Heel Pain-Part 3

There are some patients that have heel pain that is not caused by plantar fasciitis. Another frequent cause of heel pain is a stress fracture of the heel bone or calcaneus. The calcaneus is the biggest bone in the foot and can become injured from repetitive microtrauma (walking on a hard surface all day, running, jogging, marching), an injury (falls, jumps) and other causes. Poor bone density, chronic diseases (diabetes, peripheral vascular disease,cancer,autoimmune diseases), poor biomechanics, and poor shoegear can also contribute to an injury of the heel bone. Injuries to the calcaneus may be visible on x-rays, but sometimes, a more advanced test like an MRI may be needed to properly visualize the fracture or injury. Stress fractures of the calcaneus require immobilization. On some occasions, bone stimulators or surgery are indicated for severe cases. Heel pain? Give us a call, 708-763-0580.

Obesity and Heel Pain

This is the second blog on heel pain, and as September is Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, it is important to know that obesity causes foot problems for adults and kids. One of the main causes of plantar fasciitis (the leading cause of heel pain) is an increase in weight. For some people, this can be five pounds that they gain over the winter, but for others, it can be the extra pounds that they carry around every day for many years. For those with heel pain that are obese or have gained some weight recently, it is important to consider dietary changes and exercise to shed some pounds. Many people have such significant heel pain that they cannot run, walk, or do other weightbearing exercises. Some great alternatives are biking, swimming, and water exercises. These are gentler on the feet and also good forms of cardiovascular exercise. There are many other causes of heel pain, but Childhood Obesity Awareness Month made me think that this would be a great topic for this week's blog. Dr. Bender, 708-763-0580, oakparkpodiatry.com