What kind of a doctor/trainer/physical therapist/etc. should you see for this?

[J-rap]

One of my daughters started out as very athletic and limber. She ran track and played tennis and other things and was naturally quite good. She has slowly changed to having bad posture, flat feet, lots of pains in her legs when she exercises, and some weight gain. She still wants to be athletic, but honestly, it's almost like her body can't take it anymore. What happened? I've taken her to see our town's physical therapist, and he has said that her body wasn't meant to run. (But she used to!) I feel like something's gone awry and I don't know how to help her. She would love to get into some pretty extreme sports. She also has chronic migraines, so I don't know if the two are related or not.

 

I want to help her, but I don't even know where to begin.

[tex-bex]

I would look closely at her diet.

 

I recommend the book It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig.

 

Exercise can be hard on the body, especially if it's not well-rounded. I also recommend www.alignedandwell.com for more information. :)

[J-rap]

I would look closely at her diet.

 

I recommend the book It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig.

 

Exercise can be hard on the body, especially if it's not well-rounded. I also recommend www.alignedandwell.com for more information. :)

 

Actually, I just ordered that book last week and we are reading it! She is already on a very strict diet (just lean meat and green veggies) for 30 days to see if it helps her migraines. I'll check out the website you sent. Thanks!

[GoVanGogh]

Has she always had flat feet or is that starting along with the bad posture?

I would look at an orthopedic doctor and possibly a second opinion with another physical therapist.

Flat feet can be a low tone issue (hypotonia), along with posture and leg pain.

[J-rap]

Has she always had flat feet or is that starting along with the bad posture?

I would look at an orthopedic doctor and possibly a second opinion with another physical therapist.

Flat feet can be a low tone issue (hypotonia), along with posture and leg pain.

 

I really don't know about the flat feet. I guess I didn't pay attention until it started becoming a problem. My son has flat feet though, so I think it might run in the family (husband's side).

[wintermom]

What age range are you talking about? She was active in track and tennis when she was ___ years old. She is ___ years old and does what kind of activities? Did she go through puberty during this time? My body changed A LOT and very quickly when I went through puberty. It took a few years to stabilize my sudden weight changes.

[J-rap]

What age range are you talking about? She was active in track and tennis when she was ___ years old. She is ___ years old and does what kind of activities? Did she go through puberty during this time? My body changed A LOT and very quickly when I went through puberty. It took a few years to stabilize my sudden weight changes.

 

 

It's true, it could be just a lot of puberty changes that took place, but the changes seem so stark. She was in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade when she was on the track and tennis and swim teams. It was in her 10th grade year that her chronic migraines settled in and her body started to change so much, and also when her flat feet became so painful and problematic. She is almost 20 now.

[mrs.m]

Chiropractor to help fix the posture. Did the therapist offer any core strengthening exercise to he' the posture? If so, make her do them. See an orthopedist about the feet and get a referral for therapy (use a different therapist, the one you saw should not have said shes not made to run. That's bunk.) my DS has to wear a brace and do stretches to help his leg pain from flat feet. His bones grew faster than his muscles so he had shorter muscles in that leg and it caused out-toeing. He couldn't run before therapy but he can now!!! Karate has helped loosen him up as well. So that's why I think that therapist is wrong. Our therapist worked to get him running again and trained him to be able to do it as part of the therapy. His feet aren't as flat either.

[Dahliarw]

Combo of chiropractor to get things in alignment and help the posture and a good PT that will work on core muscle strength to help keep things in good alignment. Also looking at diet (nutritionist?) wouldn't hurt.

[Guest danidani]

She needs to go to a sports massage therapist who will manipulate her muscles and get rid of any knots or scar tissue if she has any and stretch her muscles . Everybody else will be give her only temporary relief.

[Ravin]

before hopping from treatment to treatment, I would want a solid diagnosis of what the heck is going on with her. I would want to start with the family doc and if stymied there try and get a referral to a rheumatologist or orthopedic surgeon.

[Tap]

Chiro to make sure she is aligned.

 

PT to isolate muscle groups and to identify if she is using the wrong muscles. They will work on her posture and help her correct her stance.

 

Pilates or Yoga for core and stretching. Posture and stance corrections often come with this as well.

 

Podiatrist to make sure she doesn't have a structural foot issue causing the posture issue. Go get new shoes if the podiatrist recommends it. Shoes can make a HUGE difference in posture.

 

GP for basic blood work up (Thryroid, sed rate, glucose etc) to rule out health issues.

[Paige]

I would take her to the family doctor and see what she thinks. I would be wanting a referral to an orthopedist or neurologist unless the doctor had a good idea of something else and why a referral was not necessary. I wouldn't care much whether the doctor thought the ortho or neuro was better suited to look into it first as they tend to coordinate with each other, or at least ours always have.

[J-rap]

Chiro to make sure she is aligned.

 

PT to isolate muscle groups and to identify if she is using the wrong muscles. They will work on her posture and help her correct her stance.

 

Pilates or Yoga for core and stretching. Posture and stance corrections often come with this as well.

 

Podiatrist to make sure she doesn't have a structural foot issue causing the posture issue. Go get new shoes if the podiatrist recommends it. Shoes can make a HUGE difference in posture.

 

GP for basic blood work up (Thryroid, sed rate, glucose etc) to rule out health issues.

