There are not many pains in the foot that can be so excruciating when you first climb out of bed, as heel pain. It tends to be one of the most common and also most misunderstood of all foot pains. Very often there will be a report of sudden pain when first standing from bed in the morning, or perhaps after reading the paper under a lovely palm tree and then standing an hour or so later. If this is familiar to you, you may be suffering from a condition referred to as plantar fasciitis. What is it? Well, in basic terms, there is a soft tissue structure on the bottom of the feet that has 5 insertions at the front of the foot, and inserts in the plantar medial calcaneal area of the foot in the heel region. This soft tissue encases other structures such as muscles, ligaments, blood vessels and nerves and is part of the architecture of the bottom of the foot. But in certain people, there are biomechanical forces generated, that pull the heel insertion to the extent that there is micro-tearing of the heel insertion of the fascia. This often leads to extreme pain in a specified region of the heel. There are other structures such as the plantar medial calcaneal nerve and fat pad tissue, along with the possibility of corns and callous or bruising leading to pain, just to mention a few.

What type of treatment is available?
When plantar fasciitis is the cause of the heel pain, the best management is to have a Hip2Toe Podiatry foot orthotic designed to treat heel pain made. This device requires a plaster cast to be done of your foot, and a full study of the biomechanical relationship of your bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. It takes around about one hour to do. We are then able to write a prescription to have your orthotic designed and manufactured by some of Australia’s most skilled foot orthotic laboratory technicians. What happens then is a simple orthotic device is place in the bottom of your shoe, taking up no more room than most insoles purchased at a shoe store or chemist. This is a world class orthotic device, which will maintain an altered biomechanical position in your shoe, each and every step you take. Considering we take 6000-12000 steps per day, and up to 2.5 million steps a year, you can see what type of preventative medicine step a professional Hip2Toe Podiatry foot orthotic is.

Other treatments for your heel pain may include carrying out manipulation of joints and Myofascial trigger point therapy to target muscle spasm in the posterior lower limb, in muscles that have been functioning incorrectly, due to undesirable biomechanical function of the foot. Our physical therapy may also include therapeutic ultrasound, medicaments such as anti-inflammatory creams, and stretching and strengthening programs. Often strapping of the foot can give temporary relief to the painful heel. We may recommend certain shoes that are more suitable to your foot type. Often we may order x-rays or investigative ultrasounds when required.

Preventing it from happening again.
Heel pain treatments such as our Hip2Toe Podiatry foot orthotics are not only treating the immediate pain, but also preventing the pain from coming back again. It is not uncommon for extreme pain in the heels, to be accompanied by a range of other biomechanically related conditions. Like what? Well, very often poor foot function will lead to lower back pain, hip pain, buttock area pain, headaches and sciatic nerve pain. It is not uncommon to have Illio-tibial band syndrome, knee pain, shin splints or Achilles tendonitis. These are just a small number of the conditions that can also be present with heel pain.

Being free of heel pain and chronic diseases of modern living.
Not a particularly nice topic to discuss, but just think about it. If pain in your feet is stopping you from enjoying and treating yourself to the delights of regular exercise, then you may be setting yourself on a path to chronic disease. Obesity, hypertension, heart disease and Diabetes are some of the chronic diseases our global populations are falling prey to. Our activity level on average is far too low, and large numbers of people can be putting an average of one kilogram of fat on every year. So, if for any reason your activity level has continued to drop off, do not write it off as ageing. It is a lot more insidious than just that. So, if you do have foot pain, there is a duty of care to yourself to get it diagnosed by a professional foot specialist, who can remove further barriers from your quest to reach your maximum health potential. So, come and book yourself in for a Hip2Toe Podiatry heel pain assessment, and we can educate you about the causes of your heel pain, and manage a new direction for you to be travelling in. Remember all those steps you take each year, it may be up to 27000KM!