The conditions of survival in the modern world force many people to spend a large amount of time on the move and “on their feet,” sometimes for days without being able to fully rest. This kind of workaholism puts a lot of stress on your feet, which can ultimately lead to a heel injury. Heel pain creates a lot of discomfort, but many people are used to enduring it.
Doctors do not advise performing such feats and, if possible, do not delay and consult a doctor as soon as possible, because a sore heel is no joke, and the treatment of this pain must be approached responsibly and not delayed until the pain worsens.
The heel, consisting of the calcaneus and a soft layer of fat, performs a very important shock-absorbing function when walking and running. In addition, a large number of capillaries and nerve endings are concentrated in the heel. All this makes the heel a very vulnerable place, in fact an Achilles heel.
Statistics show that most often patients complain of plantar fasciitis - inflammation or tearing of a strip of fibrous connective tissue that covers the entire sole from the heel to the toes. The sources of fasciitis can be either uncomfortable shoes or a violation of the bone structure due to heavy loads, flat feet and other mechanical problems with the legs. Heel pain can also occur due to inflammation of the tendon tissue, which is accompanied by a feeling of a “needle in the heel.” Rheumatoid arthritis is another source of heel pain. In such a situation, doctors recommend wearing shoes with open heels.
Most often, people who are prone to obesity, have problems with the spine, and flat feet have problems with heels. Athletes, especially athletes, often have problems with heel pain. Mostly older people suffer from fasciitis, but recently this disease has become significantly “younger” due to poor environment, poor-quality food, and a stressful lifestyle. All these factors disrupt the body's metabolism and calcium metabolism, which makes bones and joints more vulnerable.
Injury to the tendon, its overload due to flat feet, as well as a bruise of the heel bone can lead to heel pain. There are also infectious prerequisites for the appearance of a “nail in the heel”: gonorrhea, chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases can cause heel pain even at rest and during sleep. Doctors have also found that the cause of pain in the heel bone can be chronic joint diseases, such as ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and gout.
The first symptom of fasciitis or “heel spur” is pain in the heel when walking immediately after sleep or rest. The pain feels so unbearable that victims of fasciitis try to step on their heels as little as possible. After some time, the pain may subside, or it may return at the most unexpected moment or at the moment of sudden stress on the legs. This painful effect occurs due to the fact that while a person is immobile, micro-tears in the edematous, chronically overloaded aponeurosis grow together. However, as soon as a person takes a few steps, the fascia ruptures again.
Doctors note that most often patients complain of a dull aching pain in the middle part of the heel bone. Such pain can torment all day without a break. It is especially difficult for overweight people and those who “due to duty” are forced to be “on their feet” for a long time during the day. This pain may move distally down the foot toward the metatarsal heads. There have been cases where heel pain causes pathologies in the Achilles tendon area, but this phenomenon is quite rare. Medical observations allow us to conclude that most often fasciitis occurs during prolonged everyday stress, which a person, due to habit, may not even pay attention to. Athletes are more susceptible to the disease, especially those who decide to increase the systematic load on their legs, for example, when running.
There is a theory that frequent changes of sports shoes can lead to fasciitis, but in practice there are not many such cases. Fatigue injuries in athletes, such as tendinitis or paratendinitis of the Achilles tendon, also in combination with plantar fasciitis, which is usually found in athletes, make it difficult to make a more accurate diagnosis in a short time.
Mechanical damage to the heel can lead to pinching of the posterior and lateral tibial nerve, which can also turn a healthy person’s foot into an “Achilles heel.” This pain mainly occurs at rest. It can cause the development of decreased or increased sensitivity (hypo- or hypersthesia) in the distal parts of the foot. This complicates the diagnostic process, since problems with nerve patency do not make it possible to establish the exact causes of the disease. Pinching of the branches of the lateral calcaneal nerve completely makes the muscles adjacent to the bones insensitive, which makes it difficult for doctors to determine the diagnosis.
