Foot Pain

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

Am I correct in assuming that by "practitioner of TCM" you mean you are an herbalist?  I ask, only to try to figure out what type of advice to offer you.  Are you looking for an acupuncture protocol?, acupressure?  and/or herbs?

If what you did made it go away for a few days and his western doctor(s) seem to think it's a sural nerve issue, I would focus on that and see if you can increase the pain free time until it hopefully resolves.  Some heat with massage from the hamstrings down would be a reasonable initial approach.

If this were a full acupuncture treatment you would focus fairly broadly in most cases - a mix of systemic/broad points related to their diagnosis in TCM terms and local points.  The back could be involved and it wouldn't hurt loosening the back tension down into the legs. 

Acupuncture treatment protocol ideas could be generated from our acupuncture protocols for back pain section and our acupuncture protocols for arthritis (with specific areas referenced).  While not directly related those would be general starting points to then tailor to the individual.

Comment by Archived User

Hi ChadD

Thanks for your response i appeciate your time . I am not a herbalist and due to the patients mainly being elderly  they prefer  acupressure not needling , more of a human touch thing i guess .  Any recommended herbs would be apprecited . 

Thanks

Rob .

Comment by Archived User

Hi Rob,

I personally prefer to air on the side of caution when prescribing herbs to elderly folks.  There's always exceptions of course, but what you typically see in this class of patients is that they are already taking a lot of medications and/or supplements and the organ function is in a waning phase, so it can get tricky really fast.  In this case, maybe a topical linament in conjuction with acuppressure and guasha if the patient is opposed to acupuncture.  

Reccommending good orthotic footwear can also go a long way for this type of condition. 

Best,

Chrstanne