The Top Causes of Heel Pain
Every time you stand or walk, you put a lot of pressure on your feet, and over time, that can contribute to the cause of heel pain. Additional stress and the overuse of your feet can also trigger conditions that lead to inflammation and hurt your heels. So, to help you keep walking comfortably, we’re going to share the three main causes of heel pain.
3 Main Causes of Heel Pain
Depending on where the stress or inflammation develops, we have different treatment plans in our Westfield podiatry practice. As a result, it’s important to diagnose the exact condition causing your heel pain.
1. Plantar fasciitis
Each one of us has a ligament running from your heel bone along the bottom of your foot. And it’s called the plantar fascia. With overuse, the ligament incurs too much stress—this tugs and stretches or even causes small tears in your fascia, leaving you with painful inflammation.
Once that happens, you’ll feel heel pain. It’s often worst in the morning when you get out of bed. Over time, the pain gets worse—unless you seek treatment. If you have plantar fasciitis, rest, stretching, icing anti-inflammatory medications or cortisone injections can help reduce the inflammation, one of the main causes of this kind of heel pain. You may also need orthotics to help support your ligament and prevent heel pain from returning.
2. Inflammation in the Achilles tendon
The tissue connecting your calf muscle to your heel bone is called the Achilles tendon, and like the plantar fascia, it can become inflamed and cause heel pain. (We call this Achilles tendinitis, and it’s an overuse injury that’s often linked to rapid increases in your exercise routine.)
We can treat tendinitis with rest, ice and anti-inflammatory medications. In some cases, we can add a heel lift to your shoe to take pressure off your tendon. You could benefit from a brace or cast to immobilize your tendon so it can heal. In very rare cases, you may need surgery to relieve this cause of heel pain.
3. Bursitis
All throughout your body, fluid-filled sacs called bursa act as cushions for your muscles, bones and ligaments. But sometimes, inflammation strikes these sacs, and you develop bursitis. You may develop heel bursitis if you choose the wrong shoes or land too hard on your heels when you walk or run. Fortunately, we can treat bursitis much like we approach inflammation in your ligaments and tendons.
MLS Laser Therapy
Dr. David Sullivan may also recommend MLS Laser Therapy to treat heel pain. Cleared by the FDA in 2009, this advanced laser technology works to eliminate pain and reduce inflammation in the body in a safe, painless and noninvasive way.
Are you already experiencing pain in your heels? We’re here to help. At the first sign of heel pain, we encourage you to make an immediate appointment with Dr. David Sullivan. Heel pain usually gets worse without intervention. So, the sooner you come in, the faster—and less invasive—your recovery should be!