The feeling of a “nail in the heel” can occur as a consequence of systemic connective tissue diseases such as Reiter’s syndrome (arthritis, urethritis and conjunctivitis), ankylosing spondylitis (ankylosing spondylitis), systemic lupus erythematosus and others. If swelling is visually visible in the heel area or joint below the ankle, you should sound the alarm and immediately go to the doctor. X-ray will not help in this case. More in-depth diagnostic methods are needed, such as magnetic resonance imaging, and if “heel” pathologies associated with systemic diseases are detected, treatment must begin with the main disease, and only if the patient does not have any improvement, it is worth starting treatment directly for heel pain.
At the first symptoms of fasciitis or other pathologies associated with heel pain, you should never self-medicate, otherwise you can only harm yourself. And it is not recommended to delay going to the doctor. To establish a diagnosis, you need to contact an arthrologist, rheumatologist or orthopedist. Typically, patients are first sent for x-ray diagnostics, a general and biochemical blood test, and only after this a course of treatment is prescribed.
If we do not take into account diseases of the heel bone and rupture of the Achilles tendon, then they usually resort to conservative treatment: the patient is recommended to change shoes (so that they do not rub their feet).
Local steroid injections may help with calcaneal paratendinitis and plantar fasciitis. If conservative treatment methods do not relieve the pain of posterior calcaneal bursitis, the bursa can be removed surgically.
Treating a sore heel is a long process. And to relieve pain, doctors advise adhering to the following tips.
Sometimes people experience the phenomenon of numbness in the heel of their left or right foot. This often happens because a person’s legs have been left motionless or in an uncomfortable position for a long time. However, there are times when these signs appear on a daily basis. This indicates that pathological changes are occurring in the body that require examination in the clinic.
This concept means a decrease in the sensitivity of a certain area of the body. In this case, there is discomfort, tingling or lack of control over the numb part of the body. It can be put more simply - when a person wants to move his leg, but cannot. And if he succeeds, then peculiar pain sensations arise. Such symptoms may be caused by irritation of nerve endings and poor circulation. If the heel of your left foot becomes numb, you should pay attention to this, and it is better to immediately consult a doctor for advice. Perhaps this is caused by some disease that requires urgent treatment. A comprehensive examination will show the exact result.
The manifestation of such symptoms does not mean that you immediately need to panic and go to the hospital. Typically, such symptoms may occur for certain reasons related to the following factors:
These signs are not particularly dangerous. To eliminate them, you need to take care of your health by restoring the functions of the circulatory and nervous systems. Pay attention to nutrition, and be in the fresh air as often as possible. By following these recommendations, the feeling of discomfort in your legs should soon disappear. Otherwise, it is better to go to the hospital.
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Characteristic signs of numbness associated with impaired blood supply, loss of vascular elasticity and deformation of nerve tissue.
These symptoms may be associated with the development of certain pathologies:
Numbness in the feet can be diagnosed by a specialist. Therefore, you should not self-medicate, but rather consult a doctor. This will help relieve the patient from discomfort and possible consequences.
Numbness of the heels on the right or left occurs as a result of various diseases, so the causes and treatment will also differ. There are times when you can get by with simple therapeutic procedures: taking medications containing vitamins, resting, or following nutritional rules. But sometimes more serious techniques and complex treatment may be required.
A variety of methods are used to restore sensitivity in the heels. They are established depending on the results of diagnostic indications. Most often, various blood tests, ultrasound, and MRI are used in diagnosis.
After identifying the causes of heel numbness, appropriate treatment is prescribed, which includes several options:
All of the above treatment methods are prescribed individually for each patient, based on his physiological data and health status. Sometimes treatment is carried out by several doctors: a therapist, a neurologist and an orthopedist. The course of treatment depends on the stage of neglect and can last from two weeks to several months.
Experiments with alternative therapy can provoke unexpected complications. Therefore, before using folk remedies, you must consult a doctor.
