When running or walking, the human heel acts as a kind of shock absorber. It is very sensitive because it contains nerve endings and blood vessels leading to other areas of the foot. Therefore, even a small injury to the foot causes pain. For people who lead an active life, heel pain is often a serious challenge that is an obstacle to achieving their goals. But even for those who prefer a quieter life, heel inflammation can cause many problems. To ease your fate, you should first find out why your heel hurts, and then start treating it.
If your heel hurts while walking, it may be due to uncomfortable and low-quality shoes. Because of it, many women who prefer high heels experience discomfort. Such shoes are the most dangerous enemy of the foot. When regularly wearing high-heeled shoes or boots, your feet experience severe overload. As a result, severe heel pain often appears.
Often, the heel can hurt in those people who have to stand on their feet for a long time. At the end of the day, fatigue makes itself felt by painful feet while walking. Overweight people often experience heel pain because their feet have to withstand constant overload. Also, discomfort in the foot can be felt after a bruise of the heel bone. The resulting injury can provoke inflammation in the tissues, which will manifest itself as acute pain in the heel. Its other symptoms are similar to tendon injuries: the injured area first turns red, then turns blue and finally turns yellow.
Also, heel pain can occur if there is atrophy of the subcutaneous “cushion”, which is a consequence of very rapid weight loss or excessive physical exertion in combination with daily physical activity. If you experience any discomfort in the foot area, you should definitely consult a specialist. Only the attending physician can accurately determine the causes and prescribe appropriate treatment after diagnosis.
Heel pain can occur due to various diseases, the most common of which are:
The heel is one of the most vulnerable parts of the body. There are many answers to the question of why the heels of the feet hurt. Depending on the diagnosis, the treatment process can vary in duration - from several weeks to several months. The main thing is to be patient and strictly follow the doctor’s recommendations.
Treatment for heel pain depends on the causes that cause it. As a rule, complex therapy is used, which includes a large number of procedures. Surgical intervention is used very rarely - in only 1% of patients, doctors can recommend surgery. Often, you can get rid of the negative factors that cause colic or pain in the heel area by simply changing your lifestyle.
When heels hurt, many doctors recommend doing physical therapy. For this, there are special exercises, the purpose of which is to warm up the muscles of the legs and fascia of the foot. This type of exercise is beneficial for both feet, even if, for example, only the left heel hurts. It increases flexibility and relieves pain.
Heel pain can be treated with medication. To do this, the doctor prescribes medications that help relieve inflammation of the heel bone. Sharp pain in the heel can be localized with painkillers. In some cases, ice compresses can help. For almost all heel diseases, it is recommended to wear orthopedic insoles. They significantly reduce the load on the foot, so using them makes walking much easier for the patient. They are sold in pharmacies or specialty stores.
A fairly common and effective way to treat pain is bandaging. For this, orthopedists recommend an elastic band, which reduces the load on the fascia of the foot. When deciding how to treat heel pain, some doctors recommend corticosteroid injections. They have a strong anti-inflammatory effect, however, since they have a large number of contraindications, they are not indicated for everyone.
One of the new treatments used for foot inflammation is shock wave therapy. For this purpose, there is a special device that affects the sore heel with sound impulses. However, the full effectiveness of such a procedure has not yet been proven.
Many people, when faced with a problem for the first time, do not know what to do if their heel hurts. The best decision is to visit a specialist in the clinic. After all, this may be a sign of some serious illness, which is easier to cure at the initial stage. But this fact does not mean that no folk remedies can be used at all, especially since most of them have been time-tested. It is only important to coordinate your actions with your doctor and then complex therapy will be as effective as possible.
If the pain in your right or left heel does not go away within a few days, you can try the method of alternating cold and heat. This procedure very quickly helps relieve discomfort in the foot area. To carry out such manipulations, you will need two small containers filled with cold and warm water. The affected limbs must be lowered into these containers one by one. If the heel of your left or right foot hurts, a good treatment at home is to massage your foot with a small piece of ice. The procedure is carried out for 7-10 minutes until the skin becomes slightly numb.
