibuprofen gel on prescription, which I massage into it when it gets bad. I’m just getting really worn out from all the bodily maintenance I have to do, I feel like an old banger of a car that needs constant repairs but never gets any better. I used to do yoga years ago but my mobility is too bad now. Not only is my left side terribly weak but my balance and coordination have been badly affected to the point that even getting dressed and putting shoes on is difficult.