Heel Pain

 

The heel is a specialised part of the body designed to absorb the impact of your body weight when walking, When heel pain develops; it can be very disabling, making walking difficult. The following types of heel pain are not exhaustive but may help you appreciate the complexity of heel pain and why specialist advice must be sought, not least because accurate diagnosis will provide a more effective treatment plan. 

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Plantar Fasciitis

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This is a progressive condition which affects the main ligament (plantar fascia) spanning the heel, arch and ball of the foot. The plantar fascia is normally springy, but age and repetitive trauma or micro tearing of the fascia causes the sharp severe pain associated with this condition. Other factors leading to plantar fasciitis can be: - abnormal walking patterns, putting on weight, lifting heavy weights, sudden high impact exercise and unsupportive/flat shoes. Other types of heel pain are policeman’s heel (calcaneal bursitis), stress fracture, Sever’s disease and achilles tendonitis, gout, arthritis and even trapped nerves. 

Treatments

I can offer some of the most up to date advice and techniques, some of which will be delivered in the clinic. These may include advanced medical strapping techniques, a shoes review, walking analysis, stretching regimes and specialist insoles or orthotics. (See the Biomechanics MSK section)