Chronic Pain - what would you do?

[bright sparks]

I have been dealing with chronic foot pain for the entire time I have been running my daycare - which is almost 2 years now. After my last pregnancy my arches totally fell and I have plantar fascitis on my left foot (so my heel hurts). I have been to a sports medicine doctor and a chiropractor and both said there is no easy fix and since my arches can't un-fall it is pretty much a long term chronic problem. I have custom insoles but they only partially help.

So I feel really conflicted about continuing doing daycare. It is something I was committed to until atleast my younger daughter started school, but that is 2 years from now. My feet haven't gotten one bit better, if anything it is worse.

Over the Christmas break I only had 1 or 2 daycare kids and had lots of days off to rest. My feet were feeling so much better. Now 2 weeks back into a full load of 6 kids I am limping by the end of the day.

I just really don't know what to do. If I take less kids to make my day more manageable I would need a second job in order to make enough money. Or if I just totally quit I would have to put my own kids into daycare and I really don't want to do that.

What would you do? I have spent so much time thinking about this. I really don't like quiting after I have started something but I am in pain...

I have flare ups of this too and found that great improvement was found after getting custom orthotics. I have to wear shoes almost constantly when I'm on my feet. In the summer it is brutal. Flip flops are a killer and then if im barefoot it only makes things worse. Hopefully you have a partner at home who has benefits that cover custom orthotics because your orthotic would be made with an arch lift to counter this issue and boy does that make a huge difference in the pain department. If no coverage, look for an orthotic called "super feet" (they are sold in sportchek in ON) they are an affordable alternative. I also use a golf ball for relief when I'm watching tv. I place the arch of my foot on the ball and roll it back and forth while pressing it against the floor. Best done on carpet or an area rug. The first couple of times it will be uncomfortable, even painful but the relief is fantastic. You can buy a cream called "traumeel" which you can apply beforehand for some pain relief and then just massage into the foot as needed too. Maybe seek out a chiropractor who offers "Graston technique" this will bring a lot of benefits to the condition and if received on a regular basis along with the orthotics should make living with it a whole lot easier. I hope this helps and you get some relief.