Clinical treatment is mainly aimed at stimulating the feet. In folk medicine, garlic tinctures, black pepper, iodine and even chicken egg shells are used as stimulants. However, these methods are ineffective for complete recovery. They only temporarily relieve the symptoms of numbness, and sometimes they can cause harm.
When the cause of numbness in the heels is poor circulation, foot baths can be an effective remedy to relieve symptoms. Alternately immersing your legs in cold and hot water stimulates blood circulation. It is recommended to repeat this process at least five times. Then the feet are dried and warm woolen socks are put on. It's best to do this before bed. You can also rub your feet with honey and then wrap them in cotton cloth.
When there is numbness in the lower extremities, prevention is of great importance. People who take precautions and monitor their health are less likely to find themselves in unpleasant situations associated with complications.
To prevent illness, the following recommendations must be followed:
At first glance, heel dysfunction of the left lower limb does not pose any threat. However, this can cause severe complications in the future if the symptoms are not treated promptly. Such indifference often leads to disability. At first, the heels may simply go numb, then blood circulation worsens, the legs swell, and pain appears. Gangrene eventually develops, leading to amputation of the limbs.
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Many people have encountered an unpleasant sensation when their feet go numb in the heel area. In some cases, this is a temporary concern that has no consequences. Sometimes present discomfort, regardless of numbness in the left or right leg, is a signal from the body about the occurrence of disturbances in the body, and, therefore, about the need to conduct research and treatment.
The numbness effect refers to a decrease in sensitivity or its temporary loss , but at the same time, accompanying sensations may be observed in the heel area. For example, tingling, cooling of the foot, certain pain sensations, especially when you want to move your leg. Symptoms can appear individually or together, have different intensities, and differ in the duration of attacks and frequency. If loss of sensation has appeared in your legs more than once, then it’s time to consult a specialist, find out why this reaction of the body occurs. Only a specialist can find out the origin of the process of deformation, “twisting” of blood vessels, and deterioration of blood circulation. For this purpose, equipment is used, and sometimes consultation with several specialists is required.
There is no need to panic right away when your heel goes numb. Drawing an analogy that the left leg, in particular the heel, is numb means there are heart problems is often an unreliable assumption. If we analyze the most common options for why discomfort occurs in the legs, we can highlight:
Such causes of numbness are not critical, since by adjusting your lifestyle and taking care of your health, you can restore the previous state of blood vessels and nerve endings.
The worst option is when the heel goes numb due to the formation of body dysfunctions that will require further diagnosis. Treatment will be based on getting rid of the underlying disease, and not from the accompanying symptoms.
The occurrence of a feeling of numbness is characteristic of circulatory disorders, decreased elasticity of joints, and “twisting” of nerve endings. This may result from any of the following health problems:
Only a specialist can correctly answer the question of why the left foot is numb. It is recommended to diagnose possible dysfunctions in the body in a timely manner, and not to focus on self-medication and independent guesses. This will help eliminate discomfort when walking and aggravation of the situation.
Since the legs go numb for various reasons, the treatment may vary . You may need simple therapeutic procedures, rest, and the use of vitamin complexes containing B12, but more serious procedures are also likely. It all depends on the provoking factor.
Various techniques can be used to restore sensation in the heel. They are based on a preliminary diagnosis, which often uses ultrasound, blood tests, MRI, and other research methods. After finding out why the discomfort in the limbs occurs, treatment options are selected. The most common ones include;
The above measures are generalized, since an individual course is selected for each patient. Sometimes several specialists are involved for this: a neurologist, an orthopedist, a therapist. The duration of elimination of discomfort in the legs varies from 14 days to several months.
You need to be careful when experimenting with traditional methods, although there are some recipes that can help you cope with the problem of a numb heel.
They are mainly aimed at “warming up” the area of the foot and increasing blood circulation. For this, black pepper, garlic infusions, iodine and other available means are used. Sometimes it is recommended to start consuming eggshells, although a sufficient dose of calcium can be obtained together with other beneficial substances by taking specially developed complexes. Folk remedies can be useful, but only for relieving symptoms, eliminating the real cause using such methods is difficult and sometimes dangerous.
