By Matthew Enright AP – Parkland, Florida – Your feet have the task to carry your body all through the day. When you think about it, this is quite the job. You might not think about it much but you are bound to get worried when you start experiencing pain in your feet. You need not worry too much though since acupuncture can always treat whatever foot pain you may be experiencing.
Acupuncture is a powerful treatment modality that effectively reverses the pain and inflammation associated with many conditions affecting the foot. It is safe, painless and works rather quickly in the deepest levels of the body, addressing the root cause of the disturbance. Before we discuss more on the merits of acupuncture and Chinese medicine let’s delve a little bit more into conditions affecting the foot.
Your Feet Keep You Grounded
Your foot has a total of 24 bones which work together with tendons and ligaments to help you move as well as you do. Pain comes when there is a problem with the bones or muscles that help you walk. Such pain can cause a lot of frustration. Many foot disorders are successfully treated by changing a person’s footwear, such as wearing different shoes or using inserts or other devices placed in the shoe that change the position or range of movement of the foot to relieve pressure on affected joints or painful areas (called orthotics or orthoses). However, some conditions require more than changing footwear. Some symptoms of foot pain you should be on the lookout for include pain, inflammation / swelling, changes in the skin, protuberances or masses, and numbness and tingling. Seeking treatment at the earliest signs can improve the outcome.
Conditions That Affect the Foot and Ankle
- Morton’s Neuroma – The condition causes pain between the third and fourth toes. Morton’s Neuroma is typically known to cause tissues to thicken around the nerves of the toes. The pain feels like standing on a pebble or a folded sock. Such injury is associated with a stinging or burning feeling, numbness and a sharp pain that persists around the ball of your foot.
- Plantar Fasciitis – The condition is characterized by pain coming from the lower side of the heel. Your foot has a ligament known as the plantar fascia which holds the heel and the front of the foot together so that you can walk comfortably. We use our feet much more than we use any other part of the body, which subjects ligaments to wear and tear. For this reason, a lot of people with foot pain often experience this exact type of discomfiture. The ligaments act as shock absorbers and can be ruptured or torn when subjected to excessive pressure. Plantar fasciitis is commonly associated with a stiff heel and acute pain at the heel.
- Bunions – A bunion is a bump-like protrusion at the side of the big toe. Bunions occur when the big toe leans on the second toe as a result of bone anomaly. The leaning toe lies at an angle and thus causes the bump. Bunions may not hurt at first and most people have them but experience no pain. However, their toes eventually start crowding as time goes by, causing pain.
- Metatarsalgia – The condition is brought about by wearing shoes that fit too tightly. It is also more common in people with an arched foot than people whose feet are more or less flat. You can identify the condition due to the acute pain at the ball of the foot.
- Heel spurs – It is common for people to have heel spurs. This is a problem where the affected person has an abnormal growth jutting out of the heel parallel to the ground. The growth is brought about by a number of factors such as poorly fitted shoes, walking style or wrong posture. A lot of people have these spurs but pay them no mind since they don’t cause any pain, even though they do grow bigger, becoming painful and making it difficult to walk.
Western Medical Treatments for Foot Pain
The foot has a complex structure that requires your practitioner to examine it carefully so as to determine what exactly the problem is. X-rays are also done to find out whether you have suffered any ruptures or fractures. Surgical operation may be necessary in serious cases where the patient has a fractured bone or ruptured ligament. Foot pain is also treated using wraps, ice/heat therapy and orthotics. This is also accompanied by medications to treat inflammation.
Acupuncture for foot pain
Acupuncture has been part of Traditional Chinese Medicine for 3000 years and has been used to treat a myriad of problems successfully. Acupuncture is a non-invasive way to treat many types of chronic pain affecting various parts of the body as well as other illnesses. Small sterile needles inserted into the body at certain points are used to promote blood flow to specific areas of the body. This reduces inflammation and pain.
Archives of Internal Medicine is a medical journal with published research showing that acupuncture does work effectively to treat chronic pain, including all types of foot pain. Medical specialists carried out the research to show that acupuncture could be used to treat pain and work just as well as western medicine. Many specialists have endorsed acupuncture as a safer treatment of chronic pain in comparison to medication.
The acupuncturists at our Parkland location use these techniques to treat all sorts of foot pain and have been applying these techniques for years with success. Our Parkland, Florida acupuncture experts have the experience and skill to help you get rid of this pain for good. We have been doing this for the last decade and a half, helping hundreds of patients get back their normal foot function over the years. Get a free consultation by calling in today.