Heel Grows Numb: Causes, Treatment, What To Do

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-15 19:51

Why is the heel numb and what to do

The content of the article:

Heel grows numb: reasons
1. Pathological
2. Physiological
3. Risk factors
Signs and accompanying symptoms
What to do and how to treat heel numbness
1. General recommendations
2. ethnoscience
Prevention
Video

If a person's heel grows numb, the reasons can be both physiological and pathological. Numbness often occurs when a person kicks. However, if numbness of the heel and other parts of the leg is noted often and for no apparent reason, this may indicate a particular disease. In this case, you should seek medical help and start treatment.

Often heel numbness is caused by wearing too tight shoes

Heel grows numb: reasons

Pathological

The main reason is leg injuries (often due to stress, the heel can also go numb when a splinter hits the leg, if a person steps on a small object, etc.), while numbness can occur at the time of injury or after a while.

In addition, numbness of the heel (as well as of the foot, fingers) is most often observed with the following pathologies:

osteocondritis of the spine;
inflammatory processes in the joints;
fasciitis;
intervertebral hernia of the lumbar spine;
gout;
spinal tuberculosis;
inflammation of the sciatic nerve;
diabetic neuropathy.

Numbness is often caused by impaired circulation:

thrombosis;
atherosclerotic vascular disease;
phlebeurysm;
compression of blood vessels and nerve endings, as well as temperature effects on them (for example, frostbite of the lower extremities);
stroke - in this case, the patient's heel of the right or left leg becomes numb, as well as other parts of the body on one side opposite to the one from which the brain area was affected.

Numbness combined with pain occurs when:

fracture of the talus or calcaneus;
paresis of the foot;
neoplasms of the brain;
craniocerebral trauma;
migraine;
encephalitis;
mental disorders;
multiple sclerosis;
Morton's neuroma.

Physiological

Foot numbness is often caused by wearing tight shoes that do not match the length and / or width of the foot. Such shoes squeeze nerve endings and blood vessels, which leads to unpleasant sensations. Risk factors include the presence of flat feet, constant stress on the feet (including when playing sports, especially cycling, having a job where you have to stand or sit for a long time, etc.).

Pregnancy is a list of reasons why heel numbness and swelling may occur in women. In this case, only one leg can be affected. Depending on which blood vessels are pinched by the enlarging uterus, the patient becomes numb in the heel of the left or right foot. With complaints of numbness in the heels, pregnant women with reduced immunity, anemia, and overwork more often come to the doctor.

Risk factors

The development of a pathological condition can be facilitated by:

emotional stress, frequent stressful situations;
excessive physical activity;
bad habits (alcohol abuse and tobacco smoking lead to the development of changes in the blood vessels, against which numbness can also occur);
lack of vitamins in the body;
overweight;
improper nutrition.

Signs and accompanying symptoms

Numbness can develop while walking when the person is sitting or lying down. At the same time, the patient may also experience itching, burning, crawling creeps, discomfort, aching pain, swelling, cold extremities, cramps, the heel area may become less sensitive.

With the development of numbness of the leg against the background of a particular disease with the progression of the pathological process and in the absence of adequate treatment, the symptoms usually become more pronounced. It can become difficult for a person to walk in high-heeled shoes, run, ride a bicycle.

Cause	Associated signs
Stroke	Disorders of speech, vision, movement, consciousness, sharp and intense headache, paralysis on one side of the body can be observed.
Metabolic disorders caused by vitamin and / or mineral deficiencies	In addition to numbness in various parts of the body, convulsions may occur.
Diabetic neuropathy	There may be numbness not only in the heel, but also in other parts of the leg, as well as in the upper limbs.
Morton's neuroma	It is a thickening of the lower extremity (growth of fibrous tissue in the area of the plantar nerve of the foot), which is often observed in the area of the third intermetatarsal space (the area of the base between the third and fourth toes of the lower limb). Most often, a one-sided form of pathology develops, bilateral nerve damage is much less common.

What to do and how to treat heel numbness

If the discomfort is of a short-term nature, then in most cases no special treatment is required, it is enough to understand the cause and eliminate the negative effect on the body.

In other cases, therapy is selected by the doctor depending on the pathology that caused the symptom:

With intervertebral hernia - drug therapy (corticosteroids, muscle relaxants, etc.), exercise therapy.
With diabetes mellitus, the patient's condition improves with the normalization of blood glucose levels.
In case of impaired blood circulation, phlebotonic drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin and mineral complexes can be prescribed. Foot massage is effective; acupressure, acupuncture, physiotherapy procedures (laser, ultrasound, magnetic therapy, hydrotherapy, the use of therapeutic mud or paraffin) can also be used.

You should be aware that the lack of timely treatment for serious pathology, for example, with diabetic neuropathy (diabetic foot), can lead to the need for surgical intervention, to the extent that sometimes the amputation of the affected limb is required.

Foot massage can help with heel numbness

General recommendations

To prevent the development of pathology and improve the patient's condition in the presence of numbness, self-massage can be performed using a hard sponge while taking a shower or bath. When the skin of the heel is roughened, scrubs are shown that stimulate blood circulation and have an exfoliating effect.

The table lists some foods that may be helpful for a person's heel numbness.

Minerals	Food
Potassium	Carrots, potatoes, garlic, pumpkin, grapes, bananas, apricots, apples, melon, prunes, nuts, legumes, cocoa, meat
Calcium	Milk and dairy products, spinach, fish
Magnesium	Nuts, legumes, seafood, rose hips, poppy seeds
Phosphorus	Sunflower and pumpkin seeds, cashews, peanuts, almonds, yolk, fish, caviar

ethnoscience

In some cases (if we are not talking about a serious illness), traditional medicine methods can help:

Foot baths with solutions of medicinal herbs, milk, honey.
Rubbing with products that include garlic, onions, black or hot peppers.
Boiled pumpkin compresses. Mash the boiled pumpkin in mashed potatoes, apply to the feet in the heel area. The pumpkin should be warm, the compress should be kept for 30 minutes.