The sciatic nerve is as large as your finger and is usually found behind some of the large gluteal muscles.

Nerves hate to be pressed on and so the sciatic nerve will complain by causing symptoms of pain or nervy sensations in your hip, leg or even in your foot!

Here’s the link to an article with directions on how to help those gluteal muscles relax.  If they are the cause of your sciatica it will make a big difference.

http://www.simplebackpainrelief.com/sciatica/how-to-massage-gluteal-muscles-for-back-pain-relief/

A rheumatologist (a medical doctor who specializes in arthritis and similar diseases) said that if you lose just ten pounds–Just Ten Pounds!–a lot of your foot pain will be gone!

Gone!

She said you don’t have to get to normal weight to get rid of foot pain.  Just getting rid of those ten pounds will make a big difference in how your feet hurt. 

Here’s  a simple, all natural weight loss plan from me for you.

It is really easy to lose weight if you take these steps:

1.  Only eat things that grew.

(Bread doesn’t grow, cereal didn’t grow, ice cream didn’t grow…you get the idea.)

Fruits, vegetables, some meat or eggs or fish, whole grains like brown rice or whole oats–those are things that grew.

You can eat all the veggies you want, either raw or cooked.  Beans grow.  Nuts and seeds grow.  Coconuts and avocados grow, too.

Add a little olive oil or real butter on cooked veggies if you want.  Bodies need some healthy fats like that.  If you add salt try to make it sea salt.

Cook your whole grains.  Make them from scratch.  If you bring a pot to boil at bedtime and let the grains sit overnight in the covered pot they will be just right for breakfast.  Add an egg and you are good to go!

2.  Every day do active fun things like dance or walk or run or jump or swim.  Do the things you like the most and do them often.

If you can’t do such things, wiggle your toes, twist your hair, do seated leg lifts, swing your arms.  The point is to move!

Muscles love movement!

3.  Drink lots of water.  Make that your drink of choice.  That’s what your cells crave and need.

Let’s think about a dog or cat or horse.

If that animal ate chocolate ice cream and pop he wouldn’t be healthy.  His body would have trouble trying to process those things.  Your body is the same way.

Now let’s think about your car.

If you put milk in the engine it wouldn’t run.  Your engine (your body) needs the correct fuel just as your car does.

It’s hard for some people to eat the right foods because they don’t have enough money but for some of us it’s all about making the right choices.

And after a while you will really look forward to a piece of crunchy fruit or vegetable instead of a ‘goodie.’

I promise!

There are several more articles about nutrition and healthy eating at http://ThePainReliefCoach.com.  Just click the link and go to the Category tab on the right hand side and click it to open the list of categories.  Scroll down to the Nutrition category and click and the articles will come up.

And here are a few more tips from the doctor:

1. Women, buy men’s athletic shoes!  Men’s shoes have roomier toe boxes so your toes won’t be squashed.  No one will really notice, either.  (Pssst.  I’ll tell you a secret…I have done this for years!)

2.  And just because you USED to wear a size 6 doesn’t mean you STILL wear a 6.

The doctor said she had cured many cases of ‘arthritis’ in feet simply by telling her patient, “You don’t wear a size 6 anymore; now you wear a size 10!”

The bigger shoe created more comfort and got rid of foot pain naturally.

Maybe so.

But they were cute.  Cheap but cute.

They probably caused me to curl my toes to hold them on my feet.

But according to Doctors Travell & Simons MD, bunions (enlarged big toe joints) show up more in certain ethnic groups than others.  They also said there may be a strong hereditary component.  (If your parent had them, you have a good chance to have them, too.)

Bunions cause a muscle imbalance which just makes matters worse.   It causes an “out of balance” walk that aggravates the muscles in your leg.

A variation in the first metatarsal and great (big) toe joint is called a bunion when it sticks out toward the other foot.  It can make it hard to get shoes that fit.

Bunions can appear on both feet or only one.

Bunions can be surgically fixed.  I’m not a surgeon (and don’t even play one on television) so if you decide to go this route, ask lots and lots of questions.

“How long will it take to recover?”  “How much pain will I have?”  “What exactly is the procedure?”

It’s your body so you get to ask.

Also sometimes wearing a cast can cause pain to appear in the big toe joint.  So can having an anatomical (actual) short leg.

If you have a short leg, that foot will receive more pressure.  More pressure can equal more pain.  In this case, raise your shorter leg by placing a lift under your whole shoe on the short leg side.

Sleeping with your feet strongly flexed (turned downward; curled toes to heel) can also cause pain in the big toe.  Sleep with your feet flat.  You can buy special boots to help with this or sleep closer to the headboard, footboard or wall so you cannot flex your soles.

