Heel Pain Podiatrist

Heel pain can be caused by a number of conditions, the calcaneus (or heel bone) see foot anatomy, in normal gait is the first bone to hit the ground thus taking the greater part of ground contact forces. It also has the achilles tendon attach to the back of it this tendon has the two muscle belly heads of the gastrocnemius muscle and the soleus muscle attach to it attach both of these supply a tremendous force to the heel bone. Also the plantar fascia attaches to the bottom of the heel bone this ligament binds the whole bony structure of the foot together thus creating enormous forces to the calcaneus is it any wonder there are so many things that can go wrong with the heel causing pain in the heel. Heel pain is one of the most common complaints in runners and athletes and this is due primarily to the increased stress placed on anatomical structures.
There are many causes of heel pain heel spurs are a common cause of pain in the heel, entheosopathy is another cause, this is pain caused by an initial inflammatory reaction where the plantar fascia inserts into the calcaneus. Stress fractures of the heel bone due to lack of shock absorption or some sort of trauma to the heel bone ie jumping off a ladder. Other causes are Haglund's deformity a bony bump on the back of the heel generally caused by rubbing of the shoe stimulating bony growth, or simply some sort of bruising to the fat pad area under the heel bone. Heel pain in children is often caused by severs disease or calcaneal apophysitis.
If you suffer from heel pain you should visit a Podiatrist where we will make a diagnosis as to the cause and treat the cause appropriately.

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Page last updated 14 October, 2007