Heel Pain Treatment in Bentleigh
Sandringham Foot Clinic offers quality orthotics & podiatric care to residents of and visitors to Bentleigh and beyond.
Heel Pain
Heel pain is painful. Heel pain is complex. Heel pain can be debilitating.
The condition that causes more people to cry in the knowledge that they will get better is heel pain.
Pain in the heel can manifest in several areas and be caused by different factors. Mechanical causes, particularly related to the tendo Achilles’ connection to the heel, are common. These issues may lead to a bone spur, which, while seemingly painful on an x-ray, may not actually cause any discomfort.
The presence of such a bone spur can will increase the risk of its irritation from the hard heel counter of a shoe. Sometimes this rubbing at the back of the heel can lead to a blister. If the rubbing from the heel counter of the shoe is a little less, a soft swelling can form under the skin (bursa) which can then become inflamed if the rubbing continues for too long (bursitis). Sometimes this bursitis occurs because of an inflammatory joint condition such as psoriatic arthritis.
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Inflammation in the heel bone (osteitis) can cause pain within the heel, and a more profound ache may be a sign of a stress fracture in the calcaneum. Such heel pain can result from ordinary activities, such as gardening or caring for young children. If you don’t properly condition your body when starting or intensifying your walking or running regimen, you may experience pain or even injury in your legs and feet, heels included.
The pain felt at the foot’s bottom heel area can often be attributed to a deficiency in the natural fatty layer under the feet’s weight-bearing sections. This can result in bruising of the plantar medial calcaneal tubercle, more so when you’re wearing shoes with hard soles.
Heel Spur and Plantar Fasciitis
Just ahead in the foot, heel pain might occur due to another heel spur caused by ongoing strain on the plantar fascia, leading to excessive bone formation (Heel Spur Syndrome). This type of strain commonly results in Plantar Fasciitis, an injury to the ligament-like structure along the foot’s sole.
Whilst the bone spur looks painful but the pain itself may not be where the spur is located. The development of the spur but generally is due to the mechanical load from the strain along the plantar fascia rather than the heel spur digging into the foot.
It is not uncommon for an x-ray to reveal a large heel spur on a pain free foot whilst the foot that is sore has no spur.
Causes of Heel Pain
Sometimes heel pain can arise from a small nerve that supplies the under surface of the heel being irritated by the muscle that crosses it. These and other conditions need to be correctly identified so the best management plan can be brought about for relief.
Sometimes treatment might involve simple cushioning, exercises and massage. The thoughtful use of heat and ice, as well as dry needling have been shown to help. There are times when anti inflammatory medication perhaps even injections of corticosteroid and the use of an ankle walker (moon boot) is required for early relief.
Orthotic Therapy
To alleviate pain, orthotic therapy works by moving the weight-bearing pressures away from the painful areas and altering foot movement to reduce plantar fascia and spur stress. Surgery to release the fascia is sometimes necessary. Extra corporeal shockwave therapy has also been shown to be effective in lessening the pain from heel spurs and plantar fasciitis.
Severs Disease
Children can develop heel pain as a consequence of being active and causing damage at the back of the heel (Severs Disease). The growth plate of the heel can be disrupted by the recurrent pull of a strong and powerful calf muscle and tendo Achilles. It is important for a accurate diagnosis to be made of these conditions so the most effective treatment can be applied for relief and recovery.
Our podiatrists are highly skilled in diagnosis and the management of heel pain.
If you would like more information, please call our Brunswick Foot Clinic on (03) 9387 8555 or Sandringham Foot Clinic (03) 9555 6555 or click below to book online.
FOOT CLINIC LOCATIONS
Our service areas
Sandringham Foot Clinic and Brunswick Foot Clinic provide quality podiatry care to residents across a range of Melbourne suburbs including:
3/231 Bay Road (cnr Advantage Road)
Sandringham Vic 3191
Ph: (03) 9555 6555
Fax: (03) 9555 6556
Email: info@melbournepodiatrist.com.au