More on Plantar Faciitis

One of the suggestions from Runners World was to wear shoes, or not to go barefoot. That, along with a set of Dr. Scholl's tri-comfort orthotics, has substantially reduced the my foot discomfort. Jim Fox suggested Dr. Scholl's dyna step shoe inserts but those are unavailable for some reason - anybody know why? In any case, I'm much relieved with the relief given by the orthotics and the shoe support. Do miss going barefoot in the park though. Do you remember who played in that 1967 movie? I didn't and was surprised by the pairing, both of whom I like.

More on Plantar Faciitis

I'm still bothered by aching feet, especially when I've been sitting for a while and after a night's sleep. It's been since the end of March now; time for all this to clear up. From Runners World:

Plantar fasciitis can be a nagging problem, which gets worse and more difficult to treat the longer it's present. At the first sign of soreness, massage (roll a golf ball under your foot) and apply ice (roll a frozen bottle of water under your foot). What you wear on your feet when you're not running makes a difference. Arch support is key, and walking around barefoot or in flimsy shoes can delay recovery.

If pain is present for more than three weeks, see a sports podiatrist. Treatments such as orthotics, foot taping, cortisone injections, night splints, and anti-inflammatories decrease symptoms significantly in about 95 percent of sufferers within six weeks. For more stubborn cases, physical therapy may be prescribed; six months of chronic pain may benefit from shock-wave therapy, a recently FDA-approved plantar-fasciitis treatment.

While it's typical to experience pain in just one foot, massage and stretch both feet. Do it first thing in the morning, and three times during the day. Your feet will thank you. --Shelley Drozd

[1] Achilles Tendon Stretch: Stand with your affected foot behind your healthy one. Point the toes of the back foot toward the heel of the front foot, and lean into a wall. Bend the front knee and keep the back knee straight, heel firmly planted on the floor. Hold for a count of 10.

[2] Plantar Fascia Stretch: Sit down, and place the affected foot across your knee. Using the hand on your affected side, pull your toes back toward your shin until you feel a stretch in your arch. Run your thumb along your foot--you should feel tension. Hold for a count of 10.

Universal Health Care

Long day yesterday but did get home to find Diane watching Frontline's program on different varieties of health care around the world. It was very good as the program examined how England, Germany, Japan and Taiwan have tackled universal health care with the rather overt suggestion that the old US of A needs to do something with its inadequate and costly system. From Kevin Drum:

HEALTHCARE FOLLOWUP....So I watched the PBS show "Sick Around the World" and it turned out to be pretty good. Not a ton of wonky detail, just a nice friendly overview of five different countries and the basics of how their healthcare systems work. The Frontline website is here, and you can watch the show online if you missed it on TV.

I liked the ending. This is approximate, but after wondering whether Americans will ever accept any of the healthcare ideas he had just presented, correspondent T.R. Reid closed with this:

These ideas aren't as foreign as they seem. If you're a U.S. veteran, your healthcare is like Britain. If you're a senior citizen on Medicare, you're Taiwan. If you're a worker who gets insurance from your employer, you're Germany.

Quite so. National healthcare really isn't as foreign or as frightening as conservatives make it out to be. "Sick Around the World" does a good job of demystifying it.

And this from Quotes of the Day:

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.
- Voltaire

So, any suggestions on how you would like to be amused?

Foot problems

Eric, a runner, put me on to Runners' World to help me understand, correct and prevent plantar faceiitis, a condition my right foot fell into sometime last week. If you have seen me hobbling around, you know that it can't be any fun; and it isn't. Don't like it; don't want it. This article is helpful. One suggestion: massage the foot by rolling a golf ball under it. And to cool your hot foot down at the end of the day, roll a frozen bottle of water under it.

Health Insurance, Zetia, Skepticism

Tuesday This and That:

-found at firedoglake, this cautionary tale on dealing with insurance companies. Briefly, claim is sent in and is rejected not once but twice. Claimee informs insurance company that he is a doctor and that the reasons given for the rejection are completely off the chart. Insurance company relents and pays claim. Guess we've all been in those shoes before and the blogger wraps it up nicely by calling the policy of continual rejection of claims as "profit by attrition". That would happen, and no doubt does happen, because many claimants just give up and toss the claim and pay the bill themselves. Fortunately at our house Diane spent years learning and dealing with insurance claims while working at National Gypsum and consequently knows exactly how to shepard a claim through the intentionally diffult corridors of the insurance industry. For those of you without an at home insurance whiz, suggest you bone up on your policy, keep filing a claim and never take no for an answer and find an advocate if necessary. Need I suggest that we might seriously consider and make law universal health care?

-from the NYTimes, bad news for the makers of Zetia, that cholesterol reducing drug that has generated billions of dollars of profits in recent years. No medical benefit. Oh oh...

-the cries of racism leveled at Hillary and Bill these last several days have pretty much been quieted and rejected. From a lot of stuff I heard and read, this was a brush fire created by news people (some of them). Idiots (some of them...). One lesson learned, again: be skeptical and go to the source if you can - taken nothing for granted and think before opening your mouth.