If the patient complains that he cannot walk due to severe pain, you can lubricate the soles with a mixture that contains egg and vinegar. To prepare it, a raw chicken egg must be placed in a glass filled with vinegar essence and left for ten days in a dark place. After the specified time has elapsed, the egg is taken out, cleared of the formed film, mixed with butter (40 g) and the resulting product is applied to the sore heel as a compress.
As a preventative measure, and to make it easier to walk when your heels are inflamed, experts recommend performing exercises to strengthen your feet:
If your heels start to hurt while doing exercises, you should stop exercising. Prevention of heel diseases involves avoiding wearing narrow shoes with very high heels or very flat soles. Fashionable ballet shoes today worsen the structure of the sole and cause overstrain of tendons and muscles. It is also very important to promptly treat underlying diseases, for example, osteomyelitis or diabetes, and also monitor your weight, since extra pounds are an additional burden on the legs. Particular attention should be paid to caring for the skin of the feet, avoiding injury as much as possible.
There can be many reasons for heel pain.
Our feet rarely bother us, especially at a young age. We take it for granted and simply don't pay attention to them. But as soon as any problem arises with our legs, we understand how much our life and mood depend on them. And if the problems of the joints are more or less clear to us, then why do the heels of the feet hurt? Moreover, such pain is extremely unpleasant and almost completely knocks us out of our usual rut in life - even a short walk becomes a whole test of strength.
So why does heel pain occur? After all, there seems to be nothing to hurt there. In fact, there can be many reasons for the appearance of such pain. First, you should pay attention to what shoes you wear (this issue especially applies to women). High heels (and especially stiletto heels) lead to the foot being “overloaded,” which results in intense shooting pain in the heel.
A foot injury sustained while walking may result in burning pain in the heel. Typically, this type of pain occurs with injuries to the ankle ligaments. In this case, it may feel as if a needle has been stuck into the heel, and with each step it sticks more and more into the leg.
Let's imagine that you have not received any accidental injuries and are wearing normal, comfortable shoes. But at the same time, you have been tormented by pain in your heel for a long time, and it hurts to step on your foot. It is logical to assume that we are dealing with some kind of disease, but what kind? What diseases can cause such pain?
It is worth noting that these diseases cannot be cured on your own, so you will have to see a doctor to help you get rid of the pain. It is worth going to a rheumatologist or traumatologist and getting qualified advice.
Based on the results of the consultation, the doctor will refer you for a more detailed diagnosis, which is magnetic resonance imaging.
It is worth mentioning where you can undergo this procedure with maximum convenience. First of all, this is the “European Diagnostic Center” - one of the leaders in conducting MRI studies. Here, excellent radiology specialists and highly qualified orthopedic doctors await patients. The examination will be carried out using expert-class equipment (HD 1.5 Tesla tomograph allows you to obtain the highest resolution images). Diagnosis requires very little time - from 15 minutes to an hour, not counting the duration of deciphering the tomogram.
You can find detailed information about the center on the website edc.ru, where registration for the procedure is also available. Another option is to call tel. 8 (495) 363-85-06. When you register through the website, a representative from the center will call you back shortly. The employee will clarify the time of the procedure, the specifics of preparation (if necessary), and the list of documents that need to be brought.
Since we understand why the heels of the feet hurt, what can be done to avoid the development of such problems?
First of all, you should give up race walking or running (these sports are not very gentle on your legs) in favor of cycling or swimming. Equally important is bringing your weight back to normal. After all, every extra kilogram you have is harmful both to the whole body and to the heels, which are forced to withstand these kilograms.
If you have even minimal signs of flat feet, then it is worth purchasing special orthopedic insoles. They will help maintain the foot, or rather its ligaments and muscles, in normal condition, while protecting the heels.
And of course, you need to give preference to comfortable shoes with low heels (up to 5 cm). A small heel will allow you to relieve the heel a little without overstraining the entire foot. It will also be very useful to do special therapeutic exercises on a regular basis to prevent leg diseases.
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If the heels of the feet hurt, the discomfort can significantly reduce the quality of life and even completely immobilize a person for some time. The reasons for this phenomenon are very diverse and can sometimes lead to complications, so in no case should you ignore the problem and deal with the pain syndrome on your own. Only timely consultation with a doctor and properly prescribed treatment can save a person from painful sensations.
