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I haven't ever had a reason to visit a podiatrist (which is what we call a foot doctor), until recently. I don't have any problem with my feet, thankfully. I suppose, over the years, the shoes that I have worn have been good enough to keep me out of the clinics. My feet rarely complain, so I ignore them most of the time. However, my son Cass, who is twelve, has been complaining for a while of heel, ankle, and arch pain. I reasoned that he is growing fast at this stage, and that growing pains of all sorts are quite common. He does play a lot of sports, and so, any problem or tenderness* can get worse. As he practices basketball twice a week, and has to do lots of running, I researched a little on the internet the ways I could ease his pains. You know I love to Google; well, I also love to find tutorials on You-tube. It's a wealth of information! In an instant, I found a video clip that demonstrates how to wrap your feet before you take part in any sporting activity. It was surprisingly simple, and really made sense. It started by showing a 3-D image of the inside of a foot. I thought it looked freaky!* The visual* made it very clear how the foot works, and why a person might experience pain. So, I wrapped Cass's feet, and he told me after practice that it had really helped. I also made an appointment for him to see a podiatrist. It was just a few days later that we went to see Dr. Hoover, a softly spoken, straightforward man. After looking at Cass' feet and his shoes, he came to the conclusion that stress from sports, and the wrong shoes, have brought about the problem. Cass normally wears Adidas shoes. They are fine for walking, but they don't provide a lot of arch support, and the basketball shoes bend in the wrong place. Apparently, a good sports shoe bends where your foot does, basically at the toe area. If it bends in the middle, it puts stress on the joint that we have in the middle of our foot, because this joint is very limited, and is not supposed to move much at all. So, after he gave us a brief lesson on how the foot works, and a list of recommended* shoes and shoe inserts*, Cass had an xray. It turns out that he has normal feet, and just needs some good support during sports. That was a relief for me; I didn't have to worry about anything serious. The next day I bought him two kinds of inserts, and different basketball shoes. These things have made all the difference. He's much happier now after practice, and no longer has stiff, tender feet in the morning. How wonderful that we have such quick access to information that can educate us, and help us avoid making mistakes with our health. Related vocabulary:tenderness, freaky, a visual, recommended: 1. When a part of your body is injured, the area around the injury can feel tender, sensitive to pain. 2. That Halloween costume is freaky! It's one of the wierdest and scariest I've seen. 3. It's much easier to study if you have a visual, because, as Shakespeare said, "A picture paints a thousand words." 4. That hotel is recommended; it has everything we need. However, the one next door isn't recommended at all. *JOIN ME ON FACEBOOK, AT Anna from A cup of English. Tweet //