Want to be rid of your heel pain once and for all? The home care options listed below are common treatment options for addressing heel pain at home. Since there are many different causes for heel pain, understanding the reason your heels are causing you pain is necessary. This allows you to take precautionary measures to prevent yourself from experiencing heel pain in the future. Once you understand the cause, you can choose to apply one or more of the treatment options available for addressing pain in the heels of the feet.
Common causes of heel pain
Figuring out the cause of your heel pain is the first thing you need to do when you start experiencing pain in one or both of your heels. According to Harvard Health, although heel pain is sometimes caused by systemic illness, such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout, it usually is a local condition that affects only the foot. Two common causes of heel pain are plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendinitis. Additional causes include bone tumors, heel spurs, joint inflammation and stress fractures
Home care for heel pain
A few factors that make someone more prone to heel pain include having flat feet, being diagnosed with diabetes, being pregnant, being obese, wearing shoes that are too tight and participating in sports or activities that are high impact. The list below includes a variety of home care options for anyone who is experiencing pain in one or both of their heels.
Ice the heel
Placing ice on the area of pain can help bring relief. It can also help with any inflammation. The ice should be covered with a cloth and held on the painful area up to four times a day for anywhere between 15 and 20 minutes each time.
Stretch often throughout the day
Stretching can be beneficial when it comes to minimizing or even eliminating pain in one or both of the heels. The focus should be on stretching the back of the leg, specifically the calf muscles. Three popular stretching exercises for addressing heel pain include the heel reliever, the gastrocnemius heel drop and the soleus stretch.
Take over-the-counter pain medication
While taking pain relievers can mask the pain, it does not solve the heel pain problem. If the pain is temporary, then pain relievers can be beneficial until the pain is no longer present. If the pain is related to a problem that needs to be addressed by a podiatrist, however, taking pain relievers is only a temporary home care solution.
Need to make an appointment with our caring podiatrist?
If the above home care options for heel pain do not work for you, your next step is contacting us to make an appointment. We fully understand how difficult it can be for you to function while suffering from heel pain. That is why we encourage you to give us a call for an appointment so we can determine the cause, as well as offer you ideal treatment options to address your heel pain problem.
Get more information here: https://www.pocatellopodiatry.com or call Ambulatory Foot & Ankle Clinic at (208) 803-0010
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