Earlier this spring, while volunteering at a small local dairy farm, I had my foot crushed by a cow. After a couple of months of hobbling around on crutches, and relatively little healing, I was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Basically, it’s an over-firing and miscommunication between your central and peripheral nervous system. This miscommunication causes there to be pain with the slightest touch or sensation to the area affected. Simply having the ceiling fan on and the breeze blowing on my foot was excruciating, and forget taking a shower with the water hitting it. I was able to get in to see a great pain specialist up at the University of Florida who suggested I have a nerve block while doing physical therapy. The only issue was that my insurance wanted to argue my need for physical therapy and I was too tired to put up enough of a fight to get it done.
So I limped around in an air boot for a couple more months until I could find a sandal that I could wear without pain. Using my background as a massage therapist I started doing all I could to desensitize the area and improve my range of motion. I was told by my pain specialist that if I couldn’t get the pain to go down that the next step would be spinal cord stimulation via an implanted device.
Ummm… let’s just say that I was a “give birth naturally” girl because the idea of someone touching my spinal cord with a needle FREAKED me out! So I became more than determined to figure out how to heal my foot! I would sit in tears in the tub as I massaged the area as deeply as I could handle. It certainly helped that I had Epsom salt and essential oils in the bath water. I would lightly use the dry brush over the area to help desensitize it even more. I also started using the homeopathic remedy Hypericum Perforatum 30c to treat nerve pain. The remedy was helpful but it didn’t completely relieve the pain or last for more than a few hours, so I increased the strength of the dose. I now take Hypericum Perforatum 200c once a week. My other favorite pain reliever is Curcumin! The newest therapy I am trying out is Red Light Therapy. I just started this about a week ago and plan to write more about it as I progress and have more experience with it.
The pain is not completely gone but I am more than 50% better and my pain specialist is happy with my progress. This week I took the next step in my “home therapy” program and found a pair of shoes I can “practice” wearing. I need to slowly train my body to handle wearing shoes again without misreading the pressure on the foot as pain. I found a pair that I can wear without immediately wanting to cry out in pain!
They are slip-ons (no ties) that are the perfect amount of “looseness” and support. I am beyond excited!!! The last two days I have been wearing them with my special orthotic inserts and have been able to handle wearing them for more than 2 hours! This is no small thing. Six months ago I sat with my doctor wondering if I would ever be able to wear a shoe again! The one downside- after wearing the shoes for a couple hours my pain level is much higher. I know I still have a long way to go, and unfortunately I’ve started having pain in my right foot. (Because it’s a nerve problem it’s not uncommon for the CRPS to flare up or “spread” to the opposite appendage.)
Despite the continued pain, I feel confident that God is slowly healing me and trust that He is guiding me as I continue with therapy on both feet. For today, I am praising God that I have been able to wear shoes again! Healing is happening one little step at a time!!!
“Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.” Psalm 6:2 (NIV)
Resources:
- What is CRPS? http://www.rsdhope.org/what-is-crps1.html
- Spinal Cord Stimulation for CRPS: http://rsds.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2014-spinal-cord-stimulation-treatment.pdf
- The Homeopathic remedy I use to treat nerve pain: \https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00583TPEG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- The Curcumin I take for pain relief: https://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Best-Curcumin-Turmeric-BioPerine/dp/B000BD0RQS/ref=sr_1_7_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1510372120&sr=1-7&keywords=Curcumin
- Red Light Therapy: https://paindoctor.com/red-light-therapy-for-pain/
- More benefits of Red Light Therapy: https://draxe.com/red-light-therapy/
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