Often, the feet behave as warning devices of developing health problems elsewhere in the body. Changes in sensation, appearance or comfort in the feet may be indications of diseases that have not yet produced active symptoms in other parts of the body. This is understandable when it is considered how far removed the feet are from the heart, how much stress they receive daily and how susceptible they are to variations in circulation, nerve function and inflammation.
Understanding which health problems show up in the feet first gives reason for the importance of apparent minor lesions of the feet receiving serious consideration.
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Diabetes and the Foot Connection
Diabetes influences the feet in several ways, often before the sugar difficulty has produced any visible disturbance in the tissues elsewhere in the body. Elevated sugar levels of the blood affect, at first, the smaller blood vessels and the nerves of the body. The results, however, show themselves in the feet first because of the distance of the feet from the heart, and the blood flow to the various parts of the body.
Peripheral neuropathy, the nerve damage of the extremities, usually starts in the toes and the feet. The first signs are often slight sensations and tingling, some slight numb feeling, or perhaps the suggestion that the socks are bunched, when they are not. These sensations are easily dismissed, and attributed to tiredness of the feet or impaired circulation from too much sitting.
As the neuropathy progresses, there is less and less sensation. This may sound trivial until it has been thought out that lessened sensation means that the injuries go unnoticed. A blister from new shoes, a minor cut on the toe, or gravel in the shoe can do damage that develops into a serious infection because the person never felt the original problem. These have a bad effect, especially in diabetics, where such slight injuries as these can readily develop into menacing troubles on account of the slow healing process.
Circulation troubles from diabetes show the first signs often in feet. Bad circulation means slower healing of these troubles, cold feet, change of color or condition of the skin and greater liability to infections. Many people find out that they have diabetes or pre-diabetes from foot troubles requiring medical opinion. Foot specialists, such as Perth podiatrists, are of great service in spotting these early symptoms of trouble before they develop into serious conditions, especially in persons who have other risk factors leading to diabetes.
Circulatory Disorders Other Than Diabetes
Poor circulation from several types of causes shows itself in feet before involving other body parts in obvious ways. Peripheral artery disease, where arteries narrow and reduce blood flow to limbs, often announces itself through foot symptoms.
Cold feet that do not become easily warm, even in warm environments or with socks and blankets, can indicate circulation problems. Skin changes follow, the feet might look shiny or pale, hair growth on toes and feet might decrease, and toenails can become thick and discolored.
Pain is another indicator. Cramping in feet or calves during walking that goes away with rest, called claudication, signals that muscles aren’t getting adequate blood flow during activity. This can happen for years before circulation problems cause noticeable issues in other body areas.
Color changes matter too. Feet that turn pale when elevated and red or purple when hanging down indicate blood flow issues. These visible signs are easier to notice in feet than in other body parts simply because feet are visible and often compared between left and right, making asymmetry obvious.
Arthritis Announcing Itself
The feet may feel the first symptoms of arthritis before other parts of the body show symptoms of the disease, or at least the symptoms in the feet may manifest themselves early enough to become noticeable. The feet contain many small joints which suffer from the wear and tear of every step, and so are susceptible to inflammatory and degenerative joint changes.
Stiffness in feet and ankles in the morning, and difficulty in taking the first few steps after sleeping or after sitting for some time, may be indications of the beginnings of arthritis. The stiffness passes off somewhat with exercise, but recurs after rest. Many people attribute this symptom to old age or uncomfortable shoes and fail to recognize it as possibly an indication of arthritis.
Heat and swelling in the joints of the feet, especially of the big toe, may indicate onset of gout or rheumatoid arthritis. Gout is especially notorious for attacking the big toe joint first, with its pain and swelling coming on suddenly. Rheumatoid arthritis usually attacks several of the small joints of the feet at the same time, with pain and swelling occurring symmetrically.
Changes in the shape of the feet over time may also indicate the presence of arthritis. Bunions, hammer toes, and flat feet may not all be simply mechanical issues. Sometimes they’re the visible effects of damage to joints from arthritis which has not yet produced apparent difficulties in larger joints, such as the knees or hips.
Thyroid Problems and Foot Symptoms
Thyroid activity affects the metabolism of the body, but one of the first places that symptoms appear may be in the feet. An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) produces very often cold feet and hands, dry and cracked skin on the feet and in some cases drying and thinning of the outer third of the eyebrows (which is more obvious than the appearance of the feet, although they usually occur together).
An overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) produces excessively warm feet, excessive perspiration and in certain cases thyroid acropathy, where there is swelling in the feet and disturbances in the skin and nails. These symptoms may be apparent before the others which go with the hyperthyroid state, such as quickened heart action or loss of weight.
Kidney and Liver Trouble
Kidney trouble and liver trouble can produce fluid retention that indicates itself in the feet and ankles first by reason of gravity. Swelling that develops in both feet during the course of the day and subsides during the night is more likely to indicate that either the kidneys or the liver are not handling and filtering the fluids properly, particularly if there is indentation from pressure.
The pattern of the swelling indicates the cause. If it is rapid and symmetrical in both feet it suggests that there are systemic disturbances in the fluid regulating apparatus of the body. If local in distribution, it possibly indicates anatomical conditions such as injury or blood vessel problems.
Nerve Conditions Apart From Diabetes
Various nerve troubles may announce themselves through the feet. Multiple sclerosis can cause numbness, tingling or weakness in the feet before other areas of the body are noticeably affected. Vitamin deficiencies, especially B12 deficiency, are also common reasons that the feet are the site of the first nerve symptoms.
The problem is that foot symptoms from nerve causes are more easily minimized. Tingling of the feet after sitting with legs crossed can feel normal. The numbness of the toes can be blamed on tight fitting shoes. A burning sensation in the feet may seem like a reasonable consequence of tired feet at the end of a long day. But when these symptoms are persistent or increasing, they should be examined because the cause may be significant.
Why the Feet Will Show Symptoms Soonest
For several reasons the feet are the area where health conditions show symptoms soonest. The distance of the feet from the heart means that circulation problems affect them first. The continual pressure and stress from having to support the body weight makes them sensitive to inflammatory conditions. The density of the nerve endings makes neurological problems exhibit themselves most clearly in the feet.
There is also a practical quality in that the feet can be examined. The feet are frequently in sight, the sensation in them is easily detected, and the direct experience of foot pain is immediate. Internal organ problems may develop but may not produce symptoms for longer periods of time because there is no practical and direct way to observe them.
Taking Foot Symptoms Seriously
The tendency is to minimize foot symptoms as being of minor importance and to be expected with age. Tender feet after having stood a full day seem normal. Cold feet in winter seem reasonable enough. The tingling after being in one position too long seems legitimate. But persistent or progressive foot symptoms deserve attention as they may suggest health problems at an early stage which may be easier to deal with than when the symptoms are well established.
The feet not only carry the body weight, but they carry information about the general health of the individual. Changes in the appearance, feeling or use of the feet may serve as early alerts to changes going on elsewhere in the body. Paying attention to these alerts and seeking the opinion of medical professionals when foot symptoms persist leads to the recognition of health problems at an early stage when they are easier to deal with and unlikely to have caused extensive damage. Feet function as accessible monitors of overall health, providing visible and tangible clues about conditions developing in less observable parts of the body, making regular attention to foot health a practical approach to broader health awareness.