“My heel is hurting?”
Female | 47 years old
Complaint duration: 1 month
15 Answers
As a healthcare provider specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation, I can help diagnose the specific cause of your heel pain and develop a targeted treatment plan. This plan may include exercises to stretch and strengthen the foot and lower leg muscles, advice on footwear, and possibly other interventions depending on the exact diagnosis.
PROBLEM: An inflammation of the main ligament in the arch where it attaches to the heel bone and supports the foot.
CAUSES: Excessive activity over a short period of time. Flat or high-arched feet.Tight muscles, especially the calf and hamstrings.Poor shoe gear or walking barefoot for prolonged periods of time.
SYMPTOMS: Pain first thing in the morning when getting out of bed and putting the foot down to the ground. With walking the pain usually diminishes. Pain after sitting for a prolonged period of time or getting out of a car and starting to walk. Occasionally burning, numbness, shooting or tingling in the heel. Extreme tenderness to touch the heel or arch region. Commonly associated with lower back pain.
TREATMENT: Avoid going barefooted and good supportive shoe wear. Anti-inflammatory medications to reduce inflammation. Taping the foot to support it and give immediate relief. Custom molded orthotic (shoe insert) to permanently support the foot and prevent re-injury. Frequent stretching of the calf and hamstring muscles to improve overall flexibility. Splinting the foot at night to stretch the muscle in the back of the leg. Occasionally immobilization in a cast or a boot to completely rest the foot. Shockwave therapy if pain persists. Surgery is a last resort to release a small portion of the ligament from the heel.
Though there are multiple ways to address the pain, I typically have found good results by performing an ultrasound guided PRP (platelet Rich Plasma) injection to the injured area in the sole of the foot along with wearing a foot brace (night splint) at night that will keep the foot in Dorsiflexion (foot pulled up) for a few weeks along with stretching the heel cords and also working on strengthening the foot intrinsics and other exercises depending the tolerance. Of course if your going to have to wear a night splint after the injection, it may be worth it to just obtain a night splint and do all the other treatment by yourself prior to going through the injection.
Now possibly the most important task is to identify why it occurred in the first place and address those issues so that you do not have to go through it again. Wish you well!