Heel Pain
Most of the times heel pain does not mean a serious injury. However, as your heels bear your entire weight, heel pain can make your every step a problem and may even affect your posture!
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How common is heel pain? Statistics say 3.6% people have heel pan. Many a times we tend to ignore our heel pain and continue doing the activities which caused it. This can worsen your heel pain and cause long term problems as well. Here are the basics of heel pain which can help you understand, heal, and prevent the worsening of your heel pain. |
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What causes heel pain?
Your heel pain may be a result of any injury to your bone/ ligament/ tendon/ muscle/ fat pad.
Your heel pain may be a result of any injury to your bone/ ligament/ tendon/ muscle/ fat pad.
*A ligament is a band of flexible but tough fibrous tissue which connects your bones as in a joint.
*A tendon is a flexible cord made of fibre which connects your muscles to your bones.
*A muscle is a bundle of fibrous tissue which helps you produce movements and maintain the position of different parts of your body. No muscles simply mean a lump of bones with no body structure.
*A tendon is a flexible cord made of fibre which connects your muscles to your bones.
*A muscle is a bundle of fibrous tissue which helps you produce movements and maintain the position of different parts of your body. No muscles simply mean a lump of bones with no body structure.
Here’s a list of the 14 most common causes of heel pain:
- Plantar fasciitis
- Achilles tendinitis and Achilles tendon rupture
- Tarsal tunnel syndrome
- Bursitis
- Haglund's deformity
- Stress fractures
- Heel spur
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Bone tumor
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Osteomyelitis
- Sarcoidosis
- Paget's disease of bone
- Reactive arthritis
Here’s an elaboration on them.
Plantar fasciitis:
• Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain.
• As you see in the image below, plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue which runs across the bottom of your foot. It connects your heel bone to your toes.
• Inflammation of plantar fascia is known as plantar fasciitis.
• Pain with movement, redness, swelling, and high temperature are the signs of inflammation.
• If your heel pain is due to plantar fasciitis, you have a stabbing pain near your heel. You typically get this pain after waking up or after your exercise.
• An excess of tension or stress in your foot can cause plantar fasciitis. It is most common in runners. Plantar fasciitis is also more common in certain professions that require standing for a long time: factory work, teaching, and aerobic dancing.
• Remember to treat that right. Meet us at Physio Labs.
• Shedding your excess pounds and stretching after exercises help you prevent plantar fasciitis.
Plantar fasciitis:
• Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain.
• As you see in the image below, plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue which runs across the bottom of your foot. It connects your heel bone to your toes.
• Inflammation of plantar fascia is known as plantar fasciitis.
• Pain with movement, redness, swelling, and high temperature are the signs of inflammation.
• If your heel pain is due to plantar fasciitis, you have a stabbing pain near your heel. You typically get this pain after waking up or after your exercise.
• An excess of tension or stress in your foot can cause plantar fasciitis. It is most common in runners. Plantar fasciitis is also more common in certain professions that require standing for a long time: factory work, teaching, and aerobic dancing.
• Remember to treat that right. Meet us at Physio Labs.
• Shedding your excess pounds and stretching after exercises help you prevent plantar fasciitis.
Achilles tendinitis:
• The second most common cause of heel pain is Achilles tendinitis, which is the inflammation of the Achilles tendon.
As you see in the image below Achilles tendon is the tendon which connects your calf muscles to your heel bone.
• Achilles tendinitis causes a pain in the back of your heel or behind your leg.
• Achilles tendinitis is common in high speed runners who have suddenly increased their duration or speed of running. It’s also common in the middle-aged people who play outdoor games only on their weekends.
• If you don’t address Achilles tendinitis rightly, it can tear your Achilles tendon which causes a severe pain.
• We can help you with few easy home remedies which help you recover sooner.
• Increase your activity levels gradually to prevent Achilles tendinitis.
• The second most common cause of heel pain is Achilles tendinitis, which is the inflammation of the Achilles tendon.
As you see in the image below Achilles tendon is the tendon which connects your calf muscles to your heel bone.
• Achilles tendinitis causes a pain in the back of your heel or behind your leg.
• Achilles tendinitis is common in high speed runners who have suddenly increased their duration or speed of running. It’s also common in the middle-aged people who play outdoor games only on their weekends.
• If you don’t address Achilles tendinitis rightly, it can tear your Achilles tendon which causes a severe pain.
• We can help you with few easy home remedies which help you recover sooner.
