What to do if your heels hurt: helpful tips

Many people believe that pain in the arms and legs is nothing that you should not even pay attention to. In fact, pathological processes in the limbs can have the most unforeseen consequences, up to complete disability. Pain in the heel contributes to a violation of the normal biomechanics of walking. This not only complicates the performance of familiar activities, but can also cause changes in other joints of the legs. Why do heel pain occur and how to deal with them?

What contributes to the development of this symptom

Pain in the heel can occur if the pathological process is localized in the joints, bones, ligaments, fascia, tendons or nerves. Various diseases or simply non-observance of the rules of walking and wearing shoes contribute to this. Pain can occur due to the following factors:

1. Walking "on toes". There are people who, from childhood, are used to focusing on walking on the area of ​​the metatarsophalangeal joints, while the heels do not touch the surface, but rather remain in the air. Over time, this leads to atrophy of the tendons and softening of the calcaneus, which is accompanied by pain in the heel and calf muscles.
2. Injury. Often the anatomical formations of the heel region are affected as a result of a fall or jump with landing on the entire surface of the foot. Because of this, even calcaneus fractures are possible.
3. Inconvenient shoes. In order to ensure the health of your feet, you need to choose shoes with good cushioning; you cannot save on this purchase. Cheap shoes often do not have arch support, which increases the load on the heels. Even in women's shoes, the heel height is not so important as the ability to absorb the foot.
4. Unusually long walking. Walking or running a lot is good for your health, but only if the loads increase gradually. Walking for several kilometers for a person who is not used to walking can cause leg pain.
5. Obesity. Excess weight is the load on all organs and systems, but the musculoskeletal system suffers the most from it. The work of the legs in this case is equivalent to how a person with a normal weight would always carry a bar with him. Feet are not designed for movement under such a load.

What diseases can cause heel pain?

All diseases in this area can be divided into several categories: joint diseases, inflammation and neuropathy.

Joint diseases

1. Rheumatoid arthritis. This is an autoimmune disease that first affects the small joints of the hands and feet, and then other anatomical areas. In this case, the skin above the lesion is red and hot, the joint increases in size, stiffness is observed in the morning, which passes after a few hours.
2. Gout. At first, the first metatarsophalangeal joint of the foot is almost always affected. In this case, all symptoms develop suddenly: unbearable pain, redness, inability to carry out movement. Joints in the heel area are affected after one or more relapses of the disease.
3. Reactive arthritis. They occur after an infectious disease. In this case, the primary focus of inflammation can be localized in any part of the body. Pain in the joints of the heel can occur after chlamydia, gonorrhea, dysentery, salmonellosis and many other infectious diseases.

Inflammation

1. Plantar fasciitis. Inflammation of the plantar fascia can occur with inadequate loads on the foot.It manifests itself in the form of pain in the heel, worse during walking. It is this disease that leads to the emergence of the so-called “calcaneal spur”. At the same time, salts are deposited in the fascia, which look like dense solid formations that compress the surrounding tissue.
2. Bursitis. This is inflammation of the joint bag. Symptoms are similar to rheumatoid arthritis, but the disease is not autoimmune.
3. Osteomyelitis. This is a melting of the calcaneus as a result of purulent inflammation. In the calcaneal region, it can occur due to open wounds, injuries, and also due to the spread of infection from other foci of inflammation. It is accompanied by fever and a significant deterioration in general condition.
4. Neuropathy
   The heel region is innervated by the branches of the tibial nerve. With its inflammation, heel pain develops, as well as the inability to bend the foot. This pathological process occurs due to pinching or trauma to the nerve, as well as inflammation of its membranes.

What to do if this symptom develops

Depending on the cause of the pain, this pathological condition can be treated by a traumatologist, rheumatologist, infectious disease specialist or therapist. The complex of studies will include radiography or ultrasound of the calcaneal region and a number of laboratory tests, you may need a joint puncture.

Autoimmune diseases are treated with glucocorticosteroids and cytostatics, gout - with uricosuric agents. With osteomyelitis, surgery is performed with drainage of the abscess, antibiotics are prescribed. Inflammatory diseases are treated with non-steroidal drugs. In case of injury, a plaster cast may be applied. It is worth considering that calcaneus fractures heal very slowly.

There are a number of therapeutic and preventive measures that can reduce heel pain. These include:

Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics. Most often prescribed diclofenac, voltaren, ibuprofen and aspirin. However, before use, it is necessary to consult a doctor.

Change in physical activity. The load on the feet should be moderate, excessive load can cause pain, insufficient load can cause tissue atrophy.

• Use of orthopedic insoles;
• Normalization of weight;
• Refusal to wear high heel shoes until the symptom disappears.

Express method to eliminate pain: applying an ice cube to the heel. It helps with the inflammatory genesis of the disease.

It is worth considering that these methods are designed to reduce pain, but not cure the cause of its occurrence.

It can be concluded that heel pain is a common symptom that can occur due to various pathological processes. For its treatment, you need to see a doctor and undergo a series of diagnostic measures. There are ways to reduce pain, but they do not eliminate the cause that caused it.

Video: why does heel pain appear, and is it always a heel spur