Prevention is easier and cheaper than treatment, but this rule is not followed by many. To prevent an unpleasant situation when the heel goes numb (regardless of the left foot or the right), you need to adhere to the following recommendations:
At first glance, an insignificant problem, when the heel goes numb, sometimes turns into serious problems. Ignoring the frequent sensations of loss of sensitivity, tingling, burning, and then difficulty walking, leads to stagnation of blood. Insufficient nutrition of cells only worsens the condition of blood vessels and nerve endings, which in particularly advanced cases leads to difficulty walking and gangrene.
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Sometimes when walking, running or jumping, a person may feel that the heel is numb. This sensation often indicates serious disorders in the body, if there has been no leg injury. At the first signs of numbness, you should seek advice from a specialist, because the processes may be irreversible.
Heel numbness can be caused by bunions, i.e. an inflammatory process that occurs due to an untreated wound on the leg, physical activity or improperly selected shoes. Sometimes the cause lies in a tumor that affects the nerves and attracts nutrients.
Sometimes nodules form under the skin on the heel - fibroids, they bring discomfort to a person while walking. When the size of the fibroma is quite large, a person does not feel anything when touching it. A heel spur can cause the same sensations.
The cause of numbness in the heel of the right or left leg may be atrophy of adipose tissue, this tissue is located between the skin and the heel bone. In a healthy leg, fatty tissue absorbs shock when running, walking or jumping. And if such protection is absent, then the skin is destroyed under the pressure of the bone, the cells gradually die, and corns appear, the heel goes numb.
The heel of the left or right foot goes numb, often due to problems with the vessels supplying the limb with blood. This problem manifests itself in cases of thrombosis, atherosclerosis, stroke or heart attack. Numbness can also be felt after a fracture, especially if the foot is crushed, the soft tissues become inflamed and go numb.
Sometimes the cause is a disease such as diabetes, which affects not only the skin on the legs, but also the muscles and joints. The skin becomes very dry and cracks, and the heels go numb. The feet also become numb in some diseases of the nervous system, for example, neuralgia or neuropathy.
Often numbness of the foot is caused by ordinary fatigue, weakened immunity or vitamin deficiency. Signs of numbness can be felt in any position, the patient feels tingling, coldness, and tingling. Symptoms may be minor, they increase gradually if the malaise is caused by any disease. And if an injury occurs, pain and numbness will be felt immediately.
Sometimes pregnant women complain of numbness in their legs, particularly in their heels. While carrying a child, a woman’s weight increases, which leads to compression of the blood vessels in the legs and poor circulation. Feet may go numb during pregnancy and due to insufficient amounts of vitamin B12 and iron in the body.
Since discomfort can be caused by various reasons, first of all, you should find out why your heels are numb. If this problem is not caused by a serious illness, then you can try to get a good rest and take vitamins. After making an accurate diagnosis, the doctor will prescribe treatment to restore sensitivity in the heels. If necessary, an x-ray or ultrasound examination of the spine is performed.
If necessary, anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. Physiotherapy, manual therapy and heel massage are prescribed simultaneously with medications. During the massage, first rub each heel on the left and right, and then gradually move up the leg. In particularly serious orthopedic cases, surgical intervention may be prescribed.
When numbness in the heels is caused by poor circulation, the patient must perform special physical exercises. It is useful to walk, ride a bike, and swim. At the same time, you need to give up such bad habits as smoking and alcohol, they often cause vasospasm.
Foot baths help to cope with numbness; feet are alternately immersed in hot and cold water. This procedure is performed at least 5 times, then the feet are dried and warm socks are put on them. Foot baths are best done in the evening before bed.
It is also useful to lubricate your feet with any honey at night and wrap them in cotton cloth. Any treatment for numbness of the heel on the left or right must be carried out strictly under the supervision of a doctor. Treatment is prescribed strictly individually in each specific case, depending on the severity of the disease.