• Increase your activity levels gradually to prevent Achilles tendinitis.
Tarsal tunnel syndrome:
- Tarsal tunnel syndrome is the compression or squeezing of posterior tibial nerve which is present in the tarsal tunnel space that is right behind your ankle.
- An injury or diseases such as diabetes and arthritis can cause the tarsal tunnel syndrome. It causes pain/ shock like sensation/ numbness/ tingling in the bottom of your foot or arch.
- Schedule an appointment with us at Physio Labs. If needed we immobilize the area, ask you to take enough rest, and advice supportive shoes.
Bursitis
• Inflammation of bursae is known as bursitis. Bursae is a fluid filled sac that cushions your bones, tendons, and ligaments around your joints.
• Any frequent repetitive motion can cause bursitis.
• Retrocalcaneal bursitis is the bursitis of the retrocalcaneal bursa, which is located behind your ankle.
• Overuse of ankle such as walking too much or too much of jumping can cause retrocalcaneal bursitis.
• Talk to us at Physio Labs. Enough rest, gentle exercises, and few painkiller medicines help bursitis.
• Inflammation of bursae is known as bursitis. Bursae is a fluid filled sac that cushions your bones, tendons, and ligaments around your joints.
• Any frequent repetitive motion can cause bursitis.
• Retrocalcaneal bursitis is the bursitis of the retrocalcaneal bursa, which is located behind your ankle.
• Overuse of ankle such as walking too much or too much of jumping can cause retrocalcaneal bursitis.
• Talk to us at Physio Labs. Enough rest, gentle exercises, and few painkiller medicines help bursitis.
Haglund’s deformity
Haglund’s deformity is an abnormal projection of your heel bone. It presses against the soft tissues present in between the Haglund’s deformity and the Achilles tendon. This pressure causes bursitis in that area.
Haglund’s deformity can be hereditary. Improper shoes may make it worse.
Talk to us so that we can help you. Heel pads inside your shoes and few other shoe modifications help you deal with the Haglund’s deformity.
Stress fractures
- Stress fractures are minor fractures/ cracks in your bone which result from the repetitive forces such as jumping repeatedly. They are more common in the weight bearing areas such as foot.
- The site of fracture is painful and swollen. The pain relieves with rest.
- Increasing your activity levels or increasing the intensity of your activity too quickly, invites stress fracture.
- The key is to go gradual. Gradual activity levels help you with bone remodeling. Bone remodeling is a process wherein your body resorbs/ destroys the old bone and replaces it with a new bone. When you increase your activity levels gradually, you let this happen. If you increase your activity levels suddenly, your body resorbs more bone than it’s forming, thus, there are fractures.
Heel spur
- Heel spur is the calcium deposition on the underside of your heel, which is visible in the X-ray. It can injure the adjacent soft tissue and cause heel pain.
- Repeated strain on your foot muscles and ligaments can cause heel spurs. They are common in athletes.
- We can help you recover with the help of right exercises and medicines.
Peripheral neuropathy
• Peripheral neuropathy damages your peripheral nerves and causes a heel pain that is stabbing or tingling or burning.
• Infection, injury, or many diseases including diabetes can cause peripheral neuropathy.
• The treatment varies based on the cause.
Bone tumor
• Bone tumor is the abnormal growth of abnormal cells. Any tumor in the heel area can make it difficult to walk. They can weaken and break bones. Bone tumors usually don’t spread to other areas of the body.
• Dull pain/ a pain that wakes you at night/ a pain that gets worse with any activity are few of the symptoms of bone tumor.
• Bone tumor can be hereditary. Certain diseases such as Paget’s disease, which is discussed a little later in this article, can increase the risk of bone tumor.
• If the tumor becomes a cancer it needs an aggressive treatment such as a surgery. The treatment largely varies based on the type of tumor.
Rheumatoid arthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that causes the inflammation of joints. *Autoimmune disease is a condition where your body attacks self. Usually, when an infectious organism enters your body, your body’s defense mechanism attacks it. In autoimmune diseases, your body mistakenly identifies your own body tissues as foreign and attacks it. Rheumatoid arthritis causes swelling and pain in your joints.
• Hereditary factors, being overweight, and smoking can cause rheumatoid arthritis.
• Anti-inflammatory medicines can help you.
Osteomyelitis
• Osteomyelitis is the bone infection. Infectious organisms from the adjacent area can pass to the bone and cause osteomyelitis. Osteomyelitis of heel causes heel pain. We may need to remove the affected part of bone and treat you with medicines.
