Sexologists have long recognized that a link exists between feet and orgasm, but I'm not talking about foot fetishes here. What I am referring to is the fact that, upon reaching climax, it is common for the feet to extend and for the toes to curl. They aren't called "toe-curling orgasms" for nothing! In rare instances, however, the foot-orgasm connection goes much, much deeper. In fact, a group of physicians recently published a report on the world’s first known case of Foot Orgasm Syndrome (FOS) in which they described a Dutch woman who regularly experienced spontaneous orgasms originating in one of her feet [1].

“Mrs. A” (as she is identified in the case report) was having 5-6 orgasms per day in her left foot that were very similar in nature to orgasms she had experienced through genital stimulation; however, they were typically a bit shorter than a vaginal/clitoral orgasm, lasting 5-6 seconds before cutting off abruptly. These foot orgasms occurred suddenly and spontaneously—no sexual desire or arousal necessary. In addition, while they originated in the left foot, the orgasmic sensations traveled to other areas of the body, including up the left leg and to the vagina, and she sometimes experienced vaginal lubrication along with these orgasms.

Mrs. A eventually sought treatment for these unwanted orgasms because she found them to be embarrassing and experienced anxiety over when the next one might happen.

In studying her case, doctors learned that Mrs. A suffered a serious infection a few years back and was hospitalized for several weeks. During her recovery, “she complained of strange sensations (tingling, burning feelings) in her left foot.” However, it wasn’t until after doctors tried to treat these unusual sensations with various drugs (including paroxetine or Paxil, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) that she began experiencing foot orgasms.

What the doctors think happened is that her health problems caused degeneration in the nerves of her left foot, and that subsequent nerve regeneration combined with the effects of some of the drugs she was taking may have created some kind of mix-up in nerve signaling. It is also worth noting that the nerves for the foot enter the spinal cord very close to where the genital nerves enter (which may partially account for why we see a connection between orgasms and feet more generally). The doctors suspect that the close proximity of these nerves facilitated a mix-up and led information from the left foot to be “misinterpreted by the brain as being solely information originating from the vagina.”

Ultimately, Mrs. A’s foot orgasms were relieved by anesthetizing the nerve that carries sensory information from her foot. She has been foot-orgasm free ever since.

The doctors who reported this case believe that there may be others out there with similar conditions, including men. To that end, they have created a website through which people with suspected FOS can reach out with the goal of helping us increase our knowledge about the foot-genital connection.

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[1] Waldinger, M. D., Lint, G. J., Gils, A. P., Masir, F., Lakke, E., Coevorden, R. S., & Schweitzer, D. H. (2013). Foot orgasm syndrome: A case report in a woman. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10(8), 1926-1934.

Image Source: 123RF.com/Nils Weymann

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