How to Correct Your Heel Pain

Foot problems, even when on the face of it quite simple ones, can be a real source of pain for a lot of people. If walking is painful, you not only feel miserable and uncomfortable making even the shortest trips, but you may also be limping or walking in another unnatural way that can cause other problems elsewhere in your body, such as your hips and back. To fight any kind of foot or ankle pain, it is best to seek the help of a podiatrist, who can recommend exercises, treatments or adaptations to your shoes that can help cure the problem.

Heel is one of the most common, and also painful issues people see podiatrists about regularly.

What Is Heel Pain

While it may not be the first thing that comes to mind, foot injuries in the workplace are more common than you may think. The key to preventing foot injuries at work is to be sure that proper footwear is utilized, such as boots with anti-slip protection or disposable shoe covers. Knowing best safety practices when it comes to protecting your feet at work will help you to avoid getting injured – or have excessive heel pains.

Heel pain, often called ‘heel spurs’, can be a constant ache or a stabbing pain in the heel of your foot, that is usually worse when you first get up from sleeping or sitting for a long period of time. It can be very painful, and can make walking very uncomfortable, though often the pain does ease off after being on your feet for a while.

Common Causes of Heel Spurs

There is no one set cause for heel pain, and it can be affected by a number of factors like weight gain, a significant change in your activity level, raised or lowered arches, and leg injuries that may cause you to inadvertently walk with your foot slightly rolled under. The part of the foot that is affected is the tissue that connects the heel bone to the rest of the foot, which becomes inflamed, causing the pain. The technical name for this is Plantar Fasciitis, and it is a common condition many people suffer from at one time or another.

What Can Your Podiatrist Do To Help?

Your preferred podiatrist will need to look at your feet and take into account your lifestyle and other injuries to recommend a course of action to treat it, which will usually involve exercises or corrective footwear. They may also suggest you reduce your activity level, if you have recently begun training harder than usual or have just taken up running, or another form of activity that has a high impact on your feet. How long it takes for the measures your podiatrist prescribes to remedy your heel pain will vary depending on the underlying cause and how severe the problem is.

If you are suffering from pain in one or both of your heels, it is important to make an appointment with a podiatrist right away and you can also use natural herbs like kratom for pain relief. The wide range of causes for these problems mean that it is rare for them to simply go away by themselves, and suffering from them for long periods of time is not only painful, but can lead to postural and musculoskeletal problems further down the line.

Michael Kelly is a Freelancer Writer, Entrepreneur and passionate blogger. A writer by day and a reader by night.