Numbness can be treated in about 2 weeks, but in more severe cases after a couple of months. If necessary, in addition to the therapist, an orthopedist and a neurologist are involved in the treatment process. The course of treatment depends on the cause of the illness and the stage of the disease.
Numbness can lead to changes in gait for the worse, because bending or lifting the foot can be not only painful, but in some cases impossible. When there is no sensation in the heel, when running or jumping, a person may not calculate the force of the impact on the foot, which often leads to injury, especially among athletes.
If the work is monotonous, you have to stay in the same position for a long time, then you definitely need to take a break periodically. During the break, you need to change your position and do physical exercises for your legs. Such breaks will be especially useful for those who have a sedentary job.
It is very important to eat right; preference should be given to meat and fish dishes, fresh vegetables and fruits. You need to give up very sweet and spicy foods. Avoid foods containing preservatives, dyes and flavorings from the diet. It is advisable to take vitamin and mineral complexes.
Nervous breakdowns should not be allowed; such a condition can negatively affect the health of the entire body. Proper foot care is important, using special products for better blood circulation. There are many scrubs on the market to cleanse the skin and creams to soften it. It is advisable to perform a foot massage; during its implementation, all tissues and muscles are included in the work.
It is necessary to choose the right shoes, they should be comfortable and preferably made from natural materials. It is important to maintain foot hygiene to avoid fungal and bacterial infections. If you have a leg injury, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible and treat the injury site with an antiseptic.
Regular preventive examinations in the clinic with blood donation for analysis will allow you to detect possible diseases at an early stage. If the feeling of loss of sensitivity, tingling in the foot and difficulty walking occurs quite often, then you should not neglect it. Only timely contact with specialists will avoid serious complications.
Unpleasant discomfort in the heel bone area is caused by a number of reasons and, in particularly difficult cases, entails loss of the ability to fully move. Therefore, if it hurts to step on your heel, you should not delay
a visit to the doctor, since this striking symptom may indicate the development of an acute pathology. It is the doctor who will answer the question of why the pain occurred and what is the cause of this disease. Without a professional approach, self-treatment can result in severe complications.
Heel pain that occurs while walking or at rest often bothers many people. Patients who have crossed the forty-year mark are more prone to the appearance of this syndrome.
Experts primarily associate such phenomena with the age factor, which contributes to the development of diseases of bone mass and connective tissue, to which this particular category of patients is susceptible.
Heel pain is most often caused by diseases such as:
Unpleasant discomfort in the foot and heel bone is not necessarily the result of a serious pathology. Young women may experience severe heel pain due to improperly selected shoes or the presence of high heels. To get rid of painful sensations in this case, it is enough to wear shoes with comfortable lasts and the discomfort will go away by itself.
Let's take a closer look at why such diseases occur and what treatment is required in each specific case.
Unpleasant sensations in the heel area can be caused by rheumatoid or reactive arthritis. Rheumatoid pathology is considered the most dangerous disease, since it is autoimmune in nature. This means that the immune system identifies its own cells as foreign inclusions and tries to destroy them. The result of this action is the constant presence of an inflammatory process in the attack zone.
It is this reason that causes severe pain in the heel bone area. The process is accompanied by destruction of bone tissue and further damage to the lower extremities.
As for the reactive form of the disease, it is infectious in nature. The reasons for its occurrence lie in the presence of a viral infection in the body. In addition to acute pain, reactive arthritis may be accompanied by redness of the skin and swelling of the tissue in the affected area.
Arthritis is manifested by the following main symptoms:
Treatment of rheumatoid and reactive arthritis consists of prescribing antibacterial therapy for the reactive type and antirheumatic drugs for the rheumatoid form. Also, to relieve the patient from pain, you will need to take painkillers. It may be necessary to prescribe anti-inflammatory and glucocorticoid drugs.
