Are your feet trying to warn you?

If you have spent any time outside in Hilton Head or Bluffton lately, you already know one thing: It’s hot outside!

Step onto hot pavement barefoot? “Never!”

Walk across hot sand? “Absolutely not!”

Touch a hot surface? Your body immediately says, “That was a bad idea.”

That reaction is not just common sense. It is your nervous system doing exactly what it was designed to do. Your feet have their own alarm system. The problem is that peripheral neuropathy can turn down the volume.

Many people think nerves only help us feel pain. But nerves do much more than that. They help us sense temperature, pressure, touch and the environment around us. They send important messages from the feet to the brain, helping us react quickly and protect ourselves.

When someone has peripheral neuropathy, those messages may become weaker, slower or distorted. The feet may not recognize heat as quickly, and the warning signal may not be as strong. With neuropathy, your feet could feel nothing at all or as if everything is normal.

This is why some people with neuropathy can accidentally spend too much time on hot surfaces without realizing it. A person may walk barefoot on a hot driveway, stand on a warm pool deck or step onto hot sand and not react as quickly as someone with normal sensation.

And that is one of the things people do not always understand about neuropathy. It is not always about pain. Sometimes it is about losing the information your body depends on.

Some patients describe neuropathy as numbness, tingling or burning, or feeling like they are walking on marshmallows, foam or thick socks even when they are barefoot. Others describe feeling disconnected from the ground, almost like their feet are not giving them the same feedback they used to.

That matters because your feet are constantly communicating with your brain.

They are telling you:

“Here is the ground.”

“Here is the temperature.”

“Here is how much pressure you are putting down.”

“Here is how to adjust your balance.”

More than one of my patients has admitted they could no longer feel the gas pedal or sometimes mistook the brake pedal for the gas. Frightening!

When those signals become unclear, everyday activities can become more challenging. A beach walk, a trip around the neighborhood, gardening, driving or simply walking from the car into the house may require more attention than it used to.

The good news is that paying attention early matters.

sensation are worth noticing. Numbness, tingling, burning or changes in how your feet feel are signals your body may be sending for a reason.

The Lowcountry is too beautiful to spend time worrying about your feet instead of enjoying your life.

If you have numbness, tingling or burning, or if your feet feel like you are walking on marshmallows, your body may be trying to tell you something. It may be time to get evaluated for peripheral neuropathy. Start early, before a small problem turns into a bigger one.

Dr. Kenneth Horup, DC is a Chiropractic Physician at Discover Specific Chiropractic, Certified in Neuropathy.