 

 

Thanks for the various suggestions, everyone. She has seen a number of doctors over the years, but the main concentration has been her chronic migraines. She is in the care of a neurologist, and has tried monthly massages. She has seen a chiropractor for a few months who tried to help with any alignment problems that might be adding to her migraines, although we never actually discussed posture. After a few months he suggested that he couldn't do anything more.

 

The PT was specifically for her feet/legs, and he is the one who told her not to run anymore.

 

She does to Pilates daily.

 

Anyway, I liked many of your suggestions, and will follow up with a podiatrist and maybe a second round of chiropractic and PT/care (new ones!). She is moving to a larger metropolitan area in the fall, so she'll have a lot more clinic choices.

 

I'm going to look into sports massage too. I haven't heard of that one.

 

The good thing is that apart from her migraines, she feels good. I mean, she has energy, she's happy, she's positive.

[Paige]

 

The PT was specifically for her feet/legs, and he is the one who told her not to run anymore.

 

 

 

 

Any PT who tells a young adult with no underlying diagnosed disease not to run would make me very nervous. Why is she having trouble running? That should be looked into and a statement that her body is not made to run is, IMO, insulting. If your neurologist is not coordinating with an orthopedist, then I'd request a referral. Have you discussed with him that she is having a decline in her physical abilities in addition to her migraines?

[Tap]

 

Thanks for the various suggestions, everyone. She has seen a number of doctors over the years, but the main concentration has been her chronic migraines. She is in the care of a neurologist, and has tried monthly massages. She has seen a chiropractor for a few months who tried to help with any alignment problems that might be adding to her migraines, although we never actually discussed posture. After a few months he suggested that he couldn't do anything more.

 

The PT was specifically for her feet/legs, and he is the one who told her not to run anymore.

 

She does to Pilates daily.

 

Anyway, I liked many of your suggestions, and will follow up with a podiatrist and maybe a second round of chiropractic and PT/care (new ones!). She is moving to a larger metropolitan area in the fall, so she'll have a lot more clinic choices.

 

I'm going to look into sports massage too. I haven't heard of that one.

 

The good thing is that apart from her migraines, she feels good. I mean, she has energy, she's happy, she's positive.

 

 

 

I hope you get some answers. If she is moving any where near Portland Oregon, I can give her excellent recommendations for some doctors.

 

Hope you find a solution soon!

[Dahliarw]

With migraines I would look into cranial sacral therapy as well as food triggers.

[J-rap]

 

Any PT who tells a young adult with no underlying diagnosed disease not to run would make me very nervous. Why is she having trouble running? That should be looked into and a statement that her body is not made to run is, IMO, insulting. If your neurologist is not coordinating with an orthopedist, then I'd request a referral. Have you discussed with him that she is having a decline in her physical abilities in addition to her migraines?

 

Part of the running pain is extremely painful shin splints which seem to have resulted in something permanent, even after not running for a year. (Even long walks hurt now.) The PT also explained something about a structural problem that he believes she has with her feet. Her feet are very flat, and I don't know -- they just look painful. It's hard to describe. They are often red and swollen looking. She also has Reynaud's syndrome, which is I believe a circulation problem. It causes her feet to turn purple sometimes.

 

Our lives have been kind of crazy these past three years, and my daughter was studying abroad this past year. Now that she is home, we finally have an opportunity to try and get to the bottom of all of this.

[xixstar]

For me, I would see my chiropractor first and then follow up any suggestions he might have. My oldest ended up having lots of leg and knee pain and I wasn't sure who to go see to solve the problem versus just treat it with medication. I went to our Chriopractor because I trust his opinion on who to see and he was sure that he could help. I didn't really believe him because I was thinking something more specialized was needed but after a few weeks it was better and a month or so completely gone even when playing soccer again.

 

Not saying chiro would solve the problem, but the one I have I am confident would be able to help us find the answers or the directions for where to go.

[J-rap]

With migraines I would look into cranial sacral therapy as well as food triggers.

 

 

I do remember hearing about cranial sacral therapy once. Will look into that. I feel like we've tried almost everything else so far, for her migraines!

 

As far as food triggers, she has been on some anti-inflammation diets before with no success, but is now in the midst of a 30-day very strict elimination diet to see if we can pinpoint any triggers. She is only eating grass-fed chicken and beef, and organic green vegetables (like spinach, kale, broccoli, etc.) and water for 30 days. (She is on day 17, but no improvements yet...)

[Tiramisu]

If she has hypermobile joints, she may be dealing with lax ligaments. If you read about hypermobility syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome you will find that it could explain all of the issues your dd is dealing with, things like pain in the legs, flat feet, poor posture, headaches, circulation, and possibly even the Reynaulds.

 

Inherited connective tissue disorders are genetic, so people are born with them but the effects can show more with age. I think the symptoms are worse for women than men because of female hormones. So if your husband has it, for example, your daughter would have inherited it from him, but she may have have more difficulty with it.

 

Physical therapy can help, particularly with a therapist that understands it. You want exercises that don't put pressure on the joints.

 

This may have nothing to do with your dd, but I thought I'd bring it up. It's something that's a possible issue for us.

 

ETA: Reynaud's is autoimmune, I think, and there's a relationship between autoimmune issues and connective tissue disorders.