Heel pain is one of the most common problems we see, and the great news is that we can manage it very successfully, improving your quality of life by getting rid of the pain. Oddly we are not usually the first port of call when this problem arises with most patients attending with a lengthy history of failed attempts to sort things out, usually having spent a lot of time and money in the process.
Heel pain is frequently blamed upon a condition called Plantar Fasciitis. Whilst this is a relatively common condition there are many causes of heel pain. A misdiagnosis is a common cause for treatments to fail and getting this first step right is critical in getting you back to comfort and preventing further damage to your feet in good time before problems get worse.
Here is a list of heel conditions to consider if you have heel pain :
- Acute calcaneal fracture
- Calcaneal apophysitis
- Calcaneal stress fracture
- Calcaneal tumour
- Systemic arthridities
- Achilles tendinitis
- Heel contusion (bruising)
- Fat pad atrophy
- Plantar fascia rupture linked to Posterior Tibial Tendinitis, posterior medial ankle / foot pain.
- Retrocalcaneal bursitis
- Enthesopathy
- Baxters nerve entrapment
- Medial calcaneal nerve entrapment
- Tarsal tunnel syndrome
- SI radiculopathy
- Tuberculosis
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Seronegative arthropathy
- Seropositive arthropathy
- Reiters syndrome
- Gout
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Osteomalacia
- Paget’s disease
- Unicameral bone cyst
- Osteoid osteoma
- Interosseous lipoma
- Aneurysmal bone cyst
- Giant cell tumour
- Metastatic tumour
- Osteogenic sarcoma
- Chondrosarcoma
- Ewing’s sarcoma
Once a diagnosis has been made the route to success is having a treatment plan that is based upon a sound rationale. In other words, applying tried and tested methods to get results, based upon the individual’s needs. Each treatment plan that we set up is tailored to the unique mix of general and foot health conditions, your medical history and specific foot function – a complication with any of the twenty six bones, thirty three joints or over one hundred tendons and ligaments can lead to the problems you are currently experiencing.
And here’s the helpful bit – The pain you are getting is not necessarily where the problem is. That’s right, all those treatments with painkilling gels, ice, padding, etc etc targeting the area of pain are only likely to bring temporary relief at best whilst the damage continues to occur. Problems elsewhere in the foot alter its function and this can cause you to compensate, overloading other areas of the foot to remain mobile. As clever as this is, it often leads to structures being overloaded, leading to damage and in extreme cases failure ie tendon rupture resulting in the need for surgery to put things right.
Get in contact or book an appointment to see one of our experts today.