All the reasons why heels hurt can be divided into several categories.
Non-infectious nature of origin:
If your heels hurt, the cause of the pain requires a mandatory consultation with a doctor and a high-quality diagnosis. This is the only way to achieve success in treatment.
Initially, with a problem, you can contact your family doctor or therapist, who, after a visual examination and some laboratory tests, will give a referral to a consultation with doctors of a more narrow specialization: a traumatologist, an orthopedist, a surgeon, a neurologist, a physiotherapist.
Diagnostics includes several methods.
Why do the heels of the feet hurt and how to treat them are the main questions that a patient asks when faced with a similar problem. Painful sensations are a signal indicating that a pathological process is developing and gaining momentum in the body. You should not self-medicate or ignore the problem, as this can lead to the most negative consequences.
There are several ways to reduce pain until the doctor determines the diagnosis and course of treatment:
When the heel hurts badly, the sick person strives to get rid of the torment by any possible means. However, even if self-medication alleviates a serious condition for a while, it is unlikely to help get rid of the problem forever. Therefore, the most reasonable solution would be to visit a doctor and find out the causes of the discomfort.
There can be many causes of heel pain, from ill-fitting shoes to biomechanical problems that occur while walking or running. Heel pain can occur due to inflammation of the tendon tissue or due to rheumatoid arthritis.
Why do my heels hurt? Heel pain can be a symptom of the following diseases:
– Fasciitis of the soles. If the foot is constantly loaded, such overload leads to pain. Heel pain when walking can occur if a person wears shoes with too low heels, as well as when a person’s physical activity increases sharply, or his work involves constantly being on his feet. Weight bearing on the foot and repeated pain in the heel lead to the development of plantar fasciitis in the patient.
The plantar fascia is a dense formation of connective tissue that runs in the form of a wide strip along the human sole from the heel bone to the heads of the metatarsal bones. When a patient begins to complain that the heels of his feet hurt, the doctor usually detects stretching and inflammation of the plantar fascia at the point of its attachment to the heel tubercle.
- Heel spur. Chronic inflammation of the plantar fascia is accompanied by the accumulation of calcium salts in the area of inflammation, which leads to the formation of a bone growth, also called a heel spur. Usually at this stage the foot pain subsides. The heel hurts especially badly in the morning, when a person gets out of bed after a night's sleep. During the day, the pain decreases slightly, however, it may appear during the first steps after a short rest.
If a person has heel pain when walking, the cause of the pain may be:
– disruption and inflammation of the Achilles tendon and its bursae – in this case, the pain is concentrated above the heel on the back of the leg. If the tendons of the muscles of the sole are affected, the pain is concentrated under the heel on the side of the sole.
– tendon injury (for example, stretching or tearing), too much stress on the tendon as a result of wearing high-heeled shoes, overload of the tendon as a result of prolonged walking if you have flat feet. In addition, the answer to the question “Why does my heel hurt?” there may be a bruise of the heel bone with further inflammation of neighboring tissues (for example, as a result of landing on the heels after jumping from a height). Such patients, as a rule, complain of burning pain under the heel, “as if a nail had been stuck there,” and if you step on the heel, the pain increases.
– a number of infections, including sexually transmitted infections (such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, etc.). In many cases, hidden infections provoke reactive inflammation of the heels. Sometimes it is possible to determine the infectious-reactive nature of inflammation of the heel tendons by some signs. Patients in such cases note that pain in the heels appears not only while walking. Patients suffering from reactive arthritis may experience pain in the heels even in a calm state, often at night the pain torments them especially severely.
With reactive arthritis, inflammation of the heel tendons is often accompanied by inflammation of the eyes and some joints; patients also note discomfort in the genital area. However, it should be noted that all these symptoms (pain at night, inflammation of the eyes, joints, discomfort in the genital area) may also indicate the presence of other inflammatory diseases.
– in some cases, when patients complain that their heel hurts when walking, they are found to have inflammation of the heel area. This inflammation usually occurs as a consequence of a number of chronic joint inflammations: psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis or gout. Gout is characterized by a violation of metabolic processes in the body and is diagnosed, as a rule, in people who abuse alcohol or are prone to frequent consumption of meat products.
