Footprints in Mashed Potatoes: Sensory Therapy for your feet👣

Hi everyone,

I want to share a fun sensory therapy activity I've been exploring since 2019. It involves putting your feet into different substances, similar to "sensory walks" done in some preschools. This idea stemmed from my shaving cream challenge, and my Occupational Therapist thinks it's great.

 

How to do it:
Fill a tub or aluminum pan with your chosen substance - it can be food-related or inedible like shaving cream, slime, mud, or spa gel. The most important safety rule is to always sit in a chair while doing this activity. This is crucial to prevent slipping, as some substances can be very slippery. Sitting ensures you stay safe while enjoying the experience.

Once seated, remove your shoes and socks, and immerse your feet in the substance. Describe the sensation you feel. I recommend trying various textures for a diverse experience. If indoors, have a towel and water tub ready; if outdoors, choose a warm day with access to a hose. We've used pancake mix, mashed potatoes, cool whip, jello, pudding, marshmallow fluff, mud, slime, shaving cream, and spa gel for jelly pedicures. Feel free to use whatever you prefer, but always prioritize safety.

Purpose and benefits:
This activity serves as sensory therapy, stimulating the sensitive nerves in your feet. It can improve circulation and sensation, especially with warm substances. Benefits include reducing pain, inflammation, stress, and improving sleep. It's particularly helpful for those with damaged foot nerves or autism, but anyone can benefit. It's like a spa treatment or massage, potentially great for skin health too.

Personal experience and mental health aspects:
After surgery on my feet when I was a teenager, some nerves in the soles of my feet were damaged. This left them extremely sensitive to touch, yet paradoxically numbed them to where I couldn't feel soft or squishy sensations on the bottom of my feet. This therapy has been instrumental in helping restore more normal sensation. Recently, I began seeing a mental health counselor for depression. They enthusiastically support this activity, urging me to involve others. It's important for my happiness and mental health, and it benefits those who participate too. Research shows it's particularly calming for individuals with anxiety and ADHD.

Initially, I started this activity with my best friend Kayla. Doing this with her was extremely important to me, and I was so happy to share the experience. She enjoyed it too, which made it even more special. Unfortunately, we had to stop because her partner at the time was uncomfortable with it and refused to understand or tolerate her doing it. This made me feel like I was doing something wrong, like I was a freak. The whole experience left me feeling hurt and misunderstood. It made me hesitant to continue or ask others, fearing they might react similarly.

However, I decided to give it another try and was pleasantly surprised by the positive reception. I shared about it on social media, and many people were supportive and eager to try it. This helped me realize that there was nothing wrong with the activity or with me for enjoying it.

Who can participate:
Everyone is welcome, though girls tend to be more receptive than guys. Kids especially love it for the sensory experience and the chance to make a mess. My physical and occupational therapists, as well as teachers and healthcare workers, endorse this as both physical and mental therapy.

In conclusion, this activity has been a source of joy, social connection, and therapeutic benefit for me. The sensation of different substances squishing between your toes is incredibly satisfying and fun. That's actually one of the best parts!. It has the potential to help many others. Please just remember, always sit down to ensure safety, and enjoy exploring these delightful sensations with your feet in a comfortable setting!

Things used so far:

Pudding
Jello
Mud/Fake Mud
Mashed Potatoes
Bisquick Pancake Mix
Marshmallow Fluff
Nutella (gross) (It felt good. It was soft and very thick, but getting it off was
really tough.) 

Spa Gel
Slime
Cool Whip
Shaving Cream
 

Mud and shaving cream combined
Spa Gel and Shaving Cream combined
Mashed potatoes and shaving cream combined
Cool Whip and Shaving Cream combined
Nutella and shaving cream combined



Any suggestions?

Why my challenge is feet in shaving cream

Explaining why the challenge is what it is.

Hi everyone, I imagine some of you probably wonder why my Muscular Dystrophy challenge is feet in shaving cream and what exactly it has to do with Muscular Dystrophy. I know many people misunderstand the challenge and when they see feet are involved, they automatically assume that it’s some kind of fetish thing under the guise of raising awareness. I can tell everyone right now that it’s definitely NOT! I actually discussed this in one of my other blogs but I would just like to explain the whole thing in its own blog post. 

Why is your challenge putting your feet in shaving cream?

Well, this is a good question and one that people should ask me first and allow me to explain before assuming that the challenge is for fetish purposes. So I chose putting feet into shaving cream because it’s something easy to do for everyone, including the disabled. When the Ice Bucket challenge came out, no one like me could do it. A. We have life support and mobility equipment that will be damaged if it gets wet. B. Some of us, including myself, are sensitive to cold temperatures and can get sick if we get drenched in ice water. So I wanted something that wouldn’t be anywhere near our faces or too close to our machines. Putting our feet into something was the best option. It’s not much of a challenge, I know. If anything, it’s something fun yet simple to raise awareness that is inclusive. But I want everyone to do it this way. I don’t want anyone to put their own spin on things or putting shaving cream in faces. Because that’s been done to death and I also have an irrational fear of things on faces. Keep it simple and just put your feet in! It’s a lot easier to clean.

