Heel soreness can result from a number of different factors, including improperly fitted shoes, overdoing sports and exercise, or lack of flexibility in the foot muscles. The most common cause of heel soreness is plantar fasciitis, or heel spurs. Plantar fasciitis is inflammation of the connective tissue that stretches from the heel, through the arch of the foot, to the toes. As a result of severe trauma or injury, the foot stretches unnaturally and develops small tears that result in inflammation of one or more of the ligaments.
Instructions
Causes and Treatment for Heel Pain
1. Visit a podiatrist if your heel soreness is severe. She can rule out more serious conditions that could be causing the pain such as sciatica, lower back nerve or disc compression, IBS, Reiter's disease, ankylosing spondylitis, calcaneal stress fracture, lateral plantar nerve or arthritis.
2. Use heel seats and arch supports in your footwear. Heel seats provide structural support to the foot and relieve the pain while your feet heal. Arch supports are foot wraps that support weak arches and offers excellent shock absorption
3. Ice your heel every 15 minutes with 10-minute breaks, and then repeat, up to twice daily. Other options that work equally well are a gel pack or even a frozen bag of vegetables. Apply to the painful heel following the same regimen.
4. Do calf-stretching exercises. This helps to reduce the backward pull on the heel bone and effectively reduces heel pain. To strengthen the muscles in your arch, perform toe curls three times in succession by placing a towel on the floor, and then curling the toes and pulling the towel toward you.
5. Massage your foot with a simple wooden foot roller designed to help stretch your foot and relieve heel pain.
Tags: foot relieve, heel pain, your foot, your heel