In addition to drug therapy, the patient is recommended to have functional rest, and after the symptoms of the acute period have subsided, physiotherapy is prescribed.
You can read more about the treatment of arthritis of the leg joints in the article located at the link.
The heel may also hurt when you step on it due to the inflammatory process in the synovial bursa, which is located in each joint and is designed to soften the movements of tendons and muscles. Most often, this disease affects people who are seriously involved in sports (football or cycling). It is during such training that constant irritation of the heel bone occurs, which in most cases causes bursitis, which gradually turns into a chronic form. You will find more information on the issue in the article “What is heel bursitis.”
The symptoms that arise with bursitis have all the classic signs of inflammation:
As a rule, inflammation begins unexpectedly and is accompanied by sharp pain, which increases even with slight movements. On the heel you can feel one very painful point, around which the main symptoms of bursitis appear.
Treatment for bursitis usually includes:
Read about how to treat heel bursitis in the article located at the link.
The causes of this disease should be sought in the excessive load on the calf muscle, the consequence of which is its constant tension and sharp shortening. The result of such actions is the tension of the tendon and its inability to return to its natural state, which causes severe pain when trying to lean on the foot or heel. Continuing to ignore the pain syndrome contributes to the degenerative degeneration of tendon tissue and increases the risk of rupture of the tendon ligament, as well as its complete separation from the heel bone.
The main symptom of tendonitis is constant pain in the calf and heel bone area. Its increase usually occurs in the morning, when the patient gets out of bed and tries to load the leg as usual. Treatment of this pathology is aimed at stretching the calf muscle, by relieving tension in the tendon ligament. For this purpose, the patient is prescribed a course of massage and physiotherapy. If the inflammation is severe, you may need to be treated with antibiotics.
The disease is the formation of a spiky growth on the heel bone, which gradually takes the form of an osteophyte in the area where the ligaments connect to the foot. Most often, such a pathology occurs with general flat feet or excessive overstrain of the foot.
There are usually no external symptoms of heel spurs. Painful sensations can only occur when walking, which resemble a prick with a nail or needle.
Severe pain most often bothers the patient in the morning, and during the day it may not be felt at all. As evening approaches, the pain intensifies. As the disease progresses, the pain becomes constant, and the patient has to use a cane or crutches to move around. The spur is usually discovered after an x-ray of the ankle.
Treatment of this pathology includes:
More information on the topic is in the material “How to treat a spur on the heel.”
Severe heel pain may also indicate the development of a disease such as osteoporosis. This pathology is characterized by a decrease in bone density, including the heel bone. The destructive process begins when the minerals necessary for bones are washed out of the body, which leads to a deficiency of nutrients.
Depletion of the body usually begins after 35 years. The insidiousness of this disease is that it is hidden and can manifest itself in an unexpected way. As for the occurrence of heel pain, it occurs due to the loss of the spine’s basic functions and redistribution of the load.
The main reasons contributing to the development of osteoporosis are:
Treatment of the disease will primarily be aimed at replenishing nutrients, especially calcium. For this purpose, the patient is prescribed special vitamins and preparations containing calcium and vitamin D. It will also be necessary to take medications that promote enhanced bone formation and slow down the resorption of bone tissue.
Due to the fact that the heel area bears the maximum amount of load, this becomes the main reason for frequent heel injuries.
Damage to the tendon ligament. The injury usually occurs after a powerful blow to the tendon or with a strong contraction of the muscle tissue of the lower leg. The patient may feel a sharp pain in the Achilles tendon area, after which swelling gradually forms in this place. If the integrity of the tendon is compromised, the tear can be felt through the skin.
Bruised heel. It most often appears after an unsuccessful landing from a height on the feet and causes inflammation in the tissues adjacent to the heel. The patient may complain of a burning sensation and pain in the heel bone area, as if a nail had been “stuck into it.” When you try to lean on your foot, there is a sharp increase in pain.
