Heel Pain Treatment Melbourne
Brunswick & Sandringham

Brunswick and Sandringham Foot Clinics offers heel pain relief to residents of and visitors to greater Melbourne 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.

Heel pain can occur at a number of different sites about the heel and for different reasons. There can be mechanical causes such as those associated with the attachment of the tendo Achilles at the back to the heel. This can lead to the formation of a bone spur which looks very painful on x-ray but may not cause trouble.

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.

Pain within the body of the heel can be due to inflammation of the bone (osteitis); a deeper ache can indicate a stress fracture of the heel bone (calcaneum) itself. This sort of heel pain can even arise through the normal activities of daily living including the crouching down when gardening or when wrangling of small children. Not conditioning your body correctly when you begin or increase the amount or the speed of the walking or the running that you do can lead to an ache if not injury of your legs and feet, including your heels.

Heel pain at the bottom of the foot can be due to having an inadequate amount of the natural fatty padding that underlies the weight bearing surfaces of the feet. This can lead to bruising of what is known as the plantar medial calcaneal tubercle, especially when wearing hard soled shoes.

Heel Spur and Plantar Fasciitis

Slightly further forward there can be heel pain because of the formation of another heel spur where the recurrent traction of the plantar fascia overtime leads to the overgrowth of the bone (Heel Spur Syndrome). This mechanism of injury can lead to the very well known because it is very common injury of that tight ligament like structure running along the sole of the foot, (Plantar Fasciitis).

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

Orthotic therapy is required to deflect the pressures of weight bearing away from the painful site and to guide the movement of the foot in such a way that reduces the strain along the plantar fascia and the spur. There are a small percentage of cases in which the surgical release of the fascia is required. Studies have also shown that extra corporeal shockwave therapy can help to reduce the pain of 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.