Lefort Podiatry offers quality podiatry care for heel pain & plantar fasciitis to the local Doveton, Forest Hill, Blackburn, Burwood East & Vermont communities.
What is Heel Pain?
Although there are many conditions that cause heel pain, Plantar Fasciitis is the most common condition treated by our professional team of podiatrists. In fact, it is estimated that approximately 10% of the population will suffer from heel pain due to plantar fasciitis.
Plantar Fasciitis is an overuse injury of the thick ligament underneath the foot that joins the heel to the forefoot, called the plantar fascia, resulting in a painful heel. The plantar fascia helps to support the upright position and arch of the foot. If it is constantly put under excessive stress it will start to break down and become what we call degenerative. It is important to note that the heel pain of plantar fasciitis is caused by degeneration and breakdown of the ligament rather than inflammation.
At Lefort Podiatry our expert team of podiatrists also treat children who suffer from heel pain. More commonly, this heel pain is not due to plantar fasciitis but to a growth plate disorder known as Calcaneal Apophysitis, more commonly Sever’s Disease.
Symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis
- Plantar fasciitis typcially starts gradually with mild heel pain often described as a painful bruise under the heel. The term Heel Spur is often incorrectly used synonymously with plantar fasciitis where it is assumed to be related to the heel bone.
- There usually no recollection of a recent injury to the foot.
- Initially, heel pain is often felt on taking the first few steps in the morning or after arising following a period of sitting. In the early stages of plantar fasciitis, the pain will often reduce after walking around for a few minutes.
- As the conditions progresses the heel pain starts to become more constant.
If you do not treat Plantar Fasciitis, it may become a chronic condition. You may not be able to keep up your level of activity and you may also develop symptoms of foot, knee, hip and back problems as the heel pain from Plantar Fasciitis changes the way you walk.
What causes heel pain
Plantar Fasciitis may be caused by a number of reasons, called risk factors. Research has helped our expert podiatrists categorise these risk factors into those that definitely cause plantar fasciitis and those that may cause plantar fasciitis.
Known Causes of Heel Pain
- High Body Mass Index, BMI
- Tight Calf muscles increasing stiffness at the ankle joint as the body passes over the stationary foot during running and walking.
- High Arched Feet
- Flat Feet
- Participating in running sports/activities
- Weak muscles in the foot, known as Intrinsic foot muscles
Possible Causes of Heel Pain
- excessive walking or standing on hard surfaces
- Poor Footwear lacking support
- Occupations that require long periods on your feet
Treatment for Plantar Fasciitis
In determining the best treatment for plantar fasciitis our podiatrists will formulate a treatment plan based on your individual needs. We take into consideration what has caused your plantar fasciitis and address all of those factors to most effectively relieve heel pain.
At Lefort Podiatry, we frequently refer our patients for a bulk-billed ultrasound to establish the degree of injury to the plantar fascia and exclude other conditions mimicking heel pain from plantar fasciitis.
It is important to note that, as there are multiple contributing factors in developing plantar fasciitis, there is rarely one single treatment that will effectively reduce heel pain.
Our professional team of expert podiatrists will provide advice to you regarding how you can help relieve heel pain in addition to professional podiatry treatment options we use to treat plantar fasciitis.
What you can do to relieve heel pain
- Relative rest from aggravating activities such as high-impact exercise like running
- Change footwear following advice from your podiatrist
What we can do to relieve heel pain
- Taping using a combination of sports tapes
- Demonstration and instruction on a progressive loading exercise for the plantar fascia that research has determined to be the best exercise for plantar fasciitis. It is important that this exercise is followed as per your Podiatrist’s instruction
- Dry Needling to treat tight, overworked muscles associated with plantar fasciitis that often refer pain to the heel
- Foot and ankle joint mobilisation to reduce ankle joint stiffness
- Orthotics or custom-made insoles to reduce the stress through the plantar fascia
- Night Splint
- Radial Shockwave Therapy to stimulate the repair of the plantar fascia
- Regenerative Injection Therapy/Prolotherapy to stimulate repair
- A cortisone injection is infrequently used but maybe only in certain circumstances
Your podiatrist will formulate a treatment pathway using a combination of the above treatments, modified accordingly to best relieve your heel pain.
Book an appointment with Lefort Podiatry at our Forest Hill or Doveton Clinics today.
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