Heel fracture. Similar injuries can be observed after a fall on the heels, which causes the transfer of gravity through the shin bone to the talus bone. The talus pierces the heel bone, splitting it apart. Heel deformation can occur either externally or internally. In this case, the area under the heel begins to swell and bruises form on it. Any movement of the foot in this case is extremely difficult. Read about how to treat a heel fracture in the article located at the link.
Epiphysitis of the calcaneus. The second name for this disease is Sever's disease. The pathological condition occurs after the apophysis of the heel bone separates from its body before the process of ossification (ossification) is completed. The disease affects adolescents aged 9-14 years who play sports professionally. Pain occurs when running, fast walking, or when trying to stand on tiptoes.
In this case, you can notice how swelling forms in the damaged area. There are also some restrictions on the mobility of the calf muscle. Treatment involves wearing a special pad under the heel, which promotes healing of the damaged cartilage. In particularly severe cases, a cast is placed on the foot.
As you can see, heel pain can have various causes. Therefore, in this case, it is better to exclude self-medication and consult a doctor for help.
Pain in the heels is not always associated with diseases or injuries. Sometimes their reasons are due to physiology, and turn out to be the most banal.
If pain appears mainly in the morning, after sleep (pain can appear on both legs at once, or, for example, only on the right leg), and intensifies when walking, it is likely that this is plantar fasciitis (also called plantar fasciitis). ).
This disease is an inflammation of the ligament that connects the heel to the bones of the midfoot. The fascia of the sole is a connecting strip that serves as support for the arch of the foot, as well as its shock absorber.
The cause of fasciitis, as a rule, is microtrauma - micro-tears of the fascia, which may or may not be accompanied by inflammation. Most often, injuries occur in places where the fascia attaches to the heel bone.
During the night, during sleep, the injured fascia regenerates a little, grows together and shortens. In the morning, after the first steps, micro-tears are repeated again, and this causes new torment. It is plantar fasciitis that causes severe morning pain in the heel area, which often becomes quieter as the day goes on.
Sometimes plantar disease is accompanied by a heel spur, which is a small bony growth that forms behind or under the heel.
If the injury leads to inflammation of the Achilles tendon (located above the heel) or the site of attachment of the fascia to the heel bone (under the heel), the growth of new tissue cells is stimulated, subsequently dying and gradually accumulating.
These accumulations turn into spurs. Painful sensations in the presence of a heel spur can have a fairly wide range: from the strongest, in which it is even painful to step on the heel, to completely unnoticeable, asymptomatic.
Such growths can appear on both feet at once, but more often the spur is localized only on one of them - for example, on the left foot (or only on the right).
This is a purulent inflammation of the synovial bursa of the joint. The development of bursitis is often preceded by mechanical trauma. During the disease, an inflammatory process develops: the heel turns red, swells and is very painful. If you touch it, you can feel the warmth.
Over time, the swelling of the heel increases, and if the disease is not treated, the swollen area can become dense.
Excessive stress on the feet, the desire to wear shoes with too high heels and change into slippers in the evenings, a love of long runs - all of the above can provoke Achilles tendinitis. In this case, it hurts at the bottom of the ankle, near the heel. Here, redness of the skin, swelling, and locally elevated temperature are observed. It becomes difficult to stand on your toes and jump.
At the beginning of the disease, mild pain is felt in the heel area. Further, with the development of the disease, the pain in this place intensifies, a soft or dense swelling forms (depending on the type of tumor). A network of enlarged blood vessels is sometimes observed above the swelling.
Heel tumors grow most rapidly in childhood; in adults they grow more slowly. However, in both cases, such symptoms are an urgent reason to visit a doctor!
Such an injury can occur either as a result of a direct blow to the leg, or as a result of a sudden spasm of the lower leg muscles. First, a sharp pain is felt in the lower back of the leg, then the heel swells.
The feet bend and straighten with difficulty, and if a rupture occurs, plantar flexion-extension becomes impossible. Also, when a tendon ruptures, the ability to walk is often lost.