Flat feet and tight socks can also aggravate those lower leg muscles.  Wearing high heels and crossing your legs are two more baddies.

You see, sometimes pain in the large toe joint is caused by tight muscles in the lower leg.  They can be aggravated by doing any of those things in the last couple of paragraphs.

If you receive or do massage for pain in your big toe, make sure to work deeply into the muscles of your calf.  The muscles that tend to be involved are on the outside of your calf (the baby toe side.)

Trigger points (see the “Trigger Point Category” on the right hand side of this page) in your calf can cause pain in your big toe.  Working deeply into those calf muscles can help get rid of the trigger points and your toe pain.

Ice is another treatment that may be helpful.

Just to be on the safe side, I would also “treat” (press into) the arch muscles on the same side as the big toe.  If they are “too tight” (contracted) they can pull on the big toe joint.

Also, wearing a metatarsal pad (a pad under the toe joint in the ball of your foot) may help if you have a certain foot condition called “Morton’s Foot.”  In this case, your second toe is longer than your big toe.

Hopefully this will get you on the road to getting rid of the pain in your big toe.

There are several possibilities including the muscles on the bottom side of your foot.  Those muscles can be pressed into with fingers or a tennis or golf ball.  The muscles to press tend to be in the area of foot pain.

If those muscles are strained, wearing arch supports in your shoes may help by supporting them.

Another cause that is commonly overlooked is the piriformis muscle.  This muscle runs from your sacrum (wide, fused end of spine just above your tailbone) to the head of your femur (top outside of your thigh bone.)

The piriformis is usually covered by the thick gluteal (butt) muscles.  It can develop trigger points.  Trigger points are very irritable areas of muscle or soft tissue that cause pain somewhere else, often quite far away.

If your pain is in your gluteal region (butt) and is approximately from the sacrum to the top of your thigh bone and is on the back of your thigh; and skips to the middle of the back of your calf; and is on the whole bottom of your foot then the piriformis muscle is quite likely the bad guy.

What’s the fix?

Apply pressure to the piriformis muscle.  You can lay on a tennis or golf ball or have a skilled massage therapist press into the muscle.

Tennis Ball Therapy:

If you lay on the ball, lay flat on your back and place the ball under your fleshy gluteal muscles (not on the bones.)  Find the most tender place and just lay there.  In about 5 minutes you will notice it’s not so tender any more.  Your muscle is relaxing.

Now roll slightly to find the next most tender area and lay there for 5 minutes.

Repeat at least one more time on a third area.

Massage Therapy:

Massage is a wonderful pain relief tool when applied by a knowledgeable therapist.  He or she might use thumbs, elbow, forearm or a special massage tool (also called a “thumb saver.”)  The massage therapist will press into the piriformis muscle and other gluteal muscles.  She may also uncover additional causes for your foot pain in the muscles of your calf or foot.

If you check the Foot Pain category here at http://SimplePainRelief.com you will find more articles to help you get rid of the pain on the bottom of your feet.

My client Pat had told me about the pain that ran from her hip to her foot.  We had worked on the muscles of her lower back and hip in previous sessions because those muscles can “refer” pain into the foot.

Those muscles can also press on the nerves that run to your foot.  Releasing or relaxing the low back and hip muscles can get rid of foot pain.

That helped but when she came in again, she still had some pain in her foot and a bit of the old uncomfortable sensation in her hip and leg.

Well, sometimes your pain comes “from the bottom up.”  Sometimes it comes “from the top down.”  I got a sneaking suspicion that maybe the pain in her leg and hip was coming from her foot.

So here’s what I did.  I had Pat lay on her back and I sat at the foot of the massage table.  I warmed the muscles and tissues around her foot and ankle with pressure and rubbing (massage.)

And then I began pressing into the areas where her arch muscles attach to bones.

Yee-ow!  Tender!

I worked my way around the painful foot and ankle, on top of her foot and underneath.  I pressed into the long tendons that attach way up toward the outer side of her knee.  And since she also had complaints of a different sort on her other foot, I applied some massage and pressure to parts of that foot and lower leg, too.

Even as we were working, Pat said she could not believe the difference.  She said she used to rotate her feet years ago but they had become stiff and she could no longer move them.

Now she could.

You can do your own foot and lower leg massage if you can get into a comfortable position.  Or, you can go to a professional massage therapist who understands where the attachments for your muscles are.

On the right hand side of this page, if you scroll down, you will find a blue book.  It’s a self-help trigger point book.  Check it out.  It will help you understand which muscles are causing your foot pain and where you can press (and how) to get relief.

You will also find a Massage Category on the right hand side with info about how to find a massage therapist who can help you.