Sarcoidosis
• Sarcoidosis is a small collection of inflammatory cells throughout your body.
• The symptoms are mainly fever, excessive tiredness, persistent cough, reddish purple bumps located in the ankles which are tender on touch, red eyes, and chest pain.
• Hereditary factors and infection causing organisms can cause sarcoidosis.
• Sarcoidosis heals on its own in most cases. If it isn’t healing on its own, we can do a symptomatic treatment to make sure you are comfortable.
Paget’s disease
• Normally, new bones replace the old bones. However, in Paget’s disease, new bones replace the old bones at a much faster rate than what your body needs. Thus, you have bones which may be weak or not properly formed and cause pain. It may also cause complications such as fractures, cancer, and osteoarthritis/ inflammation of bone.
We treat you with medicines that strengthen your weak bones. Certain cases need surgery.
Reactive arthritis
• Reactive arthritis is the inflammation of joints due to diseases in some other parts of your body, for instance, UTI/ Urinary Tract Infection. Bacteria is the main culprit and it can reach you via infected food or unsafe sex.
Make sure you follow steps to avoid food poisoning such as store foods at the right temperature and cook for enough time.
• Peripheral neuropathy damages your peripheral nerves and causes a heel pain that is stabbing or tingling or burning.
• Infection, injury, or many diseases including diabetes can cause peripheral neuropathy.
• The treatment varies based on the cause.
Bone tumor
• Bone tumor is the abnormal growth of abnormal cells. Any tumor in the heel area can make it difficult to walk. They can weaken and break bones. Bone tumors usually don’t spread to other areas of the body.
• Dull pain/ a pain that wakes you at night/ a pain that gets worse with any activity are few of the symptoms of bone tumor.
• Bone tumor can be hereditary. Certain diseases such as Paget’s disease, which is discussed a little later in this article, can increase the risk of bone tumor.
• If the tumor becomes a cancer it needs an aggressive treatment such as a surgery. The treatment largely varies based on the type of tumor.
Rheumatoid arthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that causes the inflammation of joints. *Autoimmune disease is a condition where your body attacks self. Usually, when an infectious organism enters your body, your body’s defense mechanism attacks it. In autoimmune diseases, your body mistakenly identifies your own body tissues as foreign and attacks it. Rheumatoid arthritis causes swelling and pain in your joints.
• Hereditary factors, being overweight, and smoking can cause rheumatoid arthritis.
• Anti-inflammatory medicines can help you.
Osteomyelitis
• Osteomyelitis is the bone infection. Infectious organisms from the adjacent area can pass to the bone and cause osteomyelitis. Osteomyelitis of heel causes heel pain. We may need to remove the affected part of bone and treat you with medicines.
Sarcoidosis
• Sarcoidosis is a small collection of inflammatory cells throughout your body.
• The symptoms are mainly fever, excessive tiredness, persistent cough, reddish purple bumps located in the ankles which are tender on touch, red eyes, and chest pain.
• Hereditary factors and infection causing organisms can cause sarcoidosis.
• Sarcoidosis heals on its own in most cases. If it isn’t healing on its own, we can do a symptomatic treatment to make sure you are comfortable.
Paget’s disease
• Normally, new bones replace the old bones. However, in Paget’s disease, new bones replace the old bones at a much faster rate than what your body needs. Thus, you have bones which may be weak or not properly formed and cause pain. It may also cause complications such as fractures, cancer, and osteoarthritis/ inflammation of bone.
We treat you with medicines that strengthen your weak bones. Certain cases need surgery.
Reactive arthritis
• Reactive arthritis is the inflammation of joints due to diseases in some other parts of your body, for instance, UTI/ Urinary Tract Infection. Bacteria is the main culprit and it can reach you via infected food or unsafe sex.
Make sure you follow steps to avoid food poisoning such as store foods at the right temperature and cook for enough time.
Diagnosis
The right diagnosis helps you heal sooner. We examine your foot, record your symptoms and their onset, and order investigations such as X-rays if needed.
Treatment
Though the treatment depends on the diagnosis, here are the general treatment guidelines which may help you.
Rest
Rest prevents further injury and also helps you heal.
Ice
Ice helps you control the inflammation and reduces stress on the affected area.
You can use an ice cup, as it’s easy to use. Use a paper cup and freeze water to make ice. Peel half an inch of the cup so that around 1/3rd of the ice is visible from the sides. You can use the rest of the intact cup to hold the ice. Apply ice on the affected area for about seven minutes. Keep a cloth below the affected part to absorb the water that drips. You can repeat this several times a day.