Sometimes inflammation of the heel tendons acts as the first manifestation of the above-mentioned diseases, but in most cases it is detected already at their further stages - after suffering inflammation of the joints or spine.
A blood test of patients with inflammatory diseases almost always makes it possible to detect a noticeable increase in uric acid content in the venous blood (with gout) and special markers of inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis or psoriatic arthritis.
If you have heel pain, it is recommended to consult the following specialists:
Remember, if your heel hurts in the morning after sleep or constantly, you experience severe or sharp pain in the heel bone, foot or tendons, then only a specialist can find out the cause and prescribe treatment
People of all ages often experience pain in their feet. The reasons for the phenomenon may be different. Unpleasant sensations can be caused by ordinary overexertion. But mainly the source of pain is diseases that a person has.
Pain that occurs in the lower leg is often associated with impaired functioning of the body.
The main causes of pain in the feet are:
Pain syndrome can be of different types and can manifest itself in different positions.
The most effective ways to get rid of pain at home are:
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The main sources of such manifestations include the following ailments:
With fasciitis, a heel spur forms on the sole, characterized by an increase in bone tissue. The main symptoms of this disease are severe pain during movement and swelling in the affected area.
The causes of spurs are considered to be the presence of diseases such as flat feet, rheumatism and the consequences of previous infections and injuries.
Bursitis of the foot manifests itself as an inflammatory process in the periarticular bursa of the Achilles tendon. This disease can occur due to severe physical stress, various infections, and arthrosis.
The main manifestations include:
Pain during movement occurs with flat feet. This disease is manifested by a change in the structure of the foot, which can be congenital or acquired. The main factor in the occurrence of flat feet is considered to be underdevelopment of the musculo-ligamentous apparatus.
Main signs of pathology:
Morton's neuroma is a common cause of foot pain when walking in high heels.
The leg is in the wrong position for a long period, with the main load on the toe.
With this disease, thickening of the interdigital nerve fibers is formed. A benign tumor is formed, which consists of nerve sheaths. When a neuroma is diagnosed, changes in the shape of the foot occur and swelling appears. Painful sensations appear due to compression of the nerve during movement, which at this time does not receive the necessary nutrition.
Traumatic tenosynovitis is expressed by changes in the foot, which are formed as a result of excessive stress and wearing incorrect shoes.
This disease can only be determined using x-rays, but there are signs that indicate the presence of this problem:
Mostly, marching foot pathology occurs in military personnel during the initial period of service.
The source of pain is a single blow or constant microtrauma.
There are two main types of damage:
Pain in the lower leg can occur after prolonged physical activity. To eliminate it, you just need to rest for a while and everything will pass.
But if this does not happen, you should consult a doctor who will order an x-ray examination.
If the traumatologist cannot solve the problem, then you should contact a neurologist or rheumatologist.
Having found out the cause of pain, the doctor prescribes appropriate treatment. For inflammatory processes in joints and tissues, anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. Hormonal medications, vitamin complexes and calcium supplements are used to treat osteoporosis.
Pinched nerves and fasciitis are recommended to be treated with therapeutic exercises and massage courses.
To treat flat feet, orthopedic shoes and insoles are prescribed to ease the load on the foot.
Regardless of the cause of the pain, reducing physical activity and getting proper rest is required.
You can get rid of foot pain at home using traditional methods, but first consult with your doctor.
If the pain becomes severe, you need to lie down with your legs elevated using a bolster and take a pain reliever such as ibuprofen, diclofenac, ketorol.
You can also use ice cubes in case of unbearable pain.
Wrap them in cloth and apply to the sore area. Afterwards it is recommended to lubricate the area with an alcohol solution.
Heel pain is an unpleasant symptom that accompanies injuries and excessive stress on this part of the foot . The causes of discomfort and pain can arise when bone tissue grows, the patient is overweight, the fatty tissue on the heels becomes thinner, and it becomes less and less able to absorb impacts when walking and running. The heel can hurt when there is severe tension in the heel bone, when the patient walks in high-heeled shoes or stands for a long time.
Pain in this disease begins in the morning, after a person gets out of bed . When you step on your heel, the pain spreads throughout your entire foot; you have to practically walk on tiptoe to get rid of the discomfort.
