When you come home after a hard day at work, you want to relax. As long as you don’t have any other pressing responsibilities, there’s nothing like kicking off your shoes and putting your feet up so you can decompress. Or maybe your post-work relaxation is to lace up your running shoes and head out to run a couple of miles. (Exercise can be an exceptional way to relieve stress!)
Either way, heel pain is going to be disruptive! Let’s look at what we can do to take away that pain so you can relax in whatever way works best for you.
First, we should start with a quick note that heel pain is a very common problem. In part, this can be attributed to the fact our heels have a lot of force placed upon them throughout the course of even an average day. When we’re active—especially with exercises or sports that use a lot of running and jumping—the force loads are even greater.
Another reason comes down to the fact there are a couple of different ways the heel can become injured. Two we treat often at Massapequa Podiatry Associates are plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis. These are both soft tissue injuries, and they affect connective tissues that are anchored to the heel bone (calcaneus).
The plantar fascia connects to the bottom of the calcaneus and bridges the front and hind parts of the foot. The Achilles tendon connects the back of the heel bone to the calf muscle (so your foot can move up and down).
There are some at-home treatment methods for heel pain you may want to try before coming in for an office visit, including icing, over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication, stretching, and simply taking it easy for a while and giving the injured tissues some rest so they can heal. When these aren’t enough, though, it’s time to seek professional care.
Our office provides an array of advanced heel pain treatments. Even better, we are able to treat many patients effectively without needing to resort to surgery. We have state-of-the-art methods like extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT), Tenex, Amniovo, and laser therapy. In different ways, these advanced therapies work with your body’s natural healing processes, and even speed them up. If that isn’t enough, some of our treatments can help increase blood flow to the injured area, which makes sure appropriate nutrients, oxygen, and healing factors are delivered to exactly where you need them.
If you’d like more information on the heel pain services we offer, feel free to contact our office. One of our team members will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.