Chiropractic Care for Foot Pain

Posted on February 8, 2021December 1, 2022 by

From Dr. Natalie Meiri’s Clinical Pearl Stories:

Chiropractic Care for Foot Pain

This was a 68 year old patient with low back and bilateral (both) foot pain. To be HIPAA compliant, I will call him Earvin instead of his real name. Earvin’s chief complaints were in his low back and both feet. His low back pain had started following a car accident over 20 years ago. The pain and numbness in both feet had started insidiously (slow, subtle and cumulative development) 10 years ago. Earvin was taking many prescription drugs for pain and numbness in his feet for years. Inspite of all the meds, Earvin had sleepless nights due to his feet. Magnesium, B vitamins and other supplements gave no results.

Earvin’s Past History

He had been to numerous doctors including other chiropractors. They all gave the same diagnoses of: lumbosacral spondylosis without myelopathy (osteoarthritis or wear and tear arthritis without effecting the spinal cord) for his low back. Additionally, idiopathic (unknown cause) neuropathy (dysfunction in a nerve) and osteoarthritis (wear and tear arthritis) for his feet. Finally, the plantar fasciitis (painful inflammation or degeneration of fibrous tissue connecting your heel bone to your toes along the bottom of your foot ). And then recently, the right torn plantar fascia was found on a MRI.

Earvin had no history of diabetes or trauma to his feet. The right torn plantar fascia was a repetitive stress injury from walking in improper shoes. He had been to the podiatrist and had a MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) on his right foot a few weeks ago. The MRI found a 0.6cm “partial thickness” torn plantar fascia. He had received one cortisone shot to his right foot at the podiatrist office, but was still in a lot of pain.

Earvin presented to my office using a cane and a special orthopedic boot. He had the cane because he wasn’t able to weight bear on that foot. His boot was a special boot for the right torn plantar fascia. Earvin wanted to get back to walking for exercise. Furthermore, he wanted to sleep better.

Earvin’s Examination and Imaging

Upon examination, there were positive tests for his feet, ankles, knees, hips and lumbar spine (low back). He also had some tenderness and palpatory findings (examine by touching) in the muscles/soft tissue around the feet and both lower legs. Earvin had several nerve entrapment syndromes (peripheral nerve becomes compressed by surrounding tissues) in his legs and feet.

The x-rays taken in my office showed osteoarthritis in his lumbar spine. Moreover, a MRI report of his lumbar spine done years ago found “minimal mild disc bulges, no central canal or foraminal stenosis at most levels and minimal, mild foraminal stenosis at L4-L5 due to degenerative changes”. So the disc bulge (stiffening of cartilage and dehydration of spinal disc) and minimal foraminal stenosis at one level ( nerve in the spine becomes compressed as the openings between the vertebrae become smaller) all due to osteoarthritis, were contributing to his problems in his back and feet as well. Nerve root irritation or compression in the lumbar spine (lower back) may cause pain into the foot. In Earvin’s case, it was stenosis in his spine contributing minimally.

Most importantly however, Earvin’s past NCV/EMG (nerve conduction velocity/ electromyography measuring the electrical activity in your muscles) done by previous doctors, also showed findings consistent with neuropathy in his feet. This neuropathy was a separate condition from his low back as seen in my exam findings and previous NCV/EMG studies. I would order another, current MRI and/or NCV/EMG for legs/feet only if he didn’t show some improvement within 12 visits.

Earvin’s Chiropractic Care for Foot Pain

Firstly, Earvin’s treatments consisted of chiropractic manipulation/ adjustments of the lumbar (lowback) spine, knees, ankles, feet and associated regions. The knees and ankles were adjusted along with the feet to address the nerve entrapment problems. Associated regions that were adjusted were the thoracic spine (mid back) and both his hips which were misaligned (chiropractic subluxations or intersegmental dysfunctions) due to the conditions he had. Secondly, soft tissue therapy (myofascial release, pressure point and various therapeutic muscle stretching) was performed on all his tender/spasmed muscles and plantar fascia. Furthermore, the muscles and soft tissue indicated for the nerve entrapment sites were targeted. Thirdly, ice/heat therapy recommendations and exercises to continue his treatment at home were given. Finally, homeopathic medicines were prescribed to help reduce his pain and healing time.

Earvin was able to treat only 8 times with me during his 2 1/2 week vacation in Florida, but showed improvement. Within the first few visits, he started sleeping through the night! He had been waking every night due to numbness in his feet for as long as he could remember! And the low back pain was improved and “minimum” as he stated on his last 2 treatments.

Earvin walked without his cane on the last visit to my office. He planned to return the following year to continue his chiropractic care for foot pain in North Palm Beach, Florida.

If you are suffering from foot problems/conditions, contact Dr. Natalie Meiri for chiropractic care for foot pain. Your West Palm Beach foot chiropractor will get you pain free and on the road to recovery.

Meiri Chiropractic

5601 Corporate Way, Ste 102

West Palm Beach, FL 33407

561-253-8984

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