Helping You Treat Your Heel Pain

Helping You Treat Your Heel Pain

Don’t let heel pain tell you how you should live your life.

Are you dealing with a stabbing pain at the bottom of the heel that shoots outwards to the arches of your feet? If you said yes then you heel paincould be one of the roughly 2 million Americans who deal with heel pain. Heel pain is one of the reasons patients come to visit our Carmel and Indianapolis, IN podiatrist Dr. Jeffrey Agricola for an evaluation. Plantar fasciitis is an inflammatory condition that can affect anyone. Here’s what you should know about plantar fasciitis-related heel pain.

What is plantar fasciitis?

The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue that runs along the soles of the feet, starting at the bottom of the heel and stretching all the way to between the toes. This connective tissue provides the arches of your feet with support.

In the very beginning, most people only notice a little bit of achiness or soreness in their heel after a run or working out. Unfortunately, this condition will gradually get worse, leading to severe inflammation and microtears within the plantar fascia. When this happens, heel pain sets in.

How is plantar fasciitis treated?

While we know that athletes hate to hear it, our Indianapolis foot doctor will most likely tell you that the quickest way to heal your plantar fascia is to rest. This means avoiding high-impact activities for up to 6 weeks. If you don’t heed this warning and continue to run anyway, you may end up causing more severe damage that will take even longer to heal.

Along with ample rest, stretching the feet several times a day (particularly in the morning and after long bouts of sitting) can help loosen up the tight, stiff connective tissue. Pain relievers can also help to alleviate pain and swelling when symptoms flare up.

Talk with your podiatrist about whether you could also benefit from custom shoe inserts (also known as orthotics). Orthotics are placed into the shoes to take the pressure off the heels and arches and to redistribute the weight evenly throughout the foot to reduce sore spots.

If your plantar fasciitis doesn’t respond to home treatment then your podiatrist may recommend other strategies for healing the damaged tissue. One such way is through extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT), which directs sound waves into the fascia to stimulate the body’s natural healing response. Getting regular shockwave therapy sessions may be particularly effective for chronic heel pain sufferers and could even prevent some patients from needing to undergo surgery.

Prestige Podiatry has offices in Carmel and Indianapolis, IN, to serve you better. If you are dealing with new or recurring heel pain it’s important that you have a podiatrist that you can turn to when it matters most. Call our office today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Agricola.