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!

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.