Sunny out there. Heading to town; Diane's going to Odon to take care of the boys (Ian and Lucas) with Eric and Colleen finding themselves tied up this afternoon. Tax work and league updates continue.

Mrs. Clinton, Health Care

And yes I still am reading about all the goings on in NH last night. And yes I really do think 'how sweet it is' for Mrs Clinton (she now has a new name, did you notice? not Hillary, but Mrs. Clinton).

Was planning on watching the west coast version of pbs news last night that comes on at 10 pm to catch all the NH stuff but something happened to the HD system not only on the Southern Illinois University station but also up at Bloomington and Vincennes.

Kevin Drum at The Washington Monthly makes several good points and also apologies to the people of NH for a Sunday post that chided them just a little prematurely.

I like Hillary telling the world that she found her voice and that the 'tearing up' moment seems to have played an important role in the vote swing. And that the women voted for her in large numbers. And that dkos has declared he isn't going to watch MSNBC until Chris Matthews is gone.

In other news, this also from Kevin Drum on US health care ranking 19th out of 19 among industrialized countries in what is called "amenable mortality":

BEST HEALTHCARE IN THE WORLD, BABY....A pair of researchers has just published an update that compares various countries on their rates of "amenable mortality," defined as deaths that are "potentially preventable with timely and effective health care." In 1997, the United States ranked 15th out of 19 industrialized countries. So how are we doing now?

Answer: we're now 19th out of 19. The rest of the countries have improved their performance by an average of 16%, while the U.S., that well-known engine of healthcare innovation, has improved by only 4%. So now we're in last place.

But there's a bright side: at least our healthcare isn't funded by the government, like it is in France. Keep that in mind if someone you know dies of preventable causes. Their odds would have been a whole lot better in Paris, but who'd want to live in a socialist hellhole like that anyway?

Hmmm... I really do think we can do better. Do we care? Yes...

Sun is up. Guess that means the world still turns. Good.

Middle of the Week Stuff

On Abscessed Teeth

For one, they are no fun. When Dr. Weir's charming assistant, Tammy, saw me come in with a bottle of water in one hand, she knew immediately it was an abscessed tooth. This was at 2 pm yesterday afternoon, Bedford time, after my morning of living with my little friends who were having some kind of party neath one of my teethies. It turns out that the bacteria that cause the infection and the pain were producing gas which swelled up, expanded, whenever I introduced anything warm into my mouth, like the usual delicious morning cup of coffee or later my own saliva; and contracted with the introduction of anything cool to cold. Thus the saving grace of the ever present bottle of water. Of course, you quickly become aware of how much of a weenie you are: you know the pain is coming; you know you can stop it with cold water; and you by golly make sure your mouth is full of cold water before the pain arrives. Way before the pain arrives. What a bore and a bother it all was but you sure weren't going to let that cold water get very far away: it got in the shower with me, it went on a walk with me, it drove to Bedford with me (I packed spare bottles in case I needed them); it joined me in the dentist's chair and yes I did tell the good doctor that he would have to excuse me if I suddenly reared up and got myself a drink of water.

In the end, we did find the dastardly culprit and blasted it with novacaine and then drilled a couple of holes in the tooth to vent the offending gas. And set a date with another good doctor, this one in Bloomington, to do a root canal. No fun but I have been down this road before and it beats losing a tooth.

Republicans and Fun or Non Fun

The NY Times has a front page article on the woes of the Republicans what with all the scandals of the past, well let me think now, is it months? or more like years? I think years. Scandalous behavior everywhere one looks. From the article:

“The real question for Republicans in Washington is how low can you go, because we are approaching a level of ridiculousness,” said Mr. Reed, sounding exasperated in an interview on Tuesday morning. “You can’t make this stuff up. And the impact this is having on the grass-roots around the country is devastating. Republicans think the governing class in Washington are a bunch of buffoons who have total disregard for the principles of the party, the law of the land and the future of the country.”

Buffoons you say?! Total disregard for, among other things, the law of the land? My oh my. Bad time to be a republican. The article does list the many undesirable behaviors of the past several years that have been visited upon a whole slew of republicans but fails to mention the root cause of it all, that guy in the wh, until deep within the article. Possibly the worst president in history. You think that may case the grand old party some grief somewhere along the line? Deserved grief, for sure.

(I have to stop cause I think I hear republicans out there trying to figure out some way to get a few more bacteria to come a visiting my mouth, to give me a little something other than politics to think about... Think I'll see if Diane wants to watch a movie - we got two in the mail today, one with Gong Li which has to be good - she'll take my mind off of political shenanigans, in a new york minute.)

Tuesday's Other Stuff

On Healthcare

Here's an example of available health care outside the United States. The author was more than satisfied with the super care that he was given and contrasts it with what has happened or would have happened here in the US.

On War and Anger and Hate

That would be anger and hate toward the United States for what is happening to in Iraq. Here's a cut to the quick blog on some of the after effects of our war policies of the last several years. Not pretty.

Hmmm, things taking a not nice turn here. Time to move on, head to the golf course, appreciate the warming sun overhead and the green grass 'neath my feet.