Have you developed recurring pain in your heels? You might have some concerns about its causes and your prognosis. Heel pain is seen and treated quite often by Drs. Brandi Johnson and Mark Leitner at Advanced Foot & Ankle Specialists in Tampa, Florida. The pain you’re experiencing can be due to a variety of situations. Your Tampa podiatrist discusses them here.
Ill-fitting footwear
Does your job require quite a bit of standing? If you’re a nurse or retail clerk, your heels may be very sore at the end of your work day. Wearing shoes that fit well and provide support for your entire foot can make all the difference, according to your Tampa podiatrist. High-heeled shoes, when worn constantly, can also be the culprit behind heel pain. Putting cushioned inserts in your shoes can offer some relief, but podiatrists like Dr. Johnson and Dr. Leitner recommend alternating high heels with flats or other supportive shoes to give your feet time to recover from the work it takes to balance in heels.
Too much (or too little) activity
While exercising is recommended by all health professionals, including your Tampa podiatrist, performing repetitive activities can place undue stress on the feet. Daily running or jogging long distances can cause stress fractures to develop in the foot bones. These fractures create tiny cracks that manifest as pain during activity. They typically stop hurting when the activity is done. Stress fractures can be detected with an x-ray or bone scan at your Tampa podiatrist’s office. Unlike other bone fractures, rest and analgesics are usually all that is needed to treat stress fractures, although they can often be recurrent.
But leading a sedentary lifestyle is not a way to prevent heel pain. Obesity can also lead to heel pain, putting strain on the feet and ankles, which are not designed to support excess weight. Pain is not the only symptom in this case; people also experience difficulty walking and standing. Introducing light exercise into your daily routine and eating a healthful diet is the key to managing obesity and the problems that come along with it.
Internal causes
There may be anatomical problems within the foot, such as bone spurs or plantar fasciitis, that is causing your heel pain. Your Tampa podiatrist typically treats these conditions with conservative methods such as analgesics, shoe inserts and a series of exercises. Surgery can bring relief if these methods fail to work.
With all of these causes, it can be impossible to pinpoint the exact reason your heels are painful. Trust your Tampa podiatrists at Advanced Foot & Ankle Specialists to treat your pain and help you recover!