Arthritic Ankle Solutions That Preserve Heel Wearing Ability

trickrider1 · March 2, 2013

Nothing would strike fear in the heart of a high heel fan than losing the ability to wear virtually any kind of shoe with a substantial heel. This is a very real threat that my wife has been facing after suffering a severe ankle fracture last year. Countless hours of research have yielded options aside from the old standard procedure of fusing the ankle joint which takes away all movement and obviously the ability to wear heels, let alone even walk normally. Anyone here who is or knows of anyone in such a dire situation is encouraged to learn more through a facebook page dedicated to innovative treatments and developments that preserve mobility. http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/221565557983949/

Impala · March 2, 2013

avast tells me it's a virus.

kikepa · April 15, 2013

Actually, I'm facing this right now, and had a long talk with my podiatrist.

My situation: I sprained my ankle in the summer of 2011 (I actually broke it - hairline fracture). It took six weeks to "heal," but has been giving me problems off and on over the last few months, mainly because I failed to keep walking on a regular basis. There are some heels I can wear all day, but others of the same height I can't wear for more than a few minutes. I can walk in walking shoes, but not far, and if I overdo it, I have to stay off of it for a week.

Here's what he told me with respect to my ankle:

1. Stay out of heels for three months.

2. Wear a high-quality walking shoe. About $70-$100.

3. Start walking! Slowly at first - one-half mile every four days (three days rest between walks, which gives the cartilage a chance to simmer down), then steadily ramping it up until at the end three months I'm to be walking 3 miles every other day, preferrably 1-1/2 miles in the morning, another 1-1/2 miles in the evening. Three days rest between walks for the first month. Two days rest between the walks during the second month. One day between the walks during the third month.

4. He dramatically changed my diet and exercise plan, too, saying "Along with the walking and staying off heels for a few months, this will encourage the bones and cartilage in your ankle to remodel in a position that's most conducive to your life-long health:

1. Cardio.

a. Need 1 hour a day, three times a week. Every other day. If too much, do a minimum of 20 min in Training Range 1x/day.

b. Best broken into two, 1/2-hour sessions, one before breakfast, and one before dinner. That's helps you eat less of each.

c. Intervals (best approach):

1. Max HR = 220-age.

2. Upper Training Range (UTR) = Max HR * .85

3. Lower Training Range (LTR) = Max HR * .75

4. Method:

a. Begin very slowly!

b. Increase effort slightly about once every two minutes, monitoring HR constantly (this doubles as your warm-up)

c. When HR = UTR, cut the effort in half and continue to monitor HR.

d. When HR = LTR, begin increasing the effort slight once every two minutes (this keeps you from over-shooting)

e. Repeat steps c and d until the end of your 30 minute effort.

f. 5 min cool down

2. Strength - 1/2 hour a day, three times a week. Every other day.

a. Variety of either calisthenics, floor exercises, weight/resistance training, etc.

b. Don't do cardio on same day you do strength training. Alternate!

3. Fruits and Vegetables

a. Wide variety of both

b. Raw veggies are better than cooked for most. Carrots and broccoli should be half-cooked. Some veggies (squash) require cooking.

4. Fats & Processed Sugars

a. Eliminate all solid fats and processed sugars from your diet. No butter, reg/low-fat cheeses, hamburger, bacon, or maple syrup. A little honey is ok. Small amount of lowfat Greek yogurt a day is ok.

b. Fats from fruits, vegetables, and lean meats like chicken and fish (salmon) are fine.

c. As you're loosing, your body will turn to your own fat for it's nutrition! That's good - you need it.

d. Skim milk on cereal is fine.

5. Lean Meats and Proteins

a. Fowl: Turkey, chicken, game hens, etc. are fine. Remove skin and underlying fat. Braise, boil, bake, or grill. Best when baked covered, as it preserves the moisture, vitamins, and flavor.

b. Fish: One 5-oz can of pink salmon per week is all you need. Make into tuna-fish-like paste and use half in a sandwich on Mon, the other on Thu.

c. Eggs: One a day is fine. Hard-boiled is healthiest.

d. Nuts: Almonds are healthiest, but a variety is better. Walnuts and pecans are tasty and good for you. Salted nuts, not so much.

e. Beans, lentils, and legumes: Need to be cooked. Taste great is soups!

f. Grains - limit to Whole Rolled Oats: Super quick and easy to fix! The only modern grain that's recommended. Stay away from wheat. Spelt and Quinoa are ok, too, as is wild rice. This eliminates most of the gluten, which causes far more problems in people than people know, especially while healing.

More on the walking issue... I really think if your wife looks at this as a whole-health issue, follows both the diet and the exercise plan, and realizes that her ankle needs to get back to normal in it's "evolutionary position" i.e. the position for which it evolved over the last couple of millions of years, first, before she starts heeling again, she'll stand a far better chance of avoiding fusing altogether, and will stand a good chance of actually being able to wear heels again.

Lindsey Vonn is my inspiration for this! She's had some terrific wipe-outs, but skiing was not a part of her recovery process. First surgery, then rest, then standing, then walking, then running, and only then would she step back into boots, bindings, and skiis and beging the last phase of her recovery process.

Here's the schedule I came up with for myself, with my podiatrist's concurrence. It starts out very easy, 1/4-mile at first, slowly increasing in distance, while also cutting down the intervals between walks once every four weeks:

Month 1: 3 days between walks

Month 2: 2 days between walks

Month 3: 1 day between walks

The "total minutes" is total duration of the entire walk. If you're doing an out-and-back, as I do, walk away from your home for half that time, turn around, and come back.

And here's the best thing: Your total milage per week during the first week is only 1/2 a mile. By the twelfth week, however, you'll be doing about 10 miles each week, looking good, and feeling great!

Please see attached file for the chart.