You can also use a tennis ball or golf ball or similar ball to press into your arch.  Look in the Foot Pain Category for more information on that.

Now that Pat’s ankles no longer felt stiff, she was rotating them around and around.  I reminded her to do that daily to keep them in that condition.

You can rotate your ankles in circles.  You can apply pressure to your arch with a ball.  But, in my opinion, NOTHING helps relax your muscles and get them back to normal faster than a good therapeutic massage or working directly with your muscles.

P.S.  Did I remember to tell you that I LOVE therapeutic massage?   So do muscles!

Although some people are more prone to get diabetes than others, it is largely a disorder caused by lifestyle and what we eat.  Some doctors will have you exercise and change your diet to control it.  Some doctors don’t have faith in their patients, so they will offer medications to you.

But sometimes it is NOT a whole-body issue.  Sometimes the cause of pain or numbness in your hands and feet is caused by separate things.

If the muscles in your butt–your  gluteal muscles–are tight, they can cause sensations in the soles of your feet.  So can the nerves in your back if anything is pressing on them, even barely brushing them.  Sometimes it’s pressure from a bone but much more often it’s muscle pressure.

And muscles move bones and disks.  That means your muscles are almost always causing symptoms in your feet, one way or another.  And your foot muscles can also be complaining.

If the muscles in your neck and arms are tight, they can cause sensations in your hands, wrists and lower arms.

But, if you have any reason to believe that you should see your doctor,  follow your instincts and do it.  You must be your own “medical adviser” and sometimes that means conferring with another medical practitioner–your doctor.

But if your doctor doesn’t find anything wrong that’s good news!

Why?  That almost always means your symptoms are caused by muscles (doctors don’t know much about muscles as a cause of pain or symptoms.)  And muscles can be treated!

So whether your foot and hand pain or numbness is caused by a whole-body issue or two separate issues, if you do what your muscles need to be happy you will have a good chance of getting rid of both your foot and hand pain.

And what can you do to have happy feet again?

Feet do change as you age.  Some people notice that the fat pads on the bottoms of their feet aren’t there anymore.  However, other people do NOT lose their fat pads.  Here’s an article that talks about age-related changes and down below are my thoughts.

Me:

Yes, the fat padding on the bottom of the foot does flatten and shift sideways, however, I have a theory:

My theory:

My suspicion is that the more you walk barefoot (or with socks on) and without shoes, the tougher the tissues will become on the bottoms of your feet.

Why do I think this?

1.  The older people I see who walk barefoot–and who love to walk barefoot–have kept their padding on the soles of their feet.

2.  In my own case, as I began walking and standing without shoes more, my own padding seemed to become thicker, too.  I have less discomfort now.  It doesn’t feel as though my bones make contact with the floor anymore.

3.  If you’re not wearing “protection” (shoes) around your feet but are walking barefoot, perhaps nature will take its course and regenerate your fat pads.  Bodies do heal all the time.

Thoughts on arch supports and insoles.

A good, sturdy orthotic or arch support that truly supports your arch, either inserted into your shoe or built into a sandal or shoe, will help position your foot in the correct position. That takes pressure off the arch.

I have seen advertisements for pressure-sensitive foam insoles. While they may feel comfy, they may also be simply supporting your dysfunction.  On the other hand, they may be exactly what you need.

You see, my goal is to help you have happy feet.  However, everyone’s feet are different.  I don’t know your age or situation.  But, I want to help your feet feel better naturally.

But, sometimes, I know that for one reason or another–damage, surgery, growths on your bones–my suggestions just aren’t going to cut it for you.

So here’s another option:

You can find lots of ways to help your feet feel better and have less pain is to find a store with lots of good options for arch supports and foot padding.  There are diabetic socks which stay in place but are not too tight and all kinds of shoes.

Because I have “flat feet” it’s hard to wear sandals without messing up my posture but last summer I found a sandal with a sturdy, built-in arch support called Orthaheel (that’s the brand) that I’m VERY happy with.

I just brought up two more things:

Flat Feet and Posture.  Guess I’ll have to write some more articles for you so you can have foot pain relief!

Symptoms are usually worse as the day goes on and may be relieved by elevating (raising) your foot, rest or massage. We are not talking sweet gentle massage here–You want deep pressure into the muscles in the arch of your foot to really “get into” the muscle.

Injury to your foot or ankle can cause TTS, possibly because of scar tissue that develops. People with flat feet can also develop Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome because walking flat-footed puts a strain on the muscles of the arch. The muscle in the arch of your foot can press on the nerve that causes the TTS symptoms.  That’s what causes the symptoms.

If you do have flat feet or fallen arches, a custom orthotic (arch support) or good rigid arch support may relieve your symptoms.  Arch supports can be used along with therapeutic massage.

