How Your Feet Talk to Your Brain — And How Footwear Can Help or Hinder Your Balance
If you’ve ever stepped on uneven ground and instantly caught yourself before you tipped over, you can thank your somatosensory system. This system is constantly gathering information from your feet, legs, muscles, and joints — quietly feeding your brain the details it needs to keep you upright. It’s one of those things we rarely think about until it stops working as well as it used to.
The somatosensory system is essentially the body’s “internal GPS.” It’s how your brain knows where your body is in space without you having to look down at your feet or think about every movement. And when that system gets fuzzy, balance becomes harder, walking feels less secure, and everyday activities — from stepping into the shower to carrying groceries — can feel more risky.
How Proprioception Works (Your Body’s “Internal GPS”)
Proprioception is your built-in navigation system. Receptors in your muscles, tendons, joints, and skin constantly send updates to your brain about exactly where your limbs are and how they’re moving. These signals help you react quickly and automatically, adjusting to the world around you without conscious effort.
When this information is sharp, you move with confidence. When it’s dull or delayed — which can happen with age, injury, or certain health conditions — you may feel:
• Wobbly
• Slow to react
• Unsure of your footing
• Off-balance, even while standing still
Many older adults describe it as, “My legs don’t quite know where they are anymore.”
Why People With Neuropathy, Arthritis, or Old Injuries Feel Unsteady
Conditions that affect the nerves or joints interfere with how sensation travels to the brain.
Peripheral neuropathy, often linked with diabetes, chemotherapy, or long-term alcohol use, is one of the biggest contributors. It can cause numbness, tingling, or that classic “walking on cotton” feeling. When you can’t clearly feel the floor beneath you, your body has to guess where it is — and that’s a recipe for unsteadiness.
What many people don’t realize is that neuropathy symptoms can improve. While we can’t always reverse the root cause, we can absolutely improve the way they communicate. In my studio, I use targeted exercises, sensory stimulation techniques, and specialized treatment tools to help reduce numbness and tingling, wake up the feet, and strengthen the pathways your balance relies on. Many clients notice better sensation, steadier walking, and more confidence with everyday movement after consistent work.
Arthritis changes the joint surfaces and limits how smoothly things move. When joints don’t glide well, the receptors inside them send fuzzy, incomplete signals to the brain — making quick reactions harder.
Old injuries such as ankle sprains, broken bones, or knee surgeries can disrupt nerve endings in that area. Even decades later, that joint may not “report in” as clearly as the rest of the body.
The CDC notes that changes in sensation and joint structure are major contributors to fall risk as we get older — which is why this system is such an important part of your balance.
How Age, Diabetes, or Spinal Changes Affect Sensation
Aging naturally reduces sensation — not dramatically all at once, but gradually enough that you may start relying more on your eyes or inner ear to stay balanced. And if one system has to work overtime to compensate for another, balance starts feeling more effortful.
Diabetes can damage small nerves in the feet over time, a condition called diabetic peripheral neuropathy. According to the NIH, it’s one of the most common causes of impaired sensation in adults over 50.
Spinal changes — stenosis, disc degeneration, or simple wear-and-tear — can also alter how information travels up the spine to the brain. Some people feel heaviness, some feel weakness, and others just feel unsure on uneven ground.
But none of these changes mean your balance is doomed. They simply mean the brain needs clearer, stronger input — and that’s something we can train.
Simple Self-Tests for Proprioception
Most people don’t realize you can “test” proprioception at home without anything fancy. These checks won’t replace a full assessment, of course, but they’re a good way to notice whether your body is giving your brain clear information.
As always, safety first: stand near a counter or sturdy chair, and don’t do anything that feels risky.
1. Heel-to-Toe Line Test (Eyes Open First, Then Eyes Closed)
Stand near the counter and place one foot directly in front of the other, heel touching toe.
Start with eyes open. If that feels safe, try closing your eyes just for 2–3 seconds.
If you wobble immediately when the eyes close, it usually means your brain is relying heavily on vision because the sensory system in the feet and legs isn’t giving enough information.
(Normal aging makes this harder, but extreme wobbling is still a sign of sensory decline.)
2. The “Where Is My Foot?” Step Test
Stand behind a counter. Without looking down, lift one foot a few inches off the ground and place it back down.
