A few days ago while working in the pool with an aquatic training/therapy client, I got too close to the wall in the deep end and kicked the heck out of the metal ladder, smashing my second and middle toes and traumatizing my entire foot!! By that evening, my foot was purple and so swollen I had trouble putting on a shoe!
Seriously, my foot resembled a plump piece of eggplant. Needless to say, I started to freak out and was pretty certain I’d broken at least one of my phalanges (the small bones in the toes). After limping around much of the rest of that day I decided to put my wellness coach hat while simultaneously becoming my own client.
So what did I do? I took my advice and slathered on Traumeel – a homeopathic anti-inflammatory that I recommend to many of my clients – 3 times a day. I also tweaked my diet to include even more healing foods, including salmon, flax oil, chia seeds and lots of vegetables, especially broccoli and celery to reduce inflammation and collard greens for calcium and vitamin K (in case I had broken the bones).
The third key to my healing was spending time exercising with clients in the deep end – without putting any weight on the foot. Moving in warm water helps to pull edema out of the body and increase range of motion of the joints, muscles and tendons. So after a few hours of working in the pool, the swelling in my foot had significantly decreased and I was even able to bend my toes a bit without pain.
I’m happy to report that 48 hours later, my eggplant foot is now nearly back to its usual pale, bony state. I’m walking without much pain and able to wear a normal shoe. Fortunately, I don’t think I’ve broken, rather just badly bruised my toes. Anyway, this latest trauma was yet another reminder of the incredible healing power of the body – if given the proper tools.
Be Well (and Be Careful!),
Carolyn
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