Medicines
Over the counter pain relievers can help you reduce the pain and inflammation.
Physiotherapy
We can guide you with the right exercises which help you heel.
Immobilization
If needed, we immobilize the affected area with a cast. It helps you heal by preventing the movement in the affected area.
Braces
If you have a flat foot or a severe nerve damage, you may need a brace to lift your foot and keep it away from further damage.
Shoes
Supportive shoes also help you heal and prevent further damage.
Surgery
Sometimes you may need a surgery though rarely.
If you don’t address your heel pain, it can increase the chances of injury and may cause long term problems.
The right diagnosis helps you heal sooner. We examine your foot, record your symptoms and their onset, and order investigations such as X-rays if needed.
Treatment
Though the treatment depends on the diagnosis, here are the general treatment guidelines which may help you.
Rest
Rest prevents further injury and also helps you heal.
Ice
Ice helps you control the inflammation and reduces stress on the affected area.
You can use an ice cup, as it’s easy to use. Use a paper cup and freeze water to make ice. Peel half an inch of the cup so that around 1/3rd of the ice is visible from the sides. You can use the rest of the intact cup to hold the ice. Apply ice on the affected area for about seven minutes. Keep a cloth below the affected part to absorb the water that drips. You can repeat this several times a day.
Medicines
Over the counter pain relievers can help you reduce the pain and inflammation.
Physiotherapy
We can guide you with the right exercises which help you heel.
Immobilization
If needed, we immobilize the affected area with a cast. It helps you heal by preventing the movement in the affected area.
Braces
If you have a flat foot or a severe nerve damage, you may need a brace to lift your foot and keep it away from further damage.
Shoes
Supportive shoes also help you heal and prevent further damage.
Surgery
Sometimes you may need a surgery though rarely.
If you don’t address your heel pain, it can increase the chances of injury and may cause long term problems.
6 Tips to prevent heel pain
Most of the times, you can prevent heel pain by following these simple steps:
1. Shed those excess pounds
They avoid an extra pressure on your joints. An early dinner helps you control your weight.
2. Exercise regularly
Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Try to be as active as possible. Whenever possible, take stairs instead of elevators. Most of the causes of heel pain are due to a strain on your foot muscles and ligaments. You can strengthen them via regular exercises.
3. Warm up
Warm up before you exercise and also stretch post your exercise. They avoid strain.
4. Increase your activity levels gradually
If you suddenly lift heavy loads or exercise too much, you may hurt yourself.
5. Remember to wear the right shoes
If your shoes don’t fit well or if they don’t have the right arch, you may damage your foot.
6. Have a healthy diet
A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains prevents all types of diseases.
Most of the times, you can prevent heel pain by following these simple steps:
1. Shed those excess pounds
They avoid an extra pressure on your joints. An early dinner helps you control your weight.
2. Exercise regularly
Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Try to be as active as possible. Whenever possible, take stairs instead of elevators. Most of the causes of heel pain are due to a strain on your foot muscles and ligaments. You can strengthen them via regular exercises.
3. Warm up
Warm up before you exercise and also stretch post your exercise. They avoid strain.
4. Increase your activity levels gradually
If you suddenly lift heavy loads or exercise too much, you may hurt yourself.
5. Remember to wear the right shoes
If your shoes don’t fit well or if they don’t have the right arch, you may damage your foot.
6. Have a healthy diet
A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains prevents all types of diseases.
References:
- http://www.aofas.org/footcaremd/conditions/ailments-of-the-heel/Pages/Heel-Pain.aspx
- http://www.foothealthpodiatry.com/blog/post/4-foot-symptoms-not-to-ignore.html
- https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/heel-spurs-pain-causes-symptoms-treatments#1
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References for Images:
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- https://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi2.wp.com%2Fheelpain101.com%2Fimages%2Fplantar_fasciitis_heel_spur.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fkeelylungsford.wordpress.com%2F&docid=tk98ffTAoDCfwM&tbnid=43AlgnFAFWSj1M%3A&vet=10ahUKEwiN85LuwYzZAhXKso8KHeYSCRIQMwicAShVMFU..i&w=250&h=453&bih=759&biw=1536&q=heel%2Bfat%20pad%20means&ved=0ahUKEwiN85LuwYzZAhXKso8KHeYSCRIQMwicAShVMFU&iact=mrc&uact=8
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