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Heel Pain Physiotherapy

When it comes to heel pain and physiotherapy, the first thing to understand that all our body weight and movement all go onto our ankles and feet.

That means that our feet are literally the foundations to all

• posture
• alignment
• movement

of our entire bodies.

If one neglects to take care of one's feet, it can lead to poor alignment, and that starts a chain of events that can lead to:

• ankle sprains / pains
• knee pains
• back pains
• spinal pains
  

Heel pain can be caused by a variety of problems, and if you do have discomfort and pain in your heel or heels, please make an appointment with Phoenix Rehab senior physios so can get a proper clinical evaluation and get appropriate treatments.

Causes

Some of the common causes of pain include:

Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is the most common clinical condition that can cause severe foot pain and typically leads to other conditions such as knee pain and even back pain.

But what causes plantar fasciitis?

It is caused primarily because of irritation and inflammation of the tissues that becomes increasingly tightened in the arch of the foot. Usually the symptoms are heel pain after a period of walking and standing, and improves with rest.

Heel Spur

Heel spurs are commonly linked and associated with plantar fasciitis, and they are very commonly seen in patients who have long standing pain from plantar fasciitis.

Posterior Heel Pain

Posterior pain refers to painful symptoms behind the foot, rather than pain being under the foot.

Some of the posterior heel pains causes are due to

• Achilles tendonitis
  
• retrocalcaneal bursitis

which is located more posteriorly (behind) the foot.

Stress Fractures

Stress fractures of the bones in the ankle and feet can cause pains in the heel, but they are not so common.

They should be considered in athletes such as long distance and long term runners who have chronic pain in their heels.

Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome

Tarsal tunnel syndrome refers to the entrapment or impingement of the large nerve located at the back of the foot.

It is a repetitive strain injury, similar to

• carpal tunnel syndrome
  
• trigger fingers
• tennis elbow
• golfer's elbow
  

and tarsal tunnel syndrome can cause pain.

Achilles tendonitis

Achilles tendonitis (or achilles tendinitis) refers to a painful condition of the foot, primarily the large tendon at the back of the ankle.

It is caused by irritation and inflammation, and is a common overuse injury that often occurs in middle-aged recreational athletes – the overuse causes swelling and inflammation that leads to pain, swelling and microtears within the tendon, and in some cases, the tendon may rupture.

Arthritis

Patients with Arthritis often develop plantar fasciitis, especially those with arthritis that have inflammatory responses, such as

• rheumatoid arthritis
• ankylosing spondylitis and
  
• reactive arthritis.

Symptoms of Pain In Heels

If you are not sure about the causes of symptoms, or if you do not know the specific treatments you require for your conditions, allow our senior physiotherapists to help assess and treat you.

Our certified, regulated and insured physiotherapists are specially trained in the rehabilitation and management of foot and ankle conditions, and can offer you expert assessments, treatments and management of most causes of pains in heels.

What are the signs that you should be seen by our physiotherapy department physiotherapists?

• Inability to walk comfortably on the affected side
  
• Heel pain that occurs at night or while resting
  
• Heel pain that persists beyond a few days
  
• Swelling or discoloration of the back of the foot
  
• Any other unusual symptoms in/of your feet

What Are The Available Physiotherapy Treatment of Painful Heels?

Because heel pain can be caused by a variety of factors, it is very important that we help you assess and diagnose accurately the causes of your problems before we start a treatment program for you.

This is where we help accurately diagnose the exact condition and cause you have, treat it, and get you back on your feet, pain free.

Depending on the diagnoses, we may use one or more of the following treatment options:

• manual therapy
• stretching exercises
• exercise therapy
• ultrasound therapy and radio-frequency Indiba therapy to accelerate any soft tissue injuries to heal faster
• cold therapy
• edema / swelling management

What to do before you come into us?

We recommend that you come to see us immediately for your pain, as untreated or unmanaged heel pain may cause further complications which can be avoided. But if you cannot see us immediately, we recommend that you: increase your resting frequency, avoid anything that aggravates the injury, take anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen to decrease the inflammation, ice the swollen or painful area.