It occurs when there is a sudden strong blow to the heels, for example, if a person jumps from a height and lands unsuccessfully. The blow causes a burning pain and leads to further inflammation.
If you have a broken heel, it is very painful to step on your foot, almost impossible. The foot changes its shape and appearance, because the heel moves to the right or left, as if curled to one side, the foot itself swells, bruises and blood are visible on the sole.
The foot becomes inactive or immobile, its flexion and extension is impaired.
This is a disorder of bone growth at the back of the heel bone, where the Achilles tendon attaches to it.
The heel bone does not ossify immediately from infancy, this process lasts several years, so it is in childhood that it is more likely to get Sever's disease. Children aged 9-14 years who play sports are most susceptible to this disease.
Race walking, running, jumping further increase the pain of this disease. There is a feeling that the heel is on fire, and swelling occurs around it.
Chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the spine and joints. The main consequence of this disease is ossification of the spine, which becomes inflexible and immobile. Sometimes the heels begin to hurt first, as a result of which it becomes very unpleasant for a person to stand on hard surfaces.
This serious disease affects the joints, causing them to hurt, swell and lose mobility. Among others, the joints of the foot are also affected.
At first, the most pronounced pain manifests itself in movement, but later, over time, the pain is felt even in sleep, and it is so strong that it can wake you up. Rheumatoid arthritis is also accompanied by painful fatigue, lack of appetite, and increased fatigue.
Joint disease caused by the deposition of uric acid salts. Attacks of the disease usually occur at night, during sleep, when a person wakes up feeling acute pain. The affected joint swells and changes color to red-brown. If you lightly touch it at this moment, it will be very painful and hot.
The joints of the feet are also susceptible to gout, so people suffering from it often experience pain in the heels.
This disease overtakes a person as a consequence of any infection previously suffered, for example, an infection of the genitourinary system or gastrointestinal tract. This subtype of arthritis is not an infectious disease of the joints; it is a consequence of infection affecting other organs of the body.
Painful sensations in the heels with reactive arthritis appear constantly. They can be felt most acutely at night, in a dream. The course of the disease is characterized by joint pain, conjunctivitis and pain in the lower abdomen.
During the course of the disease, the bone substance seems to melt, and individual areas of the skin die. The lesion then extends to further surface areas of the body. With bone tuberculosis, a purulent fistula or open cavity forms, but after several weeks the disease may stop, going into remission.
The disease is caused by bacteria that provoke the development of a purulent-necrotic process both in the bone itself and in the soft tissues of the heel. The affected heel begins to hurt almost instantly, and the body temperature rises to 39-40 degrees.
The painful sensations are as if the heel is bursting, burning, drilling from the inside, and it is simply impossible to walk. These sensations are difficult to confuse with others. The heel swells, the skin on it becomes very red, and the veins in the legs expand.
What to do if your heels hurt? If the pain is acute, burning, the skin in the area around the heel turns red, swelling appears, either local or general temperature rises, the heel swells, shifts to the right or left side of the foot, bruising is observed, skin necrosis occurs, it is difficult to stand on your toes, the feet do not bend - Seeing a doctor is inevitable!
And the sooner you do this and begin to treat the disease that caused this unpleasant symptom, the better!
Which doctor can help? For an initial examination, make an appointment with a therapist or surgeon. Further, depending on the accompanying symptoms, the doctor may redirect you to another specialist for treatment. They can be: an orthopedist, a traumatologist, an oncologist, a phthisiatrician, a neurologist.
If the pain is caused by a bruise, apply cold to the heel area - ice or a special cold pack. You need to keep it for 15 minutes every hour 3-4 times. Then you can rub anti-inflammatory ointment into the bruised heel, and if the bruise is severe, it is highly advisable to make an appointment with a doctor (general practitioner or surgeon).
What can I do to prevent pain in my heels from reoccurring after treatment?
As a preventive measure, it is enough to follow simple rules: