Your Feet Can Tell You a Lot About Your Health
Whether it’s absorbing shock in your everyday movement, giving you stability as you stand, helping you walk, run, jump or enabling balance when you need it, your feet are hard at work. The condition of your feet has a lot of influence on your ability to move and move freely. They’re more important than you probably give them credit for. An abundance of nerves, literally about 7000 of them line their way down to the feet surrounded by 26 bones in each foot, about 30 joints and over 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons. Incredible right?
Studies show that the nerves in your feet send messages to your brain that help you with sensory proprioception and perception with your surrounding environment. Every single nerve in your body sends signals elsewhere through your central nervous system. In eastern medicine the foot is considered a second heart maintaining balance between the right and left body and preventing damage to muscles. In some ways, the Chinese consider it a separate body related to all body parts and organs. Although I’m not an eastern medicine practitioner, studies do show strong evidence of these correlations. It’s become evident in scientific studies that foot problems can lead to hip, knee and lower back pain which can radiate further to shoulder and neck tension, as well as headaches and vice versa. I can attest through personal experience that this is very real.
More than 80% of people experience some form of lower back pain in their life and a small percentage of those experience chronic pain. There are ways that you can manipulate your feet to ease pain and increase the positive outcome of unwanted ailments. The signaling works two ways. When there’s pain in your body it may show up in your feet and when there’s discomfort in your feet it’s often a sign that something’s going on in your body. This two way transmission is a valuable tool to understand as complementary therapy to other treatment you may be getting. Often it comes down to nutritional needs evident in cases of diabetes and osteoporosis.
Anyone who has diabetes, osteoporosis, hypertension, kidney disease or is simply overweight should pay particular attention to their feet and nourish them with care to prevent unwanted complications. Regardless of whether you have a chronic condition or not, it’s wise to pay attention to your feet and notice when they might be sending you a signal that something’s not right. Some signals may be small and seemingly meaningless, but some could tell you a lot about what’s going on in other parts of your body. Signs like cold feet can correlate to poor blood circulation which may mean trouble for your arteries or it could mean that your thyroid may be a bit sluggish. Swelling could be a sign of edema which may signal heart or kidney issues and diabetes. Dehydration results in cramping which can also mean a mineral deficiency or a need for electrolytes. A medical exam is the sure way to understand what your feet are telling you, so don’t ignore the signals.
One recurring theme in numerous studies is the importance of balance and alignment in the feet. This is something that is stressed in the practice of yoga. Placing your weight evenly throughout your feet is extremely helpful not only in keeping you balanced, but also in keeping your feet healthy so that the bones have ample space to align and support. The balance and support established by even distribution is especially beneficial to anyone prone to fractures.
An imbalance in your feet can also cause posture problems and problems in your hip joints too. Those who don’t have a pronounced arch in their feet may put more pressure on their joints because their feet may not be able to absorb shock well. This is an important concern to diabetics who are more prone to neuropathy (damage to nerves).
Given all the weight we put on our feet daily it’s not surprising that they’re more likely to suffer injury than other parts of the body. There are numerous conditions that affect the feet like arthritis, plantar fasciitis, bunions and heel spurs. If you’re curious about the many different foot ailments there are, you can find them here.
Massaging your feet with a ball can be really helpful. Try different ones to see what works best for you.
There are some simple things you can do to start nurturing your feet and in turn repairing and restoring the rest of your body. Try some of the following:
Go barefoot. Free your feet from the burden of shoes and socks every now and then. Walking barefoot gives your feet the ability to do what they were meant to do and not impede the sensory connection that shoes interfere with and that’s so vital to balance, security and confidence, especially as we age. Another benefit of bare feet aids those with irregular sleep patterns. Standing barefoot outdoors has the ability to ground you and reset your circadian rhythm which may result in better sleep.
When you do wear shoes, choose wisely. Good footwear is very important especially if you have any of the issues mentioned in this article. You want your feet to breathe, have room to move your toes and allow for balance throughout your entire foot.
Use a ball to massage your feet. It can be any ball you have. Experiment with different kinds to see what works for you. A tennis ball, a spiky massage ball, a rubber ball from a toy store or yoga therapy balls. You can purchase therapy balls here if you don’t have any others at hand. Watch the video below to learn the simple technique of how to massage your own feet.
Check out reflexology. It’s an alternative therapy I strongly advise trying. For some it’s a brilliant way to release stress in the body and you may be amazed at what a good reflexologist is capable of doing with your feet. I have literally walked on clouds out of reflexology sessions. When you’ve experienced the kind of back pain I’ve had in my past, relief like this is heavenly.
Soak your feet in a foot bath with 2 cups of magnesium flakes. Although I favor magnesium chloride for soaks, epsom salts can be just as useful for some. The body absorbs magnesium very quickly through the skin and this can release tight muscles and ease cramping.
Practice yoga for balance and alignment. Focusing on weight distribution and learning how placement and movement of limbs matters can improve any current condition or prevent others from arising. Learn more about yoga practice here.
Find what works for you! Take good care of your feet so that they can carry you with ease throughout your life.
Bitenc-Jasiejko, A., Konior, K., Gonta, K., Dulęba, M., & Lietz-Kijak, D. (2020). Prophylaxis of Pain and Fractures within Feet in the Course of Osteoporosis: The Issue of Diagnosing. Pain research & management, 2020, 1391026. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/1391026
Ko, D. Y., & Lee, H. S. (2013). The Changes of COP and Foot Pressure after One Hour's Walking Wearing High-heeled and Flat Shoes. Journal of physical therapy science, 25(10), 1309–1312. https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.25.1309
Freburger, J. K., Holmes, G. M., Agans, R. P., Jackman, A. M., Darter, J. D., Wallace, A. S., Castel, L. D., Kalsbeek, W. D., & Carey, T. S. (2009). The rising prevalence of chronic low back pain. Archives of internal medicine, 169(3), 251–258. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2008.543
