Expert: Ronda Snow, Ph.D. - 7/14/2008

Question
Hi there!  I recently moved into the city where I have enjoyed miles of up and downhill walking along with my regular yoga practice.  Last month I consulted a podiatrist when I started to feel numbness in my big toes.  He said that I was developing bunions and that for $400 he could sell me orthotics that would delay the inevitable onset of the condition, eventually requiring surgery.  My grandma had severe bunions but I am only 23 and didn't think I would have to worry about this now.  As mentioned, I am an active yogi and would like to think that there are alternatives to orthotics (which mask the problem) and surgery.  Is it possible, like I imagine, to use Reiki, Healing Touch, or other therapies to encourage support of my arches, strengthen/stretch the tendons and overall learn to walk without pressure on that region?

Answer
Hi Michelle!

Thanks for contacting me about this...you pose a very interesting question!

First of all...good for you for taking care of yourself with yoga and walking!

I know how frustrating it can be when our genetics do an end-run around all our best efforts to do the right thing and be healthy. And you are right, that energy work like Riki or Healing Touch can certainly help, although if you have a strong genetic pre-disposition to severe bunions like your Grandmother, the energy work might not be so much a cure, but one componant of things, where it becomes "integrated medicine" instead of true "alternative" medicine.

Don't forget, too, that the idea of a second opinion is accepted in both the mainstream and holistic health care worlds. There may even be other alternatives from the mainstream realm that doesn't involve expensive orthotics or early surgery.

If I might bring in something as UN-scientific as instinct...I have a bad feeling about the $400 orthotic recommendation coming from someone that SELLS that self-same orthotic. My gut instinct is that a second opinion from an independent podiatrist, chiropracter or physician that DOESN'T sell the actual devices but can recommend them might be helpful to you.

Also, don't sell the idea of good shoes short. My husband has high arches while I have flat little duckie feet...but we both do the same sport...martial arts. We both tried all the same shoes over time, and both learned the hard way what a difference a GOOD quality shoe that is well-suited to YOUR specific foot type can make...especially for repetative exercises like walking and running!! It is better to pay $70 or so for the right shoe than to pay for $400 for an orthotic that may or may not interfere with the sports you love. But that is just a personal opinion based on my experince.

Anything involving a nerve / numbness warrants prompt and professional attention...so don't ignore this. An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.

No matter what you do from a sports medicine perspective...yes, by all means, Reiki is worth trying. If nothing else, it will help you keep the problem in perspective and help you deal with the physical symptomes. But remember...the body, mind and spirit sends the energy where it is NEEDED...not where we might hope or expect it to go...the Reiki may not target this issue right away, if there is something deeper that needs attention first...even if that something isn't first on your priority list (or even on your list at all). If you do try Reiki, please try to approach it with an open heart and open mind, as Reiki is truely holistic and treats emotions, mind, spirit and body as a total whole, not in the isolated, individual-symptom way we are used to from mainstream medicine.

As far as stretches, body mechanics and so on, you might want to try consulting either a sports medicine specialist OR a trigger-point specialist who is knowlegable about sports and can help you with improving the walking and preserving your yogic practice.

I certainly wish you all the best.

Ronda Snow, B.S.
www.rondasnow.com