Many different things can cause heel pain, narrowing the causes down independently is difficult. You want to have a professional examine you. There can be a variety of issues which ultimately contribute to this sort of discomfort. You could have an issue with your gait, or your posture, or your job; you might even have some sort of splinter.
Also, there can be issues related to infection. Certain flesh-eating microorganisms can get into the skin and begin to breed. There’s a very nasty condition called necrotizing fasciitis. If you’re unfamiliar, this is a flesh-eating bacteria that can be fatal if it isn’t stopped in time. Sometimes, conditions like necrotizing fasciitis start in the feet.
People walk in strange places, sometimes barefoot. Forms of necrotizing fasciitis exist on the beach. In places like Texas, where beaches are along the gulf, there can be a lot of waste material that washes up to the shore. Such bacteria is prone to this sort of environment, and might find its way into your heel through a cut in your foot.
However, for the most part, associated pain is going to be relatively minor, and owing to something which can be treatable in other ways. Here we’ll follow a few things you want to think about as you try to figure out what you’re dealing with. Working with a podiatrist in Silverdale, WA — or wherever you are—is best. Still, the following could be what causes pain.
- Heel Pain From Posture
If you have poor posture, it can affect your heels. If you lean forward too often with hunched shoulders, you’re putting your weight squarely on your heels. Try it. Lean forward with your shoulders hunched and your posterior out.
You’ll feel the weight rest on your heels. Do that for a few hours a day, and your heels will start to hurt. Fixing your posture and switching which leg you rest your weight on can certainly help assuage the pain. Also, take a load off and rest for a few minutes every couple of hours.
- Flat Feet And Walking A Lot
Arch issues tend to cause Plantar Fasciitis, orthotics help to rectify it. If you don’t have proper arches on the bottoms of your feet, and you walk a lot, you could feel the pain in your heels.
Orthotics are little inserts you put in your shoes. A plaster cast is made of your foot to figure out its exact arch, and a conforming insert is produced which you stick in your shoe. Over time, your body changes in terms of gait and musculature to match the orthotics. Pain eventually diminishes.
- Injuries: Rocks, Splinters, Cuts, And Bruises
Sometimes you’re dealing with a splinter that got pushed far up into your foot, and is causing pain. The skin on the bottom of your feet is thick, and you don’t get splinters there as often as you would in other areas of the body, given the same exposure. But a splinter hurts, causing you to favor your foot. This changes your gait, and can lead to complications.
Overcoming Foot Issues
If dealing with foot problems, you should consider the cause, and see what a podiatrist says. It may be something that has to do with your gait, your walking habits, your work, something like a splinter, or perhaps even some sort of infection.
Posture and genetic issues are often at play, also. Orthotics might change the game, helping you walk either with reduced pain, or none at all, in your heels.
