OR, GENERAL MOT PLUS A FOCUS ON UNSTABLE DODGY KNEE AND AGONISING TOE AND FOOT PROBLEMS.
Alert: For those who think this doesn’t apply to them I can tell you it does. You’ll get these mechanical breakdowns eventually and these will screw up travel plans completely. Although I staggered around on a broken foot in Mexico it does take the pleasure out of your wonderful adventures especially while alone. You also become prey to the predator which is not a good look as a woman or man of any age travelling solo. Do some homework and get yourself healthy for any trip. Mechanical injuries are a bitch.
HOLISTIC APPROACH TO MECHANICAL PAIN.
Over this winter I’ve noticed a dramatic worsening of an old knee injury and foot pain on one side and a bunion on the other.
I was horrified. I thought I just had gout which is a roguish condition from overly rich food and alcohol consumption, not an old lady thing, a bloody bunion ffs.
When the podiatrist told me I was very huffy
‘You sure about that? It looks gouty to me. ‘
‘Yes Rebecca it’s a bunion and you need to get a toe corrector to gradually get it growing straight again. This foot is however in very good condition apart from that in fact baby soft’
‘I make my own organic body butter. What about the other one it’s agony some days is that gout?’
(After some weird testing with a tuning fork) ‘I don’t know what that is it’ll require special bloods to check for osteoarthritis……but it’s not gout‘
‘My knee and foot are joined’ I huffed grumpily
‘Yes Rebecca they are and if you don’t do anything about it you’ll have hip problems then lower back problems too’
There we had it. Something sounding irreversible and decrepit hovering at my door ready to stop my extensive Turkiye plans for a bucolic natural life and occasional road trips to the many archaeological sites across that vast land. Finally, along with the precarious knee something that could actually halt my travels. I was going to be crippled and just when it was all coming to fruition, my dream house in the mountains with spring water and clean mountain air at the same time as being in a country full of rich history and magnificent wildlife and natural beauty.
I started to freak out but then shook myself down when I got back from my last trip and started to investigate home remedies and yoga to actually target my dodgy joints. I’ve always believed in self-help before and would give myself a spring-clean and new health regime to pull this old carcass back into line. I noticed that because the last two times in Turkiye I hadn’t taken enough of my thorough supplements list over my body had deteriorated.
This link is relevant to put into context this post: HEALTH AND THE SOLO TRAVELLER
I take high doses of glucosamine, chondroitin and MSN, along with Potassium, Magnesium, Manganese, Zinc, Copper, Calcium, vitamin D and various seaweed and mushroom extracts. It’s a major chore just taking the bloody things but if I don’t I now see how much they are supporting my health.
I filter my water and eat only organic produce. I’m a good girl. It’s just the smoking and drinking dammit.
OLD BIRDS OVERHAUL OF KNEE.
I immediately did a body check. I had had a recurrence of my knee dislocating since I returned, this was from a torn meniscus that had been operated on years back. This was something I had been lazy about researching just putting a knee support on, instead of looking into remedies and exercises. So just last week I looked.
Amazingly there are a lot of videos on YouTube etc on strengthening weak or damaged knees and when you look properly the exercises are very precise about strengthening around the complex knee joint.
The secret seems to be not clenching your bum but using the actual muscles around your knee for there are many and going through very simple routines that are gentle yet power full. You need to think about relaxing your bum while in the various shapes.
I also found a very informative old video about using very pure castor oil on a poultice that is a remedy for a plethora of serious complaints and penetrates the skin deeply. It made a lot of sense and I immediately got some cold-pressed organic castor oil and slapped it onto a piece of cotton on my knee and also my non-diagnosed lumpy painful big toe and foot joint.
UP TO DATE…
Well, just a couple of weeks later I have seen a marked improvement on me bunion! It seems that the toe spacers and stretchers have been doing their magic and me big toe has straightened considerably so as your unpaid tester I can advise that they are worth the consistent effort so far. The oil has loosened my other big toe which I can now bend more to do the exercises for it which I’ve found is all connected to my knee problem. When I bend my knee to my chest and bend my toes towards my knee there is a significant pull where the knee muscle hasn’t been stretched properly. I am winning along with my supplements which are all organic non GMO and have no fillers and other shit added.
It’s through this research and getting to understand your body better by listening to it rather than taking painkillers and using conventional modern pharmaceutical medications that you can get to the root of your problems as nobody knows your body better than you!
Top Tip: Exult in your lovely body and correct the things you have done in the past through ignorance, and enjoy your awakened self. Be your own healer, love yourself and you can take control of your wonderful life again and travel solo without fear of something going wrong, or your health being compromised by your lack of confidence or knowledge. Research, research, research.
NEARLY READY TO GET BACK OUT ON THE ROAD AGAIN TO TURKIYE
So this means that I’m very close to getting back over to Turkiye again. Ready to nurture my new huge veggie patch and also take cheeky trips to many of the archaeological sites over there. My knee and feet will now not give me pain and anxiety so it’s only my crashing and falling clumsiness that as always is a bit of a problem. Having said that I do my yoga now so I am much more ‘mindful’ of my over-excited mad rushing around with my arms circling like a windmill.
My new cabin suitcase arrived yesterday so the heavens are nudging me along to get back over to my lovely Turkish family and work with the land. The weather is very good apparently and swimming has started. Gobekli Tepi also calls as does Cappadocia.
Here are links to my recent trips over to Turkiye, staying in the mountains in the Tire area and visiting the famous Hierapolis. Also, my grand escape to get some culture and clean air and spring water again in the nippier times in the Aegean area. Worth a look if just for a laugh!
This link is relevant to put into context this post: HEALTH AND THE SOLO TRAVELLER
And the following ones are just a few of my follies:
BROKEN FOOT IN MERIDA, MEXICO ONWARDS DESPITE THE PAIN
BUSY DOING NOTHING. IN SOHO LONDON RESTING FOOT
BROKEN RIBS NOW JUST IN TIME FOR XMAS
Old Bird Travels Solo! 