7 Ways to Treat Your Heel Pain

When you’re dealing with heel pain, every step you take can feel excruciating. Even if your symptoms are fairly mild, the repetitive irritation can make it difficult to go about your day with ease. And depending on the cause, you could run into lasting complications if you don’t address your symptoms.

Thankfully, there’s a lot you can do to manage and minimize heel pain – and our team is here to help.

At Mayfair Foot Care in Commack, New York, Drs. Edward Buro, Christine Peterson, and Rosario Saccomanno provide minimally invasive treatments for heel pain brought on by common conditions.

Let’s take a closer look at heel pain, including effective ways to find relief.

What causes heel pain

Most anything that negatively impacts your feet can lead to heel pain. Some of the most common causes include sports injuries, sprains or strains from awkard moves while walking, and fractures from a car accident or fall. 

Chronic conditions, such as plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, and osteochondrosis, also commonly fuel heel pain. You can experience pain from a heel spur, too, where an overgrowth of bone protrudes from your heel.

While no one is immune to heel pain, lifestyle factors that raise your risk include walking or exercising on uneven ground and wearing poor fitting or unsupportive shoes. Having a job that requires standing on hard surfaces for lengthy periods, leading an inactive lifestyle, or carrying excess weight can also contribute. 

How to get relief from your heel pain

Your ideal heel pain treatment depends on the severity and underlying cause of your symptoms, as well as your overall health. 

Given that our team typically takes a nonsurgical approach to treating heel pain, we may recommend:

1. Activity modification
2. Custom orthotics
3. Resting your heel
4. Icing your heel several times a day
5. Taking over-the-counter pain medicine
6. Wearing supportive shoes that fit properly
7. Wearing a night splint

If you continue to experience heel pain or your pain worsens, you may be a good candidate for physical therapy (PT). Your provider will guide you through PT exercises that strengthen the muscles and tendons in your foot for reduced pain and greater mobility. You’ll likely receive exercises to perform at home as well.

What you don’t want to do is ignore heel pain, especially without understanding the root cause or potential complications. An unaddressed stress fracture, for example, can make way for a more severe injury or arthritis. 

To learn more or get started toward effective heel pain relief, call Mayfair Foot Care or book an appointment through our website today.