Heel Pain! Make It Stop!!!!!

Have you been experiencing heel pain every morning when you get out of bed? Do you feel like you are 110 years old every morning  when you wake up? You might have Plantar Fasciitis, or more commonly called Heel Pain! In our office we see several patients a week who suffer from this ailment.

Sometimes Plantar Fasciitis can be easily treated and other times other intervention is necessary. When I see a patient for heel pain, it is not uncommon to get an X-ray. I do the X-ray to rule out the stress fracture of the heel. Once this is excluded from my differential, I evaluate the posterior muscle group of the calf and Achilles' tendon.  Many patients get confused on why I evaluate their calf when the bottom of their foot hurts. I explain to all of my heel pain patients that the calf muscle becomes the Achilles' tendon, the largest tendon in your body, that crosses your ankle joint and inserts on the middle third of your heel bone. The plantar fascia attaches to the bottom part of that same bone. When your Achilles' tendon is tight and calf muscles are tight your plantar fascia will be tight!



The reason I go to great lengths to explain to my patients the correlation between the the tight calf and Achilles with tight plantar fascia, is because if I can get them to understand the muscle biomechanics I can get them to understand why stretching is vital part of getting their plantar fasciitis better. I give every patient with plantar fasciitis homework, STRETCHING! It isn't always the complete fix, but a big part of how these patients get better!There are many simple wall stretches and basic runners stretches for the calf, that works great.

Sometimes supporting the arch with a good over the counter orthotic can be helpful, using a doctor prescribed night splint and Rx anti-inflammatory can all be extremely helpful for even some of the worst cases of plantar fasciitis.

If you have been suffering from plantar fasciitis and you are not getting better on your own, you should see your local board certified podiatrist. Podiatrists are the experts on the foot and ankle, with four years of Post Graduate Training and completion of a two or three year surgical training program focused on the lower limb and additional rotations in fields such as vascular surgery, plastic surgery and other medical focuses that enhance their ability to best provide your foot or ankle with the highest quality care!

Thank you for taking the time to read our Blog! If you have any problems with your feet, Dr. Henne or myself, Dr. McGowan would be more than happy to help you get back on your feet again:)
We have offices located in Clermont, Tavares and The Villages, Florida. Or if you want to learn more about other foot and ankle conditions visit us at http://centeranklefootcare.com/id6.html
You can also call for an appointment at 352-242-2502.