Do this a few times in a row, paying attention to how confidently you can find the floor.
If you have to “search” for where to place your foot, or you land heavier than expected, your body may not be sensing the limb position accurately.
3. Joint Position Match Test (Seated)
Sit with your feet flat.
Extend one leg straight out and hold it there.
Now close your eyes.
Try to match that same leg position with the opposite leg.
If both legs don’t land in roughly the same place, your brain may be struggling to sense and reproduce the joint angle.
Click here to see some of these tests in action and do them along with me.
A gentle reminder
If any of these feel difficult, frustrating, or surprising — that doesn’t mean “your balance is gone.” It simply means the sensory system isn’t giving your brain the clearest information right now. And the beautiful thing about proprioception is that it can be trained.
Foot strengthening, ankle mobility, sensory stimulation, balance exercises, tai chi, yoga… all of these help sharpen the signals and improve whole-body stability.
Training Proprioception: Yes, You Can Improve It
Proprioception responds beautifully to practice. Just like muscles grow stronger with use, your sensory system sharpens when you give it the right challenges.
Inside the studio, we focus on movements that help the brain tune in more clearly:
Exercises that “wake up” your sensory system.
Simple weight-shifts, slow marching, barefoot foot activation, and gentle tapping/warming of the feet help the nerves become more responsive.
Balance challenges that safely push your limits.
Uneven surfaces, small wobble boards, or controlled changes in body position force your body to gather more accurate information.
Mindful movement.
Tai Chi, yoga, and functional strength training strengthen the brain-body connection, helping you move with more precision and less hesitation.
Everyday movement patterns.
Stepping over obstacles, turning at different speeds, looking around while walking — these mimic real life, which is where good proprioception matters most.
With regular practice, your brain becomes quicker and more confident in responding to the world around you.
Why Strengthening the Feet and Ankles Supports Whole-Body Stability
Your feet and ankles are your foundation. If they’re weak or stiff, your body has to work twice as hard to stay upright — often leading to knee, hip, or even low back fatigue.
Stronger, more mobile feet and ankles help you:
• React quickly to uneven ground
• Stay steady during quick turns
• Push off with more power while walking
• Lower your risk of rolling an ankle or catching a toe
This is why foot and ankle work is a staple in my studio. When the base is strong, everything above it becomes more stable and efficient.
How Footwear Affects Your Somatosensory System
What you put on your feet can also influence your balance more than most people realize.
Thick, cushioned shoes — including popular models like Hokas — feel wonderfully soft and supportive. But all that cushioning acts like a buffer, dulling the signals from your feet to your brain. When the somatosensory system can’t clearly “read” the ground, reactions slow down and balance can feel less secure.
It’s a bit like trying to button your shirt while wearing thick mittens. Comfortable? Sure. Precise? Not so much.
That doesn’t mean cushioned shoes are bad. For people with arthritis, foot pain, or certain medical conditions, they can be extremely helpful. But it does mean the sensory system benefits from opportunities to feel the ground more directly — even in small doses.
Many people do well with a mix: comfortable, cushioned shoes for walks, and short periods of barefoot or minimalist-shoe time during safe exercises. I wrote more about this in a previous blog on barefoot-style shoes, if you’d like a deeper dive.
The goal isn’t to ditch your favorite shoes — it’s to understand how they influence your balance and make choices that support both comfort and stability.
Bringing It All Together
The somatosensory system may not be as talked about as the inner ear or vision, but it’s absolutely essential to staying upright, steady, and confident. When the information coming from your feet and joints is clear, your brain can react in a split second. When that information gets fuzzy, your balance starts to feel unreliable.
The good news is that all of this can improve. With the right mix of strengthening, sensory training, and balance work, your brain and body become better partners again. You move with more ease, more confidence — and far less fear.
This is the kind of functional, life-changing work we focus on every day in the studio.
If you’re reading this and wondering whether therapy could help sharpen your balance, improve sensation, or ease the numbness and tingling that’s been slowing you down, let’s talk. A Discovery Visit is a simple, no-pressure way to learn what’s going on and what kind of improvement is possible.
You don’t have to guess. You don’t have to wait for things to get worse. Schedule your Discovery Visit and let’s see what your body is capable of.