Heel Pain Treatment in Flemington
Brunswick Foot Clinic offers quality orthotics & podiatric care to residents of and visitors to Flemington 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 discomfort can arise from various locations around the heel due to multiple reasons. Mechanical factors, like issues with the tendo Achilles attaching to the heel, are common. Such conditions might result in a bone spur, which appears severe on an x-ray but might not be problematic.
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.
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.
If you experience heel pain on the underside of your foot, it may be because there’s not enough natural fatty cushioning under the weight-bearing parts of your feet. This condition can cause bruising in the plantar medial calcaneal tubercle, especially when you’re in hard-soled footwear.
Heel Spur and Plantar Fasciitis
Further towards the front of the heel, pain can be caused by another type of heel spur, which develops from repeated stress on the plantar fascia leading to bone growth (Heel Spur Syndrome). This repetitive stress is a common cause of Plantar Fasciitis, the injury to the taut band running beneath 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.
An x-ray might often display a pronounced heel spur in a foot that feels fine, while the foot experiencing pain doesn’t have a visible spur.
Causes of Heel Pain
At times, pain in the heel could be due to a small nerve on the heel’s underside getting irritated by the muscle above it. It’s important to accurately diagnose these conditions to create the best plan for effective 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 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
Brunswick Foot Clinic and Sandringham Foot Clinic provide quality podiatry care to residents across a range of Melbourne suburbs including:
9 Glenlyon Road (cnr of David St)
Brunswick Vic 3056
Ph: (03) 9387 8555
Fax: (03) 9388 2288
Email: info@melbournepodiatrist.com.au