The causes are inflammation of the connective tissue of the sole (fascia). Prerequisites:
For heel pain, the following may help:
When heel pain occurs, depending on the cause of the pathology, you can prescribe a course of massage, apply compresses, or drink nutritional supplements to restore bone tissue .
These are compositions made from infusions and decoctions of medicinal plants, vegetables, fruits, bee products, salt, tar, etc.
As a preventative measure, avoiding running and race walking . The patient is recommended to ride a bicycle and swim in the pool.
If a person suffers from flat feet, then it is necessary to purchase special insoles recommended by an orthopedist, and generally wear comfortable shoes.
You should not put heavy physical stress on your feet; you should beware of foot injuries and treat your feet at the first signs of inflammation or infection of soft tissues.
If you are overweight, you need to go on a diet to reduce it so that the load on the foot is less.
Based on this, we can conclude that pain in the heel can be treated not only with medications, but also with traditional medicine recipes. It should be remembered that you first need to consult a doctor and identify the root cause of the disease.
Many of us experience leg pain without giving it much thought. Indeed, in most cases they are associated with physical fatigue or injury. But when our heels start to hurt, we start to worry about it. Sometimes the pain is so severe that it is simply impossible to walk normally. We especially begin to worry if this symptom occurs for unknown reasons. And here a completely reasonable question arises - why do your heels hurt when walking and what to do about it?
It is possible to give an exact answer to this question only after identifying the specific cause of pain in the heels. And for this you need to see a doctor and undergo an examination. After all, pain can be caused by:
In most cases, heel pain occurs as a result of injury. It can occur not only as a result of impacts or bruises, but also as a result of systematic pressure on the back of the foot.
In women, this problem occurs as a result of wearing high-heeled shoes and heavy bags on the shoulder. Under such conditions, the distribution of the load on the legs occurs unevenly, which leads to pain. In this case, the pain can be “shooting” in nature. It is especially noticeable during walking and active physical activity.
It is also worth noting that heel pain can be caused not only by high-heeled shoes, but also by shoes that are too tight. When wearing it, soft tissues rub, which contributes to the appearance of an inflammatory process in them.
Such injuries are most often accompanied by burning pain in the heel. If you have sustained injuries to the ankle joints, you will feel as if a needle has been stuck into your heel, which sticks into your leg when you walk.
It should also be said that such pain can cause corns and calluses. Carefully inspect the surface of your heels. If there are any formations on them, then you need to get rid of them. However, you should not cut them out or pierce them yourself. There is a high risk of infection. In such cases, it is best to consult a doctor or an experienced manicurist.
Cracked heels can also lead to pain. They usually occur due to improper foot care or excessive stress on them. Many women make the big mistake of trimming the rough skin on their heels with a blade or other sharp objects, without even thinking about the fact that they are harming themselves.
The thing is that when a person cuts off his skin, he injures it and regeneration processes begin to activate in it - cell restoration. As a result, the skin on the heels becomes even more compacted and rough, and then begins to crack even more.
The solution to this problem should also be entrusted to an experienced pedicurist. You should regularly apply moisturizing masks and creams.
To avoid heel pain from exposure to negative external factors, you need to do the following:
All these activities will help you quickly eliminate heel pain. And if you continue to adhere to these rules, you will once and for all be able to forget about the discomfort in your legs.
If the heels of your feet hurt for a long time, and the degree of pain gradually increases, then it’s time to consult a doctor. The thing is that this symptom may indicate serious pathological processes that occur in the joints, cartilage and tendons of the body part in question. An example of this are the following diseases:
If pain in your heels appears as a result of exposure to external negative factors, then you should take more careful care of your feet and perform all the actions that we have already talked about.
If heel pain is caused by pathological processes, then you should immediately consult a doctor and undergo a full course of treatment. Joint diseases are very serious and can lead to disruption of the functionality of the entire musculoskeletal system.
If your doctor strongly recommends that you have surgery, you should not ignore his advice. This is in your interests. The thing is that there are situations when it is not possible to eliminate the inflammatory and deforming process with the help of medications. Therefore, doctors perform an operation during which the inflamed areas of the joints are removed. As a rule, after it is performed, the patient’s motor function is quickly restored.