Treating Heel Pain in Cheltenham
Sandringham Foot Clinic offers quality orthotics & podiatric care to residents of and visitors to Cheltenham 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 existence of a bone spur may enhance the risk of irritation from a shoe’s firm heel counter. Such friction can occasionally cause a blister at the back of the heel. When the rubbing from the shoe’s heel is gentler, it might create a bursa under the skin, which can turn into bursitis if the friction continues. Bursitis sometimes develops as part of inflammatory joint disorders like 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
A bit more towards the front of the foot, heel pain may arise from a second heel spur, formed due to continuous pulling of the plantar fascia, resulting in bone overgrowth (known as Heel Spur Syndrome). Such strain often causes Plantar Fasciitis, a familiar and frequent injury to the ligament-like tissue under the foot.
Even though bone spurs seem painful, the pain doesn’t always come from the spur’s site. More often, the spur develops due to mechanical stress on the plantar fascia, rather than the spur itself pressing into the foot.
Frequently, an x-ray shows a significant heel spur on a foot without pain, while a painful foot may not exhibit any spur at all.
Causes of Heel Pain
Heel discomfort may sometimes result from irritation of a minor nerve under the heel by an overlying muscle. Proper diagnosis of this and similar conditions is essential to establish an effective treatment plan.
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 aims to redistribute weight-bearing pressures away from the site of pain and to direct the foot’s movement to lessen the tension on the plantar fascia and the associated spur. In a few instances, surgery to release the fascia may be necessary. Furthermore, extra corporeal shockwave therapy has been proven to alleviate the discomfort associated with 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