Don’t Fall for these 6 Causes of Heel Pain

Fall is a time for football, pumpkins (as our Trinity team can show you at right) and lots of fun family gatherings. But it’s also a time when heel pain could slow you down from doing what you love. Want to stay on your feet all season long? Let’s figure out the cause of your heel pain—and come up with a lasting solution!

1. Plantar Fasciitis

This condition refers to inflammation of your plantar fascia. In case you haven’t heard, it’s a band of thick connective tissue running along the bottom of your foot, from the heel to the midfoot.  This tissue band supports you as you walk and run. But many factors, including A. tight muscles, B. dramatically increasing your athletic training, or C. your body’s foot alignment can put pressure on the plantar fascia. 

If these occur you may develop inflammation in the plantar fascia and tiny tears may also develop. Both of these concerns describe plantar fasciitis, which is one of the top causes of heel pain that we see in our practice. 

Fortunately, when plantar fasciitis leaves your heels hurting, we can offer pain relief with minimally invasive interventions. Treatment options include stretching, icing, anti-inflammatories, shoe changes, and custom orthotics to help take pressure off your overworked plantar fascia. 

2. Flat Feet 

If you have a flat foot, that means we can’t see a visible arch when you’re standing with feet flat on the ground. But why are flat feet one of the more common causes of heel pain? Well, a foot with low or no arch tends to pronate or roll inward as you walk or run. In turn, this can lead to excessive stretching of the plantar fascia, followed by inflammation and heel pain. Want to prevent or correct this concern? Here again, we have a variety of non-invasive treatment options. They include physical therapy, stretching, and custom orthotics to create a lasting solution. 

3. Achilles Tendonitis 

Since the Achilles tendon terminates at your heel bone, problems with this tendon can lead to heel pain. One key problem is Achilles tendonitis, an overuse injury that describes inflammation in your tendon. Most of the time, tendonitis treatment involves taking a break from strenuous physical activity and icing and stretching the area. You may also take anti-inflammatory medications to help speed healing and resolve pain at a faster pace.  Also, if biomechanical issues are contributing to inflammation in the Achilles tendon, custom orthotics may again prevent pain from returning. 

4. Bone Spurs

When there’s tugging or pressure in or around your heel bone, you may develop a bony growth known as a heel spur or bone spur. Now, a bone spur on your heel isn’t won’t automatically cause heel pain. But if the extra growth rubs against your shoes, it may become painful. If this is the case, we can try shoe changes or padding for the spur. Rarely, patients in severe pain opt to remove the spur surgically. 

5. Pump Bumps 

Like a bone spur, a Haglund’s deformity or pump bump leaves you with a hard bump at the back of your heel. But, while a bone spur is caused by additional bone formation, a Haglund’s deformity is actually an enlarged heel bone. What causes this enlargement? This bump develops when the back of your shoe rubs against the back of your heel for an extended period of time. Like a bone spur, this condition may be harmless. But it causes heel pain for many people, especially those who prefer tight-fitting shoes like pumps or high heels, so you may need to seek treatment if that’s the case for you.  

5. Broken Bones

Because you put tons of pressure on your heel bone, it’s vulnerable to stress fractures, which are just tiny cracks in the bone. Stress fractures are common causes of heel pain. At first, the pain may come and go. But left untreated, the fracture will widen, and your recovery time will extend. To avoid worsening pain and injury, we’ll x-ray any suspected stress fracture and, once we’ve confirmed the diagnosis, we’ll immobilize the injury to allow you to heal. 

6. Training Too Hard 

Excessive athletic training can be a major cause of heel pain because workouts can put lots of pressure on the bones and ligaments in and around your heel. What does overtraining look like? The answer is different for every individual, so we can’t give one right answer. But what we do know is this: suddenly increasing your training intensity—whether that means adding miles to your run, pounds to your lifts, or speed to your workouts—can leave you with heel pain and other injuries. So it’s always best to gradually increase the intensity with any exercise routine. And, if you experience foot or heel pain after a particularly tough workout, take a break until you feel better. Or, if the pain doesn’t resolve in a day or two, call the office and see if there are more serious concerns causing your discomfort.  

Causes of Heel Pain: Finding Relief in DeSoto, TX