The gimpy foot saga continues...

So, I've been to the physiotherapist, and despite my misgivings (I have the classic British trait of not complaining about a medical problem unless a limb's actually dropped off) it was very helpful.  I have an explanation, and I have a plan...

The Good:  

There is nothing wrong with my feet.  That is to say, my feet are structurally fine and are the symptom of the problem rather than it's cause.  I've been referred onto a podiatrist just to double check, but it seems that I don't have gimpy feet.

The Bad:  

I have gimpy hips/glutes instead.  And they aren't gimpy in the same way either.  My right leg, the one I favour, has some incredibly tight muscles at the top and the outside that have been yanking my right foot out at an angle.  Imagine it like a stunt kite, one of the ones with two handles that you can steer.  The tension on both kite strings needs to be equal for the kite to remain straight.  If the right string is shorter than the left then the kite pulls right constantly.  That's what my muscles are doing to my right foot.  (Although fortunately, unlike a kite, my foot isn't able to go into a 360-degree downward spin.)

In contrast, my left leg has very little muscle strength, particularly in the glutes and hamstrings.  I was asked to do a number of exercises to test and compare both legs and it turns out that my left is just a lot weaker than my right.  Because of that I don't commit my weight to it correctly and therefore don't utilise my foot correctly, which is why I've developed the weird supinated (outside-leaning) walk that I have.

At one point the physio had me balance on each leg, one after the other.  When I was on my left leg, he eyed up my posture, said "Let me try something", and pulled my hip forward on one side.  BAM!  My weight shifted off the edge of my left foot and onto the ball of my foot (just below my big toe) where it was supposed to be all along!  It was a EUREKA moment.  This can be improved!  Now I just need to re-train myself to do that under my own strength.

The Ugly:  

My face after doing the exercises I've been prescribed !  For my uptight right leg I have a bunch of stretches, and for my weak and wimpish left leg I have one-legged exercises to help it catch up with it's stronger partner.  I have to do them 2-3 times a day until my next appointment ... about a month from now.  Ugh.

The stretches are fine, and feel nice in that achy sore way that stretches do, but the one-legged strength exercises are sooooo haaaaaaard.  Which I guess means they're doing something good.  But AAAAAARGH!!!  My most hated one so far is the one-legged glutes bridge, which normally looks like THIS.

See how she's got both feet on the ground?  I'm only allowed to use one - my left.  I've also got hip extensions to do with my left leg, which look like this, except I have to do it with my knee bent back.

It's kind of amazing, because the movements and positions I'm holding are so simple, but by the end of the reps I'm really straining to hold it.