Every summer I know when I come to work on Monday, many of my patients will be calling complaining of heel pain. With the beautiful summer weather, come flip flops and light shoes. And although most of you know I LOVE a cute shoe, I will also tell you to wear them sporadically and in the appropriate setting. Flip flops all day long WILL lead to foot pain, in particular heel pain.
How to Get Rid of Heel Pain
So now that you may have heel pain, what can you do to get rid of it and most importantly prevent it from coming back? The first thing to do when you experience heel pain (bottom of the foot pain) is to take a look at what has changed in your daily routine. New shoe gear and new exercise regimens are common causes of new onset foot pain. In addition, vacations to other areas in the country may also cause foot pain do to change in terrain.
2 Ways to End Heel Pain at Home
When you start to experience heel pain the first thing to do is to STRETCH STRETCH and STRETCH. And in between Stretching- ICE ICE and ICE. This may sound "old school" but stretching and icing are going to be your new best friends, make it a priority to put them into your daily routine. In addition to icing, anti-inflammatory medications are also a mainstay in treating plantar fasciitis. Following the initial treatments if your pain has improved, orthotics and supportive shoegear will help prevent your pain from coming back!
If conservative treatments do not improve your heel pain it is important to go see your doctor. Heel pain is not an automatic diagnosis of plantar fasciitis and we don't want to miss other more serious conditions such as fractures, tendon tears, and bone tumors. We want to keep our patients healthy so call us at anytime, we are always on call for you!
