Sticking needles into my feet

About six weeks ago I finally took action to address the pain I've been feeling in my left heel by visiting a physical therapist. Since then I've been able to resolve my initial complaint, which was pain on the lateral aspect of my left calcaneus. However, I've continued to experience stiffness in both lower legs, which results in a different pain in both heels.

During my last session, my PT commented that he thought I'd benefit from "dry needling". To quote the Cleveland Clinic website:

Dry needling is a technique that acupuncturists, physical therapists and other trained healthcare providers use to treat musculoskeletal pain and movement issues. It’s almost always used as part of a larger pain management plan that could include exercise, stretching, massage and other techniques. During this treatment, a provider inserts thin, sharp needles through your skin to treat underlying myofascial trigger points.

I've had this before to address pain in my shoulder, and said I'd consider it.

I had another session with my PT yesterday. He prodded around the sides of my heel and on the underside of it. He said he believes the pain I now experiencing is related to the abductor hallucis muscle, and that it would likely respond well to dry needling. I consented.

In Maryland, dry needling is licensed under a separate regulations than physical therapy, and thus required a separate consent form. After I read and signed the form, he said, "Your safeword for this is STOP. Not "ow", but STOP. Understand?"

I find it amusing that the concept of a "safeword" has penetrated so deeply into general usage that it now appears during medical procedures, and it's kind of assumed that the average person would know what it means. I chose not to make the joke that came to mind.

He then asked me if I wanted to see the needle. As someone who was a hospital ER volunteer between the ages of 16 and 18, then an emergency medical technician from 23 through 33, I'm not squeamish around needles. However, didn't really feel the need to see it so I declined. Instead, I lay back and thought of England. (That's a joke.)

I can't say it was pleasant. For something we stomp around on and abuse as much as a dancer does, feet are sensitive. On my pain scale, where 0 is relaxed bliss and 12 is a kidney stone, this was a 7. My PT kept fiddling with it, asking if I felt it twitch. I used different words to describe it until I realized that the correct answer was "YES, IT'S TWITCHING". Apparently that's the gold standard for the needle being correctly placed. Then he removed it.

He asked me to get up and walk around a bit, and see if my heel pain was reduced. To my surprise, it felt like I had more mobility and less pain that I'd had a few minutes before. Of course, that could just have been the endorphins.

This morning the muscle he'd needled was still a bit sore, even more so when I put my shoes on. But I'm not experiencing the pain in my heel I have every morning for the last several weeks. Maybe there's something to this technique after all.

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The supporting cast auditions for the production of The Nutcracker put on by the ballet company I danced with in A Midsummer Night's Dream this spring are tomorrow. Before the audition for Midsummer, my only exposure to dance auditions was watching the movie A Chorus Line, and I was very nervous.

This time is different. I feel like I know what to expect, and I'm pretty sure I can do what they'll ask of us. I'm also no longer an unknown quality to the company. I take class weekly with their managing director. I rehearsed and performed on-stage with the artistic director in Midsummer. They know I'm reliable, and have a pretty good idea of what I can and can't do. Other than totally flaking out, I probably can't do much in the audition to affect their casting decision. And the bar for supporting cast is probably pretty low.

There's also the little matter of gender. Male ballet dancers are scarce as hen's teeth, even if I'm overweight and can't reliably land a double pirouette. Especially those willing to drive an hour each way for rehearsals. Some months ago I mentioned to the managing director that I really hoped I was good enough as a dancer to justify being given a role, and not just because I'm male. She replied, "Couldn't it be both?"  Diplomatic, but not exactly the answer I wanted.

Of course, I still want to do the best job I can, and that has me just a little on edge. I had no trouble going to sleep last night, but woke up early this morning from an awful dream. In my dream, as I was about to sign the cast contract, I discovered that the production was pornographic, like something you might see on stage in a sex club. Not only that, but the lead role was being played by Tom Cruise. Just as I was refusing to sign the contract I woke up. Sheesh! Maybe the audition is on my mind than I want to admit.