Heel Pain Causes, Plantar Fasciitis and Heel Spurs

When you think about it, it's remarkable that we don't experience heel pain more often than we do. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, every mile you walk places 60 tons of stress on your foot.

Heel pain is one of the most common causes of foot pain in adults. When you walk, you heel hits the ground first, so it absorbs a large part of the stress your body puts on your foot as you stride along. Obviously, your heel is built to handle a lot of pressure.

But occasionally, the pounding wears down tissues, tendons, ligaments and muscles in the area, causing heel pain. This is especially true if you play sports or exercise a lot on hard surfaces.

Heel pain often goes away on its own if you give your heel time to rest. Normally, you don't need surgery to fix the cause. But you should not try to ignore heel pain, and you should especially not keep doing the activities that may have caused the pain. If you don't give it a chance to rest, your heel pain could become chronic.

Heel pain causes

A condition called plantar fasciitis is a common cause of heel pain. The plantar fascia is the thick connective tissue which supports the arch of the foot, basically connecting the heel bone to the base of the toes. Constant running, jumping, repetitive stress or injury can cause inflammation. You feel the pain in the area under your heel.

When plantar fasciitis causes heel pain, you may need to do special exercises, wear a heel pad in your show, and take medications that reduce swelling.

A heel spur is another common cause of heel pain, and it often happens when plantar fasciitis continues for a long time.

A heel spur is basically a calcium deposit that forms where the fascia tissue band connects to your heel bone. When x-rayed, it looks like a bony protrusion.

Heel spurs usually respond to the same type of treatment as plantar fasciitis.

Stone bruises cause heel pain when rock or stone. The pad on the underside of your heel is injured, and depending on severity, it may or may not become discolored,

Pain relief from a stone bruise usually comes with rest.

Plantar fasciitis, heel spurs and stone bruises usually cause pain under the heel.

A condition called retrocalcaneal bursitis causes pain behind the heel, in the area where the Achilles tendon inserts into the heel bone.

Typically, retrocalcaneal bursitis results from running too much or wearing shoes that rub or cut into the back of the heel. Discomfort grows over time, and the area may eventually get red and swollen. Retrocalcaneal bursitis can cause enough pain that you can't wear normal shoes.

People with this condition sometimes develop heel spurs too.

As with many other causes of heel pain, rest, stretching exercises, and anti-inflammatory medications usually provide relief. Ice packs can bring the swelling down too, and wearing open back shoes can help ease the discomfort of walking.

Treatment includes resting from the activities that caused the problem, doing certain stretching exercises, using pain medication and wearing open back shoes.

Gait abnormalities can cause heel pain in a number of ways. If you're constantly troubled by heel pain, or have been for a long time, talk to your doctor or a physical therapist about the way you walk. Some people unknowingly cause heel pain for themselves because they walk in a way that stresses their feet abnormally.

People over 40 are more prone to heel pain than anyone else. This is probably due to decreased elasticity of the plantar fascia.

But heel pain also is relatively common from ages of 8 and 13 because that's when children are most active physically: running, jumping, climbing, etc. Heel pain in these kids usually occurs on the bottom rear of the heel or the sides.