Heel Pain [Plantar Fasciitis .. Heel Spurs]

Heel pain is so common that it alone could keep our whole team busy at Wollongong Podiatry. Due to heel pain being so common, there are thousands of “magic fixes” available to buy for it. While all of these magic fixes have good intentions, very few of them can work out why your feet, having already walked millions of steps in life, are all of a sudden too painful to get out of bed in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom. That is our job at Wollongong Podiatry... to work out WHY the heel pain has developed. Treating the “why” is your ticket to happy healthy feet.

Stretching and Ice do not fix heel pain

Heel pain is commonly attributed to damage occurring in a structure that runs the length of your arch called the plantar fascia.  The plantar fascia is a strong ligament type tissue that attaches to the toes at one end, and to the bottom of the heel at the other (this is in the region where heel spurs occur).  Heel pain is typically worse in the morning or after periods of sitting, and often reduces in severity after hobbling around for a few minutes.  Then, if you spend enough time on your feet, the pain returns.

Heel spurs are very common and very real but are generally not the cause of heel pain.  It is the plantar fascia, along with multiple muscles and ligaments that attach to the heel bone, which cause the spur and the pain.  So, if we treat the true source of the heel pain, the spur will remain where it has most likely been for years without you knowing it.

Tight dysfunctional calf muscles are one factor that often play a large role in heel pain. When your calf muscles are dysfunctional, tight and gritty, there is more stress on your plantar fascia each and every step. Getting your calves to work more efficiently is a key part in getting rid of your heel pain.. although stretching and ice is not the answer.. if it was, we wouldn’t have a job.

Despite the numerous factors that can trigger heel pain, the one similarity is that the body has difficulty healing the injury due to reliance on our feet to withstand our body weight, through every step, every day.

Wollongong Podiatry will assess your standing, walking and, if needed, running gait to determine why you have developed heel pain. We will develop a treatment plan to rectify the cause, not just to relieve the symptoms.. moving you forwards to active, pain free feet.