My Foot

I know we promised you all diabetes, all the time for the month of November, but I have to take this rare opportunity to present you with a fresh case study.

My foot.

So, I was sparring in Kenpo class last Wednesday night when the most unfortunate thing happened. My right foot was forward, my left foot behind, and I was gearing up to punch this guy. As I was lunging forward, but before making any contact with my opponent, I heard a loud "SNAP" and I fell to the floor.

This is what happened:





It's amazing all the different colors the body can make!

I believe it's a severe ligament tear, though I haven't gotten the MRI to prove it. It's definitely not a broken bone, and nothing is completely severed as far as I can tell. The night it happened, I was fortunate enough to be near the clinic while it was still open, and Keven Uchida - a wonderful supervisor and orthopedic specialist - took a look at it. I also showed it to three different MD's who agreed that it's probably not broken. So don't worry. I know those of you out there who know me well and are concerned that I'm not taking the proper precautionary measures can rest assured that I'm not self-diagnosing... not entirely, anyway.

But I am self-treating, and it's been great!

Day One:

• 30 minutes on ice immediately after injury
  
• E-stim acupuncture at SI-3 and SI-4 on contralateral for 15 minutes
• Dr. Brady Chin's dit da jow all over top and bottom of foot
• San Huang San plaster made of huang qi, huang lian, da huang, pu gong ying, hong hua, and zhi zi powdered, mixed with just enough green tea to make a thick paste. Wrapped my foot loosely in gauze roll and medical tape overnight
• Five Photos Brand hit pill (these always make my heart a little thumpity, but work like a miracle every time)
  

Day Two:

• Woke up with no swelling and no bruising, but my skin around my foot was red. Removed plaster, and within five minutes my foot started to balloon. Reapplied dit da jow til dry, then another coat of plaster and gauze. The swelling went down immediately
• Needled contralateral hand sensitive points near SI-3, SI-4, LU-10, Luo Zhen, Yao Tong Xue, and SJ-4. Manually stimulated for 20 mins.
• Change of plaster and gauze overnight
• Jin Gu Die Da Pian patent pills for the pain
  

Day Three:

• Definite bruising! All blurple in color
  
• Acupuncture treatment at the clinic with Kumiko Yamamoto (wonderful intern, by the way). E-stim acupuncture with same points on contralateral hand. Additional points without e-stim: ST-36, SP-9, SP-10, LV-8, GB-34, and Yin Tang
• Epsom salt soak
• Plaster and gauze
• Jin Gu Die Da Pian
  

Day Four:

• More purple and green in color
  
• Epsom salt soak
• Moxabustion all around foot for 30 minutes
• Dit da jow
• Jin Gu Die Da Pian
  

Day Five, Day Six, and Day Seven

• I stopped using the plaster because my foot wasn't swollen; it had effectively kept the swelling to a minimal, and then no swelling at all. The bruising seemed to reach its climax around day six (the pics are from day five), and is now lightening around the edges
  
• Moxabustion 2 times a day over affected area on foot, and on reflective areas on the opposite foot. Also ST-36, SP-10, GB-34, UB-60, KD-1 on affected foot/leg.
• Acupressure on contralateral hand
• Jin Gu Die Da Pian
  

And here I am on day eight! I can move my foot fairly freely in all directions, and wiggle all my toes, but am still unable to put any weight on it. Throughout the week, I've been doing strengthening exercises with all my new-found spare time, flexing and extending through the ball of my foot and ankle. I can stand on it just long enough to pick my other foot off the floor, as long as I'm holding on to something for balance.

There is no swelling, but there's a significant amount of bruising all along the top of my foot, as though I've spilled a bucket of ink on it or something. It's kind of purple, kind of blue, kind of green all in one. It still hurts, but at least I'm sleeping through the night now and can get around on my crutches without it hurting due to movement.

All in all, a steady and fairly speedy recovery. I'm planning on using a tendon soak from here on out, coupled with the moxa, acupuncture and exercises. I'm not taking the pills anymore, since they're really dispersing and moving, and hope to be back on my feet in another week.

If you have any questions about the herbs I used or where to find such wonderful remedies, feel free to contact us!