Heel pain, often the result of Plantar Fasciitis, can be a painful and long-lasting condition without proper diagnosis and treatment. Because there are multiple potential causes of heel pain, it’s important to schedule an evaluation with Dr. Morreale at The Foot Institute to discuss the location, severity and frequency of your foot pain as well as any other questions you may have.
What is Heel Pain?
Heel pain can be described as pain or discomfort around the underside or back of the heel. Although heel pain rarely is a pre-indicator of a more serious condition, it can cause great discomfort and interfere with your daily life.
What Causes Heel Pain?
In addition to heel spurs and plantar fasciitis, heel pain can occur from a ruptured Achilles tendon. It may also be a result of overextending the heel at an unnatural angle, known as excessive pronation.
Other possible causes of heel pain can include:
- Stress fracture
- Inflammatory joint disease
- Arthritis
- Bone tumor
- Osteomyelitis (bone infection)
- Wearing unsupportive footwear when walking on hard or uneven surfaces.
In addition, wearing sandals and slippers provide little to no foot support. For that reason, it’s important to wear sneakers that cover the whole foot when walking on these types of surfaces.
What are the Symptoms?
Depending on the activeness of your lifestyle, you may experience heel pain:
- that becomes more severe over the next coming months
- at the bottom of the heel
- that comes when standing up
- at the arch (bottom) of the foot
- Swelling of the heel
Since heel pain is fairly common, it’s important to not overreact and assume it’s serious. To alleviate pain, there are many over-the-counter medications available as well as simple exercises.
Which Non-Surgical Treatments are Available?
The key to treating heel pain is to try the simple remedies first, namely exercise, over-the-counter medications, and simple lifestyle changes. Some of these preliminary treatments include:
- Stretching exercises
- Ice
- Wearing protective footwear outside
- Medications such as Ibuprofen or Tylenol
- Limiting outdoor activities
If these treatments don’t work and the pain persists after a couple of weeks, it may be time to visit Dr. Morreales at The Foot Institute who may recommend one of these non-surgical treatments:
- Injection therapy
- Physical therapy
- Adding pads or medical tape to protect and secure the foot in place
- Removable walking cast
- Custom orthopedic device (for day or night use)
Schedule a Heel Pain Consultation Today
If you are looking for relief from your heel pain, please contact Dr. Morreales today at (318) 357-9559 and schedule an appointment at our office in Natchitoches.
