Heel pain requires time to heal.

Some three years ago, I jumped down from a higher level to the ground below at the hill and suffered a pain in the heel as my foot came into contact with a sharp hard stone. From that day on I felt a pain in my heel each time I stepped on the ground or moved that foot forward in walking and running.

Since I know how to massage, I did what had to be done which was to warm up the area and massaged it. Each time I bathed I would immerse it into almost unbearable warm water for a few minutes until the foot was red before transferring it into cold water.

As the pain stubbornly refused to go away, I wore three pair of socks to continue my daily exercise at the hill. That, of course, meant I had to get a pair of shoes one size larger. The socks did cushion the heel from hard contact with the solid ground and gradually after about a year the pain went away. As the pain reduced I changed to wearing only two pairs of socks, finally ending that painful period with just a pair.

Of course, not all pain at the heels require such a long period to heal. There have been quite a number of careless moments when I had hurt my foot but they require only a day or two of massage to be fine again. It caused me to realise that certain inflammation takes longer to go off, probably because I did not rest the hurt but aggravate it further by continuing with my walks and runs at the hill.

That was a good weakness on my part as it kept me exercising, strengthening my will against the pain and giving me the good health I still enjoy. I believed we should never be deterred by a little pain as if I had rested and the rest period was a little too long, it could lead to procrastination and laziness in the effort to maintain fitness.

Thank God for that, and today I feel no pain, and am still actively keeping my body trim and in excellent shape. Looking back, it was the right move to carry on despite the pain for two painful years without the wonderful exercise at the hill could have started me downhill to poor health.