 I was listening to a Russel Brand podcast the other day where he was talking to the man who began VivoBarefoot* shoe company -- shoes that changed my world. I used to love my pointy-toe cowboy boots and my high heels and for a minute there I had some kickin' little, pointy toe boots made from army green cloth -- they didn't last long, but I loved them! Somewhere along the line, a body worker suggested my footwear may be playing a part in my hip/spine aches. So, me being me, always looking for ways to improve my condition, I put my binding and lifting (but cute!) shoes on the shelf and moved to a shoe with a negative or zero-drop heel and a wide toe box. Lo and behold, it helped! A lot. I'm never going back. It wasn’t over night, that’s for sure. It took quite a while to build up those long under-used muscles. When I first began, the ache in my feet, going all the way up the leg was definitely a thing. (If you are going to give this a try, be sure to go slowly — wearing the barefoot shoe for short periods of time and building up to a full day.) The only problem, though, was that the bulk of these shoes were not cute. I would look down at my feet and think, “I’m wearing clown shoes.” But, I stuck with my unfashionable shoes and my toes can now move around like never before — the way they are supposed to. (Note: overall, comfy shoes are much better looking now than when I began this process.) There are zero-drop shoes and there are minimalist shoes (like the Vivo Barefoot I mentioned earlier, as well as what I call my “frog feet” shoes — Vibram Five Fingers* — which they now do a nice job of disguising, but when I first started wearing them they were really goofy looking). The point of minimalist shoes is to allow your feet to use all those muscles that become under-utilized when wearing modern comfy, squishy shoes. There are a lot of muscles in your feet and all those muscles connect to all those other muscles and ligaments and tendons and joints going all the way up the chain -- you know, the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone…. (For a little look at what’s going on down there: (Card and Bordoni 2020). As we have all experienced, when your feet hurt, everything hurts. I have written a little bit about plantar fasciitis and heel spurs here. Without going into specific foot problems, a place to start for sore feet would be my go-to combination for all things joints/muscles: Arnica/Ruta/Rhus. See here and here. Why Arnica, Ruta and Rhus? Arnica is the first remedy to think about for trauma/injury. Excellent for bruising and muscle pain, in general. Ruta is good for connective tissues -- tendons and ligaments as well as stiffness. Rhus tox is a go-to for joint issues and is highly indicated in the following specific feet issues:
If you want to get a little more specific, rather than taking a combo remedy, try one of these remedies on for size… Foot pain that extends upward: Ledum palustre As if sprained: Arnica or Rhus tox Toenail injuries: Arnica or Hypericum Cramps: Mag-phos or Calc carb Pain while sitting (the pain lessens during continued movement) & feels better in warmth: Rhus tox Pain while standing: Ruta Sole pain: Causticum Shooting pain or tearing pain: Kali-carb Take a step in the right direction and try some homeopathy and see if you can get a little relief for those sore tootsies. Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits * I have no affiliation with any of these companies. I just like their products. Reference list
Card, R. K. and Bordoni, B., 2020. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Foot Muscles [online]. PubMed. Kassel, G., 2022. What’s the Deal with Zero-Drop Shoes? [online]. Shape. Vibram, 2023. FiveFingers: The Original Barefoot Toe Shoes | Vibram [online]. Vivo Barefoot, 2023. Shoespiracy 2| Vivobarefoot | USA [online]. www.vivobarefoot.com.
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 One could be forgiven for finding confusion that results from heel pain. Stress fracture? Arthritis? Tendinitis? Achilles tendon issues? Bursitis? Maybe. A common cause of heel pain is plantar fasciitis.
Plantar: relating to the sole of the foot. Fasciitis: inflammation of the fascia, the thin, fibrous tissue that surrounds muscles or other organs. The “itis” means it is inflamed. Plantar fasciitis is a painful experience. Every step. Standing too long. Those first steps when you get up from sitting or get out of bed in the morning. When I was suffering from it, I was seriously contemplating what my life would be like when I could no longer walk. That’s how bad the pain was. I tried the Banerji protocol for Plantar fasciitis: Symphytum 200c mixed with Rhus tox 30c, taken twice daily until better. I took it twice daily for a long time. It wasn’t getting better. Then, I had an x-ray done. Aha! I had heel spurs. The internet will tell you that heel spurs are not (necessarily) what causes the pain, it’s the plantar fasciitis that causes the pain. They figured this out because once upon a time they used to do surgery to remove the bone spur, but I guess that didn’t fix the pain so they decided that heel spurs aren’t painful. I disagree. Why do I disagree? Because when I took the remedy for bone spurs, Hekla lava 200c, my pain lessened by 80% within about a week. After many, many weeks of taking the plantar fasciitis remedy and getting nothing, and then trying a few other remedies to no avail — this was amazing progress. Could it have been that the Symphytum/Rhus tox combination finally kicked in and did what it was supposed to do? Maybe. Or, it could be a causal relationship between the two conditions. It could be that the plantar fasciitis causes the bone spurs or it could be that the bone spurs some how causes the plantar fasciitis. Heel spurs (aka plantar calcaneal spurs) are present in 45%-85% of those with plantar fasciitis (Kirkpatrick, Yassaie and Mirjalili, 2017). I don't think they have figured all this out yet. When you look at the remedy Hekla lava and how it was discovered, I’m going to give it the credit for reducing my pain. Hekla (sometimes spelled Hecla) lava is named after the Hekla volcano in Iceland. In the 1800s, a London physician noticed that the sheep grazing a short distance from the volcano had bone deformities (exostosis) of the jaws. They surmised that the finer ash from the volcano was actually the culprit. So, like cures like. The ash of the Hekla volcano causes exostosis of the jaws. (Exostosis: benign outgrowth of cartilaginous (made of cartilage) tissue on a bone.) The potentized (the dilution process used to make homeopathic remedies) Hekla lava can assist in removing the exostoses. I have not had a follow up x-ray to see if the heel spurs are gone. I don’t care, because the pain is gone. But, this story is a good indication of how conventional medicine and homeopathy can work nicely together. According to the Internet, the main answers to these painful foot problems in conventional medicine are: rest, icing the foot, orthotics, physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medicines, cortisone injections and surgery. To each their own. If you are experiencing foot or heel pain, contact me to see if homeopathy might help you. For more information: 1. on the proving of Heckla lava 2. Kirkpatrick, Yassaie and Mirjalili, 2017: The plantar calcaneal spur: a review of anatomy, histology, etiology and key associations. Photo by Conscious Design on Unsplash |
Julia Coyte, CHomI am passionate about homeopathy and I love sharing this passion. Having a working knowledge of homeopathy shouldn't be kept a secret. If people have the ability to help themselves, their children and their friends when they have minor ailments, life just gets better for everyone. That is the purpose behind Ruminating on Remedies. Archives
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