Heel pain is one of the symptoms that can happen to almost everyone because every day we have to use our feet to walk, work or do various activities. Sometimes we may think that heel pain is just a normal pain that will go away soon, so we don’t pay enough attention to it. But in reality, heel pain that occurs may be a warning sign of a disease related to our feet and ankles, which could be from many diseases and each disease has a different level of severity.
People who have this condition often have heel pain after walking. The pain may occur after waking up in the morning. The pain may be worse with the first step out of bed. Or after stopping daily activities or exercising in the evening. If left untreated, the pain will become chronic and interfere with daily life. The symptoms may spread to the calves, knees, hips, สมัคร ufabet, and back. In addition, inflammation of the plantar fascia may cause walking postures to change from normal.
Heel pain is one of the symptoms that are quite common in the foot and ankle disease group, which can be caused by many diseases. The diseases that cause heel pain that are most common, in order of the first 3 diseases , are:
- Bruise
- Achilles tendonitis
- Ankle nerve compression
Of these three diseases, plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis are the two most common. Ankle nerve compression is much less common.
Preventing heel pain
- Lose weight because being overweight is one of the causes of heel pain. The most common area of inflammation is the heel. It starts with minor injuries that have accumulated over time. You should choose exercises that do not cause impact on the heel.
- Choose appropriate shoes or use gel insoles to reduce shock. Avoid wearing high heels for long periods of time.
- Practice stretching the Achilles tendon or plantar fascia to make it stronger and help reduce heel pain. Do this by sitting with the leg you want to stretch stretched out. Use a cloth to wrap around the tip of your foot and pull it towards you until you feel a stretch in the back of your calf. Hold for a count of 1-10, which is considered 1 time. Do this about 10-15 times. It is recommended to do this exercise every morning before getting out of bed.
- Long-term prevention to prevent recurrence should avoid activities that use the feet, such as standing or walking for too long, control weight changes, and choose shoes that fit the feet and provide good shock absorption.
Treatment of heel pain
- Rest: Try to reduce weight on your heel until the pain goes away.
- Cold can be used to reduce inflammation by using a small cloth that has been frozen and rubbed on the heel for about 5-10 minutes, or by soaking the heel in cold water for about 10-15 minutes, or by applying a cold compress for about 15-20 minutes. Cold should be used after exercise and stretching.
- Take painkillers and do stretching exercises to stretch the Achilles tendon and heel spurs to treat and prevent the pain from coming back.
- Taking oral anti-inflammatory drugs is quite effective, but can have side effects for those with digestive problems, such as stomach pain. In some cases, doctors may choose to inject anti-inflammatory drugs into the heel instead.
- In cases where other treatments have not worked, or if the inflammation is chronic and causes bone spurs in the heel, surgery is the last resort for treating plantar fasciitis.