I have now been diagnosed with Bleakfoot. =(

I suppose I should be glad its my feet and not my arms or hands, that have this horrible malady, but its not fun. Bleakfoot is caused by mature student excursions over picturesque cobblestone streets to and from the university, resulting in strained and inflamed tendons of the foot...OUCH. I am now getting some therapy for my foot, as trying to not walk and hoping it would get better and turning the radio up really loud so I would not hear the banging and clanking did not work.

You know you have Bleakfoot if you wake up and you can hardly walk...some people end up crawling to the bathroom because they have such bad Bleakfoot! Fortunately mine is not that bad and hopefully will not become that way! Stretching, ice, anti inflammatories like ibuprofen and time help cure Bleakfoot.

Who knew that one of the risks of a PhD would be losing the ability to walk....?

Bleakfoot... =(

oh no you poor thing. how awful. you have my sympathy. i hope you get better soon. indeed rest up!! your feet are very important.

Sorry to hear that. Wish you a speedy recovery!

Can I lend you my zimmer frame

Thanks for the wishes for recovery and the use of a zimmer frame! The scary thing about this, is that apparently if you let it go and it doesn't heal, the tendons in the foot can react such that the big toe eventually overlays the toe next to it...ewwww!!!! My foot is currently taped to support the arch ( flat feet due to the effects of aging... ) and to try to get some healing promoted. As someone who is always active and takes robust health for granted, this is a bit of a wake up call.

Not being able to walk is seriously problematic. Life in its most basic functions becomes hard! I am going to start to pay closer attention to my overall well being--ie become involved in some yoga, find some non PhD things to do for socialising, etc...am convinced that the PhD stress of isolation is at least somewhere to blame for this condition, as it relates to tight muscles, etc, in addition to many factors, including aging, but tension and stress cause tight muscles...and....there you are.

I cycle a lot, and I've been told recently that cylists very often develop tight tendons, esp. the Achilles tendon. Apparantely you need to do lots of leg stretches to compensate.

i hope you get better......

The tight tendons is part of the problem...the need to stretch so as to avoid the chance of developing inflammation of tendons in the ankle, foot, etc, including the Achilles tendon. Its a bit ironic I have this, given that I ditched my shoes with high heels years ago for the very reason that they were cripplers, with the tendency to shorten the Achilles tendon and cause the very problem I now have...=(

Still a word of caution, people wearing shoes with high heels, you are inviting this sort of problem into your future, and let me tell you, its not fun. Its apparently an injury that occurs over time, so constant wear and tear on your tendons today is the Bleakfoot of tomorrow.

I am doing my stretches today, and am still walking about in a taped up foot and ankle, wearing my trainers....and will see how this goes. For the first time in a long time though, I am not wincing with pain throughout the day! I hope it gets better...although its going to be a long road to recovery, apparently. Weeks, if not months...

That sounds painful I think academia often goes hand-in-hand with walking lots over cobbles! You should get industrial injuries compensation. Are you able to swim with it at the moment? That might help you loosen up without doing anything too high-impact.