Don’t let heel pain dictate what you can and can’t do.
From standing all day on the job to pounding the pavement every morning, there are a variety of everyday habits that can take a toll on your feet and lead to heel pain if you aren’t careful. While there are many problems, disorders and injuries that can lead to heel pain, the most common cause is an inflammatory condition known as plantar fasciitis. Our Windham and Scarborough, ME, podiatrist Dr. Peter Ocampo is here to tell you the best ways to tackle your plantar fasciitis-related heel pain.
First and foremost, it’s important to know whether or not your heel pain is the result of plantar fasciitis. This means coming into our office to visit with our foot doctor for a proper evaluation and diagnosis. After all, you want to make sure that the care and treatment you receive will actually help you heal, right? Once we determine that your heel pain is due to plantar fasciitis here are some of the most common heel pain treatment options.
Conservative Treatment Options
The first course of action when it comes to treating your heel pain is to offer up simple, less aggressive approaches. Since this inflammatory condition will go away on its own, often times the only thing that is needed is for our Scarborough, ME, foot doctor to provide ways to manage your symptoms until the problem clears up. Common at-home conservative treatment options include:
- Elevating the foot above your heart whenever you are sitting down to alleviate swelling
- If pain is bad, try an over-the-counter pain reliever like ibuprofen, which can temporarily reduce pain and inflammation
- Avoiding high-impact activities or exercises that could put stress on the plantar fascia, the tissue that runs along the soles of your feet (it’s important to rest as much as possible)
- Wearing shoes that provide ample arch and sole support. We can also create orthotics to place into your shoes to provide additional support and stability.
Other Treatment Options
With the proper care you should notice your heel pain dissipating; however, if your symptoms are getting worse or aren’t responding to at-home care within two weeks then you need to call us. In some situations heel pain may require more aggressive treatment options like corticosteroid injections, shockwave therapy or surgery.
Southern Maine Foot & Ankle offers a full range of podiatric services to the Scarborough and Windham, ME, areas. If you are dealing with heel pain don’t deal with the problem on your own. Turn to our expert foot team for help.