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!

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.