Heel pain that won’t go away is a real pain. Podiatrists treat heel pain day in and day out but we all treat it with respect because it is such a complex condition. You should read our Heel Pain guide after reading this article to get a better understanding of what could make your heel sore.
Heel pain for months and months
We often have people turn up that have had a sore heel for a very long time. Some of them have been seen by other health professionals and others have just been putting up with a sore heel for way too long. We don’t have a magical cure that others don’t have…we just have many years of treating heel pain.
However, we do treat heel pain differently than most podiatrists because we don’t think “Orthotics” first…or even second.
Plantar Fasciitis or is it?
Many people call us up and say they have been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis by their GP or maybe Dr Google. Well it could be but it may not be exactly correct. Anything with “itis” on the end means that the tissue they are talking about is inflamed. So plantar fasciitis is an inflamed tissue called the plantar fascia and this is attached to the bottom of your heel.
Some researches think that instead of being inflamed your heel pain is caused by a degeneration or weakening of the plantar fascia (Plantar Fasciosis). Most likely this type of heel pain starts with inflammation and progresses over time to a chronic degeneration or weakening of the tissue. This is why many people find that the pain has changed over the long time that they have had a sore heel.
Can you fix Plantar fasciitis without orthotics?
Yes we believe that most of our patients can walk pain-free without orthotics if they follow a combined approach.
- Footwear advice
- Prescribed exercises
- Foot mobilisation therapy
- Soft Tissue mobilisation
- Acupuncture with electrical stimulation (if appropriate)
Some people will benefit from the short-term use of temporary orthotics or modification to their existing footwear.
Acupuncture for Heel pain – Why?
We have found that the podiatry approach to acupuncture and dry needling is very useful in treating difficult to heal foot pain and especially plantar fasciitis. Our podiatrist Colin Power has many years experience in Western Medical Acupuncture and Dry Needling and attends masterclasses and lectures on the use of this treatment for podiatric conditions.
Acupuncture for heel pain is never used without some other form of treatment. We use acupuncture to assist with the pain so that you can get on with your life and commence the exercise program that is often required to maintain a pain-free and health foot.