How can you better look after your ankles?

flight.Chris, I thought that was very good medicine

It was extremely good.

What was the main thing that you learned or took away from that, Xandee?

I suppose, Chris, the first place that it left me was looking at your body, admiring it in terms of function, and also going, "Is this really my foot? Am I in control of my foot? Could I get better control of my foot?" I really enjoyed that bit.

Yes.

When Jen asked me to move my big toe sideways toward my body-

It did not move

...

there is a mus- I know there's a muscle there, and there's presumably some nerve running from my brain to that muscle.

It's completely switched off.

It reminded me of the scene in Star Wars, the early bits of Luke Skywalker trying to move things using the Force, and you looked like you were trying to use the Force, but you had not yet found the Force.

I can't even move my own big toe.

[laughs] You're so far away from-- I mean, Luke Skywalker, from an early point, did have some grasp of the Force.

You are not able to use your own brain and your own nerve to move your own big toe.

[laughs]

No, I'm not, am I? And Jen used this lovely phrase that your foot is a long way from your brain, and that idea of reconnecting the nerves as the first part of the rehab.

I suppose I'd expected her to just go, "Well, well, stand on your tippy toes", and I don't know, do something very strengthy with your foot, but it wasn't.

It was reconnecting the brain.

I thought that was a really interesting first approach.

Well, Xandee, we're very lucky Jen stayed on, of course, for a deeper dive in Doctor's Notes, where we talked about her background, her work with dancers as a physiotherapist, and other athletes.

And we also asked her about footwear, what should you wear on your feet, and how does it affect your ankles?

So that discussion's in the feed on BBC Sounds.

Do go check it out.

flight.Chris, I thought that was very good medicine

It was extremely good.

What was the main thing that you learned or took away from that, Xandee?

I suppose, Chris, the first place that it left me was looking at your body, admiring it in terms of function, and also going, "Is this really my foot? Am I in control of my foot? Could I get better control of my foot?" I really enjoyed that bit.

Yes.

When Jen asked me to move my big toe sideways toward my body-

It did not move

...

there is a mus- I know there's a muscle there, and there's presumably some nerve running from my brain to that muscle.

It's completely switched off.

It reminded me of the scene in Star Wars, the early bits of Luke Skywalker trying to move things using the Force, and you looked like you were trying to use the Force, but you had not yet found the Force.

I can't even move my own big toe.

[laughs] You're so far away from-- I mean, Luke Skywalker, from an early point, did have some grasp of the Force.

You are not able to use your own brain and your own nerve to move your own big toe.

[laughs]

No, I'm not, am I? And Jen used this lovely phrase that your foot is a long way from your brain, and that idea of reconnecting the nerves as the first part of the rehab.

I suppose I'd expected her to just go, "Well, well, stand on your tippy toes", and I don't know, do something very strengthy with your foot, but it wasn't.

It was reconnecting the brain.

I thought that was a really interesting first approach.

Well, Xandee, we're very lucky Jen stayed on, of course, for a deeper dive in Doctor's Notes, where we talked about her background, her work with dancers as a physiotherapist, and other athletes.

And we also asked her about footwear, what should you wear on your feet, and how does it affect your ankles?

So that discussion's in the feed on BBC Sounds.

Do go check it out.