Internal Medicine | Rheumatology Questions Podiatrist

My heels are in pain all the time?

I am a 31 year old male whose heel is in pain all the time. What are the treatments available?

18 Answers

InternalMedicine|RheumatologyPodiatrist
The answer depends on the cause of the pain. Treatment options are geared towards the cause. Some common causes are: plantar fasciitis, heel spur, tendonitis, nerve entrapment, ligament damage, etc.
Need an eval.
Plantar fasciitis treatments are steroid injections, physical therapy, shoe modifications or inserts. For heel pad bursitis steroid injection is the recommended treatment.
Custom foot orthotics and stretching
Mainstay of therapy is stretching. Please feel free to google us to see pics of stretching exercises.
You may have a condition called plantar fasciitis. This occurs with excess stress between ligament on the bottom of the foot that attaches to the heel. Stretching exercises, ice, and arch supports can be beneficial. If this is not helping, would recommend evaluation and X-rays.

Jonathan M. Kletz, DPM
In order to determine an effective treatment plan you must first have an accurate diagnosis which requires a detailed history, physical examination and necessary diagnostic tests before you have a differential diagnosis and can begin a treatment plan that you would expect to be successful.
Thanks for your question. There can be many causes of heel pain. In my practice about 80-90% of patients with heel pain are experiencing plantar fasciitis. This condition causes inflammation near the origin of the plantar fascia on the bottom of the heel. Conservative treatments include RICE, anti-inflammatory medications, stretching exercises, night splints, orthotics, physical therapy, steroid injections and in some cases immobilization. A small percentage of patients require surgery if conservative treatments fail. I would seek a medical professional if your condition persists. Good luck to you and happy holidays.
The most common reason is plantar fasciitis. Treatment consists of calf stretching, soft orthoses and anti inflammatory medicine. Severe cases may need corticosteroid injection or surgery. Micro plantar fasciotomy is highly successful with minimal down time.
Thank you for your question. There are many treatments for chronic heel pain. It depends if it is with exercise or without exercise. I suggestion is that you seek a foot and ankle surgeon for evaluation there is no necessity for surgery. There are exercises and probably foot orthotics.

Thank you very much,

Dr. Gorman
The first thing to do is to determine what the reason is for the heel pain. If it is related to plantar fascia -itis or some other local condition or if it is related to some systemic condition. The best way to determine that would be to go to a board-certified podiatrist and have a full evaluation including x-rays. There after, if it is determined that you have a local condition like plantar fasciitis there are many treatments available. Some of these include stretching exercises, wearing more supportive shoes, icing, taking an anti-inflammatory medication, wearing a good pre-fabricated foot orthotic, taping the foot in a certain way to relieve stress on the plantar fascia, Cortizone injection, custom foot orthotics, and in the worst case scenario shockwave therapy or surgery. This would be determined by your podiatrist.
Heel pain is a very common problem. Plantar fasciitis is the most common diagnoses. Treatment may include icing stretching anti inflammatory medication injection shoe changes and orthoses. However, there are other causes of heel pain as well. You should be evaluated by your podiatrist in order to properly diagnose and treat your pain.
Steroid injections, taping and strapping of the foot/ankle, pre-fabricated or custom orthotics, prescription medication, physical therapy and surgery. I would recommend trying conservative forms of care first and if they fail consider surgical intervention.
Many treatments but all heel pain is not caused by same etiology. Treatment has to correct the etiology.
It depends on what the pathology/diagnosis is. But there are several treatments for heel pain. Most commonly, the diagnosis is plantar fasciitis. The treatments include Cortisone injections, foot strappings, home PT programs, orthotics, and anti-inflammatory medications. Other pathologies require different types of treatments.
If you have pain when getting up from a seated position, this is a classic symptom of plantar fasciitis. Stretching, anti-inflammatories, better supportive shoes are a starting point. If no improvement see your podiatrist.
Heel pain is very common. However, you want to be evaluated by a foot and ankle surgeon (podiatrist) to confirm it is just heel pain. Some home treatments if is it just heel pain include stretching, ice and wearing supportive shoe gear.
Biomechanical imbalance, improper shoe gear, stress fracture, arthritis or genetics