So many of my friends have had some kind of a “foot thing,” it seems to be a midlife rite of passage!  Along with colonoscopies, root canals, and cholesterol tests, a visit to the podiatrist and a lowering of heel height seem to be part of the over-40 landscape.  That piercing heel pain of plantar fasciitis can be eased by consistently stretching, flexing, and rolling your feet around on a tennis ball or frozen bottle of water.  For persistent pain, a new treatment is Botox!   75% of sufferers improved with Botox injections into the heel or calf.  Then there’s the bunion that goes ballistic and needs surgery – 6 weeks to 6 months off your feet for that…and they can come back again!  Also a bundle of laughs is the persistent pain behind the toes, otherwise known as (more…)

Who knew?  A study of women ages 50-79 found that those who averaged 6 hours of sleep or less per night had up to 20% greater risk of stroke – no surprise there.  But those who slept more than 9 hours nightly were 60 to 70% MORE likely to have a stroke!  Are they depressed, on medication?  Aiming for 7 to 8 hours seems safest.