The foot is one of the most complicated parts of the body. It has to be strong enough to support your whole body when you lift yourself up onto your toes on one foot and yet flexible enough to turn in multiple directions at the same time. It has to have strong muscles to move you and stop you yet it has to be small enough to fit in your shoe (actually size is important for maneuverability).
When the foot hurts it's almost impossible to do anything else. There are many different conditions which cause foot pain from growths on the heel bone to bunions. The most common foot pain problem is called meta-tars-al-gia or sometimes called Morton's Neuroma. It has been treated for years by orthopedic surgeons, podiatrists (foot doctors) and neurologists - and by more natural health care providers.
Essentially metatarsalgia is an irritation to the nerves in the front of the foot between the bones just behind the toes (that webbing before you can grab your toes).Unfortunately, the irritation to the nerves prompts most people to undergo surgery to remove the painful lumps and nerves.
The actual cause of the irritation is the common muscle spasm. When a nerve passes through a muscles which is overly tight or in spasm it irritates the nerve and send a pain signal to the brain. In metatarsalgia the irritation comes from muscle knots, spasms or trigger points in the muscles between the bones in the front of the foot. It's easy to find them. Press deeply or squeeze the tissue between the bones hard and see if it causes a sharp strong pain. Hold the pressure for about 30 seconds and see if the pain begins to subside. If it does then it's the spasm or trigger point relaxing.
The muscles irritating the nerves and causing the pain are between the metatarsal
bones (the red parts).Try to apply a finger tip pinching pressure from the
top and bottom (blue arrows) at the same time. You will need to use both hands
at the same time. This is a tiring process and takes two hands at the same
time. It's best to use one hand thumb and fingertips to pinch between the
bones and use the other hand thumb and fingers to help pinch by applying them
to the second knuckles of the first hand fingers. Then pinch with both hands
for power but have only one hand in actual contact with the muscles.
Another method is to place the foot flat on the floor and use a pencil erasure
by pressing it down into the space between the metatarsal bones.
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