Can I do anything about heel pain myself?
Try to avoid the things that cause heel pain to start in the first place:
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Modify activities to minimise the shock to your feet from constant pounding on hard surfaces.
- Choose footwear with some padding or shock-absorbing material in the heel.
- If you have high-arched feet or flat feet, use a moulded insole in your shoe.
- Exercise after any injuries to your ankle or foot to get back as much movement as possible which will reduce the stresses on your foot and your heel.
If you start to get heel pain, following the above advice may enable the natural healing process to get underway and in addition, you should consider:
- Stretching the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia.
- Using simple pain-killers but do take advice from your doctor or pharmacist before taking anti-inflammatory medicines as they can have troublesome side-effects in some people.
- Wearing a splint on your ankle at night if you have early morning pain since it prevents your Achilles tendon from tightening up.
When do I need to see a professional for advice?
If your heel pain is affecting your normal activities and not getting better with simple self-treatment you may wish to consult your GP. By listening to your symptoms and examining your heel, they may decide to either organise further investigations such as blood tests or scans, or proceed straight to treatment.
Beyond stretching exercises and lifestyle measures, additional treatments which may be needed include:
- Immobilisation in plaster or a walking boot. This may settle acute episodes of pain.
- Injections. Different types of injection are available although it depends upon your surgeon regarding whether they offer them.
- Shockwave therapy. This involves putting a high energy probe on the heel to stimulate a healing response.
It is rare to need an operation for heel pain and may only be offered for specific indications, if all simpler treatments have failed, you are a reasonable weight for your height and the stresses on your heel cannot be improved by modifying your activities or footwear. The type of operation varies according to the underlying diagnosis and range from releasing the tissues at the back of the calf to releasing the plantar fascia and the nerves around the heel.