What does the challenge have to do with Muscular Dystrophy?

It really has nothing to do with Muscular Dystrophy. Like I said in the last question, I just created it as a fun, simple, and unique way to raise awareness that everyone, including people who are physically disabled, can take part in. I guess you could say that the slipperiness of the shaving cream kinda simulates how unstable you feel trying to stand up in the early stages of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy when we began losing our ability to walk. But I rarely mention that part for the sole reason (no pun intended) that I don’t want anyone to stand up and then fall and get injured. So if you do the challenge, sit! I have to say it’s a pretty satisfying experience!

Why does it look like only girls are doing it?

It looks like it, doesn’t it? Fact is women are much more likely to do it than men. I ask everyone to do it. Men, Women, and kids. I don’t just ask women. Guys are usually like “my girlfriend/wife/etc, will do it". But they themselves usually chicken out. But again, the challenge is open to everyone of every age. Kids have so much fun with it, but adults enjoy it too. 

In Conclusion.

Don’t assume something and judge another person because you don’t understand something. It’s harmless fun, and it makes someone who doesn’t have much they can physically do happy. This challenge is really important to me and I want more people to take part in it, so it goes viral.

What you have to do

Hi everyone,

 

Here’s what you have to do for the Muscular Dystrophy awareness challenge.  

The challenge is actually very simple to do, and it’s pretty fun. Basically, all you do is sit in a chair (because it’s a little slippery) and have someone record you putting your bare feet into a tub of shaving cream. Or you can donate to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Then challenge 3 of your friends to do a video of it (or donate) within 3 days or whenever they can. Here’s a general idea of what to say, but it doesn’t have to be exactly this.

Hi, I’m ____! I’m doing Mike Riley’s Shaving Cream challenge to raise awareness for Muscular Dystrophy. It’s easy. All you have to do is put your bare feet in shaving cream or donate to the MD Association. I’m challenging ___, ___, and ___ please try to do this in 3 days. Let’s go viral! Also, please sit when you put your feet in because it’s slippery.

(Please feel free to dedicate this to someone who you know suffers from MD or in memory of someone who had the disease.)

I know I said on my last Blogger post I said that the shaving cream is slippery and simulates what it’s like to not have control of your legs. But in order to keep the challenge safe and fun, please make sure you are sitting down when you put your feet into the shaving cream. I just don’t want you to fall and get hurt❤.  .  

 Here's my video of me doing the challenge.

Creating the MDA Challenge

Creating the challenge

A few years back, Pete Frates and Pat Quinn created the ALS Ice Bucket challenge to help raise awareness of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and encourage people to donate to research. Many people across Social Media including many celebrities, took part in the challenge, causing it to go viral and raising $225 million for ALS. It inspired me to create a challenge to raise awareness of Muscular Dystrophy, a disease I suffer from. For those of you who don’t know what Muscular Dystrophy is, it’s a group of 40+ genetic diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass throughout the body. Check out my last Blogger post for a more detailed explanation of what Muscular Dystrophy is.

While the Ice Bucket challenge was a brilliant idea, many of us who have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy could not take part because we’re on ventilator machines which cannot get wet. So I wanted to create something unique but simple that everyone can do, including people with disabilities like me and something that can be done either indoors or outdoors year round. I thought of a few ideas, one of which was pieing yourself in the face, but that has been done to death and again those of us with a Trach and ventilator. That would be a problem. I also have an irrational fear of people putting stuff on their faces because of severe claustrophobia. So then I thought how about people putting their feet in something because with a little help people like me can definitely do that. I first thought of using ice water but then thought it was too close to the Ice bucket challenge plus freezing cold water might not be good for people who have a compromised immune system. So one day I was at the grocery store with my mom and we just passed down the aisle with shaving products, and I saw all the cans of shaving cream. That’s when it hit me. Shaving Cream would be perfect! It’s widely available and easy to clean up and it actually looks like it would be pretty comfortable (it definitely is lol!). Plus, you can do it indoors or out. Also, the shaving cream is very slippery and it kind of simulates how it is to stand or walk when we lose our ability to do that. It’s basically the feeling of not having control. So the MD Shaving Cream challenge was born with my cousins being the first to take part. Over the years, many people have taken part, mostly me, my friends and family, and all the aides and nurses who have come to my house. Plus countless YouTubers and a handful of actors, actresses, and newspeople. I plan on continuing to keep the challenge going as long as I can or until it goes viral.