Heel pain is one of those complaints commonly diagnosed by a podiatrist, a foot doctor. The most common diagnosis for heel pain is plantar fasciitis and Heel Spur Syndrome is another name that is used to identify the condition.
Plantar means the bottom of the foot. The fascia is a long ligament that runs along the foot. Itis means inflammation. The name plantar fasciitis therefore means tearing and inflammation of that long ligament at the bottom of your foot. This is a result of small micro-tears in the fascia due to overstress.
A heel spur can develop as a result of the pull and stress of the fascia on the bone. However, the spur is usually not the cause of pain. In fact, many people with bone spurs do not have any pain at all. The pain comes from abnormal motion in your feet, usually pronation. When the feet turn in and collapse, the fascia takes on an extra stress at the heel. It only takes a small change in your activity or a change in shoes to cause a small tear if you are prone to this condition.
If you have low arches you are prone to heel spurs but you can also get them if you have high arches. The tearing that occurs at the fascia, near the heel, is microscopic. It is not a full rupture but it is enough to weaken the fascia and once the fascia is weakened, it tears more from the constant weight of the body putting a large force load on your feet. When your foot is injured it is worse.
When you have plantar fasciitis you feel a sharp heel pain usually when you first get up. It then evens out, and tends to gets worse throughout the day. Some only feel the pain when they are jogging or walking. The problem is often diagnosed by palpation or pressing on the inside of the heel or inside of the arch. These are the portions of the fascia that are under the greatest stress and have more inflammation. X-rays are used to rule out other conditions such as stress fractures or a tumor.
However, not all causes of heel pain are plantar fasciitis. There are other possibilities of heel pain.
Heel Neuroma
This takes place when a nerve in the heel is inflamed. It is usually caused by an injury.
Heel Bursa
A bursa is a small sac of fluid that the body builds up to protect one of its parts from unusual pressure. Pain takes place when there are small ruptures in the nerve which lead to a bursa.
Stress Fracture in the Heel
A stress fracture is an incomplete broken bone. It is still way over stressed and eventually a small break takes place. In the beginning it does not show up on an xray but as the break grows and causes more pain it will appear. It usually causes the body to send blood to the area which results in swelling and more pain.
Bone tumor
It is rare to have a tumor in the heel and if you should, the good news is that they are mostly benign. When there is pain with this it is usually because the bone has fractured also.
Bone spur at the back of the heel
This is usually caused from the shoe rubbing the back of the heel.
Arthritis
There are different kinds of arthritis associated with heel pain which is similar to the pain in plantar facsiitis. Usually there is a heel spur also associated with the heel pain. Rheumatoid arthritis, Crohns disease, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis are a few of the conditions that may cause heel pain. They usually appear with other symptoms such as back pain and stiffness.
If your pain is severe and has lasted more than four days or your foot is swollen and red, it is best to visit your doctor for complete diagnosis.
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