I am not a doctor but my first recommendation is always the one that causes the least trauma or change to a body. That would be deep tissue massage and trigger point massage,  in most cases.

Probably 90% of our pain is caused by muscles so that is generally my first plan of attack. On the other hand, sometimes surgery is required, for example, to remove a bone chip. On the other hand, sometimes it LOOKS like a bone chip or other situation when tests are examined but treating the muscles with massage or a cortisone shot relieves the pain of the “bone chip.”

If you have normal strength and movement in your body, hands & arms, you may be able to press deeply into your arch muscles. If you cannot apply enough pressure yourself (if you can’t “hurt” yourself enough) then interview professional massage therapists to find one who is familiar with TTS and can treat it.

Go into the “Massage” Category here at http://SimplePainRelief.com to learn how to find a massage therapist who can actually help you.

If you have surgery scheduled, you may want to postpone your surgery for a month to give yourself the chance to have your symptoms treated by a massage therapist. You should know within a couple of sessions. Once more I will tell you: Manual therapy (massage) with pressure into tight muscles will not be comfortable but may make a world of difference!

If you go the massage route, your therapist may look at your arches, your posture, the muscles in your lower back and gluteals (butt) and may treat all of those areas as well as your calves.  Tight calf muscles can cause pain in the heel, too.

I was wondering if I have tarsal tunnel syndrome or if it’s something else. Normally my feet don’t hurt, but when I excercise (especially jumping excercises) I get severe pain at the bottom of my foot (in the arch area). The pain is often really bad and this is preventing me from doing a lot of the exercises that I like. I also know that the pain is not caused by bad shoes, because it happens with all shoes, even running shoes. Does this sound like tarsal tunnel syndrome?

Here’s my response:

A “syndrome” is a bunch of symptoms. Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome refers to pain cause by pressure on the nerves that pass through the bones around the ankle.  That discomfort is pretty constant, to the best of my knowledge.  But yours comes on with exercise.  That makes me think of two possibilities:  It’s possible that you may need orthotics (arch supports) to support your arches while you jump/exercise.  If they are doing a lot of “flexing” with the movement, the muscles in the arches of your feet may be getting strained and complaining.

It’s also possible that tight calf muscles (which could be caused by jumping/aerobic exercises) are causing this pain in your arch. When you work a muscle hard, it becomes stronger–and shorter.  This could be causing your arch pain, too.  Calf muscles refer pain into the bottoms of feet.

And, it could be the combination of both events.

It may or may not be tarsal tunnel syndrome but here are some suggestions that would also apply to non-invasive natural treatment for Tarsal Tunnel:

Deeply massage the arch of each foot, looking for tender areas and applying pressure to them. Search the whole arch area and press into the areas where the bones and muscles meet (ball of foot and heel.)

You can “massage” your calf by rolling it on a tennis ball as you apply pressure, or on your opposite knee. If you find tender areas, that generally means tight muscles that need pressure or massage to “release” or relax them.

You can also take the time when your muscles are warmed up but before you begin your exercise to stretch your calves. Stretching muscles which have been warmed either with heat or gentle exercise (walking) is more productive than stretching cold muscles.  Take care not to over-stretch!

And, lastly, Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome is often treated medically with a good, sturdy arch support so that may be something to try.  If you “hit” your arch pain with all of these “weapons” you will probably find the source of the pain in your arch.

Of course, the earlier any pain is stopped in its’ tracks, the better the chances of a complete recovery.  Still, I believe in my heart that bodies are very smart and logical and capable of healing when they are given what they need.  I love bodies!  They want to be well.  Sometimes they just need some help.

Here is part of my response to my reader.

“By now you have hopefully received my response by email. I’m glad you finally got a diagnosis. I suggested in the email several things you can do to start the process of healing.”

“It’s really too bad that most of the medical profession doesn’t pay much attention to the roles of muscles in pain syndromes. That’s not something that gets taught much in medical school. That’s why there are muscle specialists.”

“One of the things I suggested beside massage and ice is to buy a copy of the blue trigger point book that is for sale on the right hand side of this site. The muscles that are responsible for causing TTS symptoms are shown and release treatment is demonstrated. The book is for do-it-yourself pain relief.”

“You have a smart body that wants to be well. Right now, it just needs a little help from you. By educating yourself, you have the best chance of getting better, no matter which route you take.”

“Since numbness is involved, and nerves heal very, very slowly, it may take quite a while until you get all of your sensation back. In the meantime, you might start a whole body movement program just to help the rest of your muscles get back into balance, too. I wish you the best and please feel free to contact me again.”

Natural remedies for Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome can include ice, do-it-yourself or professional massage, trigger point therapy and possibly physical therapy.