Heel Pain

Heel pain is most often caused by plantar fascitis, a condition that is sometimes also called heel spur syndrome. Heel pain may also be due to other causes, such as a stress fracture, tendinitis, arthritis, nerve irritation. Because there are several potential causes, it is important to have heel pain properly diagnosed.

Plantar fascitis is an inflammation of the band of tissue that extends from the heel to the toes. This band is called the

plantar fascia. The fascia first becomes irritated and then inflamed, resulting in heel pain.

The most common causes of plantar fascitis relates to faulty structure of the foot. People who have problems with their arches, either overly flat feet or high-arched feet are more prone to developing plantar fascitis.

Wearing non-supportive footwear on hard, flat surfaces puts abnormal strain on the plantar fascia and can also lead to plantar fascitis. Obesity may also contribute to plantar fascitis.

The symptoms are: Pain on the bottom of the heel, pain that is usually worse upon arising in the morning and when sitting and getting up and pain that increases over

a period of months.

To arrive at a diagnosis, the podiatrist will examine your foot and rules out all the possible causes for your heel pain other than plantar fascitis.

X-rays or other imaging modalities may be used to distinguish the different types of heel pain.

Treatment will contain some or all of the following:

stretching exercises- exercises that stretch out the calf muscles help ease pain, (2) avoid going barefoot-when you walk barefoot you put undue strain and stress on your plantar fascia (3) ice- this helps reduce inflammation. Do not apply ice directly the skin. (4) limit activities-cut down on extended physical activities to give your heel a rest, (5) she modifications-wearing supportive shoes that have good arch support, (6) medications-oral non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen may be recommended to reduce pain and inflammation, (7) orthotics-custom orthotics that fit into your shoe help correct the underlying structural abnormalities causing the plantar fascitis, (8)

night splint wearing a night splint allows you to maintain an extended stretch of the plantar fascia while sleeping. This may help reduce the morning pain experienced by some patients, (9) physical therapy exercises and ultrasound therapy may be used to help provide relief, (10) injections- corticosteroid injections are used to help reduce the inflammation and relieve pain.

So if you are experiencing heel pain give the office of Dr. T. F. Vail's office a call at 419-423-1888 to set up an appointment to make sure that it is plantar fascitis and not another condition.

Check out our website at www.vailfoot.com. There are numerous products that we offer to patients that are experiencing heel pain.

This is what a night splint looks like that you should wear at night. It stretches the plantar fascia at 90 degree angle so that in the morning you will not experience heel pain.