My feet always seem to hurt. I'm on them majority of the day doing things around the house, so I didn't think much of it when they started hurting Tuesday during the day...but by evening my right foot was hurting so badly I was in tears and could barely walk on it. Usually when my feet hurt at night they are better after a good nights sleep, but this was not the case. I woke up Wednesday morning and my first steps out of bed were shooting pain from my right heel, way more intense than the night before. I immediately put on my Chaco sandals (they cushion my feet the best), but they barely helped.
To make a long story short I got in to see a chiropractor (my back had also been hurting a great deal). He took a look at my feet, had me walk, poked & prodded and told me it was planter faciitis. Plantar fasciitis is irritation and swelling of the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot. The plantar fascia is a very thick band of tissue that holds up the bones on the bottom of the foot. This fascia can become inflamed and painful in some people, making walking more difficult. This condition is one of the most common orthopedic complaints relating to the foot. Plantar fasciitis is commonly thought of as being caused by a heel spur. See picture to the left for anatomy of the foot!
Apparently I have high arches, which I had never been told before and I wasn't wearing the proper shoes for my high arches, problem #1. We have hardwoods throughout the downstairs of our house and since I am barefoot almost 100% of the time my high arches weren't being supported at all, problem #2. I have a large swollen spot on my right heel, I'm developing a heel spur, problem #3 (blue dot in the picture to the right)! He also took x-rays of my back (which has been bothering me for months) and also realized my spine was torqued and my body was compensating for the spinal mis-allignment thus putting pressure on other parts of my body, namely my feet and back, problem #4.
So, after the chiropractor aligned my foot (I had never heard of such a thing, or had it done before!) and back he had me try on shoes that supported high arch people and what a difference! He then showed me that even with my Chaco sandals on, my arch never touched my shoe! My treatment is simple, either wear my tennis shoes or a pair of sandals (I ordered to support my high arches) at all times when I am on my feet, even if I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom! I have to make these changes or my feet will not get any better, even with the help of "mechanical devices" or surgery (if it gets worse or not better)! This is such a change for me, I am always barefoot, even outside! I went home and immediately looked through all my shoes and realized I had very few pairs of shoes that supported my feet! Almost all my dress shoes were completely flat bottomed and provided ZERO support for my arches! They may look pretty on, but what a waste and what a problem they are causing for my poor feet! I am only 30 years old, it's not normal for my feet and back to hurt every single night! Hopefully my arches will be supported enough with my current shoes and the damage is minimal enough not to require a "mechanical device" or surgery! We'll see, I go back today to see how I'm doing!
Something that is completely new for us is Water Polo. Saturday one of our students was in a water polo tournament about 45 min away from us. We really knew nothing about water polo, I had seen a partial game during the Olympics, but had definitely never seen a game live so we were excited to check it out and support our student! Although we didn't understand the rules, the object of the game is to make as many goals as possible, pretty standard in any sport! There was a lot of whistle blowing and pointing going on, players had to go in the corner, players 
