We all know the story of kryptonite, yes? Just in case, let’s lay it out (its relevant). The comic character Superman came from the planet Krypton. The substance kryptonite was the one thing that could weaken our caped super hero. It could maybe even kill him, but it would certainly block his super powers and make him weak and helpless.
OK, that said, let’s move on.
This is an example of Prof. using his own issues as a useful teaching. I do it whenever there is something to learn. A few days ago I was in Waikiki (Hawai’i), enjoying the fresh air, the sunshine, the salt tang of the ocean and walking.
But a strange thing happened. I went weaker and weaker (no-o-o-o, this wasn’t the coffee*!X. It started before I drank any!)
I know—like many of you I expect—that walking can take it out of you. I regularly walk 4 miles and sometimes (not often), I start to lean one side by the time I get where I’m going. Vivien gets very worried. Mind, I get worried too because I simply cannot straighten up my spine. It’s like it’s made of rubber!
Vivien wants me to see a chiro and get my spine balanced and all that stuff. Me: I laugh it off. Just need to build up my spine muscles… and I do. Problem solved. I’m back to normal in no time.
Well, not quite. It keeps happening. Only occasionally but there remains an unresolved issue. If you feel OK but the “problem” keeps coming back, you are not cured, surely? That’s my position as a healer, anyway. My definition of a cure is pretty brutal: NO SYMPTOMS NO TREATMENT!
If you have to keep applying a remedy, even a holistic solution such as cranio-sacral therapy, acupuncture or reiki, it’s not working! The word cured, to me, means GONE.
If it doesn’t go but is “controlled” by meds or other treatments, the condition is then chronic (from the Greek: chronos, time. Hence chronometer, a clock).
Unfortunately, 98% of modern medicine is about treating chronic complaints. It doesn’t solve anything; there is no cure; it is permanent—some say by intention—the modern medical industry is based on drugs from the day you get sick until you die.
Some of you may remember the shocking pronouncement a few years back (pre-COVID) by a cynical analyst at Goldman Sachs: that curing patients is a bad business model and ruinous for sustainable profits!¹
Anyway, back to the beach and the sunshine. Where is this leading?
I’m conscious that my following is of an older demographic. Actually, I get lots of friendly mails saying “I’m only alive Doc, because I listened to you and did what you said!”
There are some inconveniences, as well as pleasures. Not the least of the handicaps is that we grow gradually weaker. I have lost a fair amount of muscle in the last 5 years. I doubt I could now run up some of the beloved North Country hills as I did decades ago. Steady plod might be as much as I can manage (I’ll let you know this summer!)
And I expect some of you too are experiencing the same worries and inconveniences. Maybe even just that exact phenomenon, without knowing it.
This is the bottom line of what I want to tell you: that your footwear is critical. Now I’m not thinking of pinching, rubbing or blisters, oh no… much more subtle than that.
I know something here and I know that’s why you read me, because I know stuff that most people don’t teach. OK, footwear manufacturers might, but not doctors or even orthopedic specialists. It’s this: that as little as 1 millimetre (correct spelling) extra on your soles, or one side or another, can transmit a huge adverse force right up through your legs and to your spine.
It can be catastrophic that such as tiny imbalance will throw out your posture. You may not feel anything at the level of your feet. The shoes feel warm and comfy, what could be the problem? But if you don’t look for this, you will miss it.
Instead, you might find yourself feeling “older” or “weaker” or “out of balance” and various other symptoms that will just get put down to old age.
Fight back!
Don’t buy trendy shoes, to look good. The important thing with shoes it not the looks or even the comfort. IT’S THE BALANCE!
How will you know? You don’t, at first. Only regular use will tell you which shoes work and which don’t. It doesn’t matter what you wear to drive the car, or visit the store. But for walking for health (and you SHOULD be walking for health) you need a reliable pair of shoes that don’t drain you. They can be old and worn and shabby, who cares, so long as they support you!
How did I get on? Well, I identified the problem straight away as what I have just shared. I realized that I was wearing—in effect—kryptonite shoes, that drained my super powers!
So next day I put on an older pair of trainers that have stood the test of time. I walked straight and firm, pounded the sidewalks and lawns and did 17,000 steps, there and back! No imbalance or leaning to one side; I was not growing old; I was not weak (I had been weak-ened, which is different); and I could have gone on but by then Vivien was tired and she’s important to me, so we relaxed for the rest of the day.
Performance Shoes
You need to be sure your shoes are not the kryptonite variety. Of course I need hardly say, everyone is different. My favorite “performance shoes” would not work for most other people. It’s journey you will have to make for yourself. But the rewards could be considerable and you may find yourself with, once again, a spring in your step. For me it was the difference between feeling in my 80s or feeling, as usual, in my late 50s!
Here’s a shot of my two contenders. The yellow ones I bought for a color-coordinated set in France (shoes, shirt, shorts, cap and bag). BUT THEY ARE THE KRYPTONITE SHOES! Don’t let looks fool you. The plain Jane whites are the performance shoes that liberated me!
I hope these remarks are useful to you and that you stay fairy-footed, twinkle-toed and steady on your feet, right into old age. Trust me, the right shoes are more important than a walking stick or frame!
Prof. Keith Scott-MumbyThe Official Alternative Doctor
Reference:
- https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/11/goldman-asks-is-curing-patients-a-sustainable-business-model.html
