Foot Acupuncture
The Basics of Foot Acupuncture
If you suffer from foot pain, or leg pain that is caused by strain on your feet, then foot acupuncture might be one way of addressing the pain without resorting to medication or expensive surgeries.
At some point in their life, almost everyone is going to suffer from foot pain. From infants and toddlers who are just beginning to walk to those adults over the age of 50, foot pain can affect everyone. No one is immune to it.
The foot itself is very complicated. There are 38 bones in the foot and they are all connected by a system of ligaments, joints, tendons, and muscles. Because we spend so much time on our feet, they are susceptible to an assortment of stresses. A foot can suffer from injury and inflammation and even impact a person’s ability to walk.
There are many reasons why feet can hurt. Poor fitting shoes are one of the biggest reasons. Shoes that are too tight, or even too loose, can cause pain. Women who were high heels might notice pain not only in their feet, but pain that radiates up their legs and even into their back and other parts of their body as well. Exercising a lot and over-using your feet can produce pain as well, as can a condition referred to as abnormal pronation where the foot doesn’t leave or touch the ground like it is meant to do.
Other problems that might affect the foot and cause pain are corns, heel spurs, neuromas, bunions, and hammertoes. Corns appear to be yellow growths that grow on top of the toes. Heel spurs, on the other hand, are growths that form on the bone of the heel. Neuromas are a buildup of tissue that occurs in the nerves that run between the long bones of the foot and can be very painful. Bunions, another painful condition, are protrusions of tissue or bone around a joint. Lastly, hammertoe is a condition in which the middle joint on the toe tends to stick out.
Problems with the feet can also radiate to other parts of the body, too, causing pain. If one foot is favored, for instance, and more weight has to be put on that foot, then leg cramps can occur. It can also result in poor posture which can cause lower back pain as well. Foot acupuncture is able to help with these maladies, however.
Foot acupuncture can be helpful in reliving some types of foot pain, even foot pain that has been unresponsive to other treatments in the past. Acupuncture can help stimulate blood flow to the lower leg, as well as relieve pain that is in the heel, ankle, and ball of the foot as well. Acupuncture itself is a form of Chinese medicine that has been around for thousands of years.
Acupuncture relies on placing long thin needles into different points on the skin. Before the needles are inserted in the skin, a process known as moxibustion is used. This consists of heating a variety of herbs. The needles can be placed at any point on the foot, including the toes, ankles, heels, balls, and soles.
It is very important to talk to your acupuncturist about the type of pain that you are experiencing. A good acupuncturist will create a plan that is right for you and your individual pain. Although you can sometimes find qualified acupuncturists at spas, there are also those that have their own businesses and work individually from other health care centers, too. You do need to ensure that they are certified, however.