The heel hurts and it hurts to step on – what to do and how to treat it. Find out why your left heel hurts and why it hurts to step

The heels are an integral part of the foot. They consist of bone and a soft layer of fat. This structure helps the legs to withstand significant loads that occur when walking and running. Heel tissues relieve the pressure that appears during movement and protect against possible injuries spine. Together with the foot, they act as a shock absorber.

The heel bone is filled with blood vessels, nerve fibers and tendons, increasing the sensitivity of this part of the foot to external injury. It is easy to damage it, and, as a result, pain will be felt when walking. The high likelihood of injury is largely due to the anatomical structure of the heels.

It hurts to step on your heel in the morning after waking up

Heel pain in the morning is a common occurrence. Painful sensations appear immediately after sleep. As soon as you get out of bed, an unpleasant pain covers almost the entire foot. You have to walk on tiptoe because stepping on your foot completely is painful.

The pain gradually goes away, but may return after prolonged sitting or lying down. The unpleasant syndrome makes itself felt immediately after a person steps on his foot.

The reason for this condition is plantar fasciitis . Heel pain is the main symptom of this disease. In most cases, painful sensations are caused by inflammatory and degenerative changes occurring in the plantar connective tissue membrane - fascia.

Reasons contributing to negative processes:

Foot overload. It occurs when:
- wearing shoes, sandals or boots without heels;
- significant and rapid growth motor activity;
- constantly being on your feet, this is due to the type of production activity;
- rapid gain of additional kilograms.
Flat feet, in which the arch of the foot drops and the plantar membrane is overstretched. The result is microtraumas that cause pain.

Inflammation of the fascia can become chronic over time. This process leads to calcium salts being deposited in the area of inflammation. Gradually, a bone growth forms - a heel spur. She calls pain syndrome, especially unpleasant in the morning.

It hurts to step on your heel: possible reasons

The causes of painful sensations can be grouped into several groups.

I. Systemic ailments:

Ankylosing spondylitis (Bechterew's disease) – chronic inflammation joints and spine. The cause of the disease is hostility immune system a person to the tissues of the ligaments and joints of his own body. The vertebrae become fused with one another, and the spine ceases to be flexible and mobile. Often, heel pain is the first symptom of the disease. It is so painful that it makes it impossible to stand on a hard floor.
Rheumatoid arthritis– one of the most severe joint ailments. It occurs with multiple complications. The painful syndrome initially appears only during movement. When inflammation increases, painful sensations can wake you up at night and disturb you until the morning.
Gout. This metabolic disease is characterized by the fact that various fabrics The body accumulates urate crystals in the form of uric acid. Acute pain appears in the joints. They become red, hot and swollen. Gout most often affects the joints thumb on the lower extremities, spreading pain to the heel bone.

II. Injuries:

Heel bone bruise, which is subsequently accompanied by inflammation of neighboring tissues. There is a burning pain under the heel, as if it had been pierced by a sharp arrow. She becomes unbearable when trying to stand on her injured leg.
Calcaneal fracture. Pain syndrome occurs in the area of injury. The heel is deformed inward or outward. The entire foot swells and becomes covered with small hematomas. It’s impossible to step on your foot: the pain doesn’t allow it.
Tendon rupture or sprain. It is better not to bend the sole: the sensation is very painful.
Sever's disease (calcaneal epiphysitis). The disease manifests itself in the form of micro-tears of connective tissue fibers in the area of the heel bone. I am worried about pain on the lateral and back surface of the heel. It can be felt when palpating the foot, but mainly occurs during active movement.

III. Inflammatory diseases:

Bursitis– inflammation that appears after injury or constant mechanical irritation of the limbs. It happens that visible reasons There are no bursitis. The disease is characterized by all the classic signs of inflammation: redness and swelling of the heel, pain when touched. If inflammation becomes chronic, the skin thickens.
Achilles tendonitis. The provoking factor for the development of inflammation is too huge pressure on calf muscles. The skin temperature rises, the heels swell and turn red. The inflamed tendon can rupture, making a characteristic bursting sound.
No emergency medical care not enough.

IV. Infectious diseases:

Tuberculosis of bone. It begins with necrosis of large areas of skin or melting of bone matter. Infectious process covers a significant area, provokes the formation of purulent fistulas. After a few weeks, it may stop and the person will go into remission. But more often the disease leads to limb deformation and lameness.
Reactive arthritis. The disease is provoked by urogenital and intestinal infections that occur in a latent form. Heel pain does not only occur during walking. They often disturb you at night. At the same time, the pain is quite strong and more unpleasant than in the daytime.
Osteomyelitis of the calcaneus– a purulent-necrotic process caused by bacteria. It develops into bones and bone marrow, covers the surrounding soft fabrics. The pain is sharp and boring, bursting from the inside. They intensify with the slightest movement. The heel becomes red and swollen.

V. Other diseases:

diabetes;
malignant neoplasms;
tibial nerve neuropathy.

Diagnose specific disease only a doctor can. It is necessary to contact a rheumatologist or traumatologist. You may also need to consult a neurologist, surgeon, or oncologist.

Therapy for heel pain

After passing the examination, the specialist prescribes complex therapy. Its composition depends on the cause of the pain.

To reduce pain and prevent it, you should use the following recommendations:

Pay attention to choosing the right shoes. It may be more expensive, but more convenient and comfortable. The most acceptable heel height is 4–5 centimeters.
If you are overweight, you should work to get rid of it. Excessive kilograms overload the muscles of the feet.
Do some exercise for your legs. It involves flexing and straightening your feet for two or three minutes. It is best to do exercises while sitting. It’s a good idea to roll the massage ball with your bare feet and try to pick up some small objects with your toes.
If possible, walk barefoot on sand and grass.

Treatment of heel pain with folk remedies

Many tips traditional medicine effectively help reduce painful sensations. Here are some methods:

Contrasting foot baths. You need to prepare two vessels: one with warm water, the other with cold water. The feet should be dipped into them one at a time and held for several minutes. Then wipe your feet dry and put on cotton socks.
Relaxing baths. Add 100 grams of sea salt and a teaspoon of pine extract to warm water (4–5 liters). Immerse your feet in the bath and hold for a quarter of an hour. The second way to carry out the procedure: chop the cabbage stalk using a grater and pour boiling water over it; let sit for half an hour and add a little hot water. You should keep your feet in this bath for about twenty minutes.
Turn 0.25 kg of orris root into pulp. Pour the same amount of vodka into it and leave it in a dark room for a couple of weeks. The tincture is used to prepare compresses: moisten a bandage, apply to the heel and wrap it with plastic wrap. In the morning, remove the bandage. It is necessary to use compresses with iris for at least twenty days in a row.
Prepare a mixture of honey and mumiyo. The components should be dissolved in the following quantities: 2 tablespoons of honey (tablespoons) and 5 grams of mumiyo. Homemade ointment should be used to lubricate your heels before going to bed.

Propolis, black radish, lilac flowers, garlic, and potato pulp are also used.

Folk remedies can be used in parallel with taking medicines and carrying out procedures prescribed by the doctor.

The simple methods described above can only temporarily relieve discomfort. In order for heel pain to stop bothering you, you need to diagnose the cause of the problem. Only a specialist can do this.

Heel pain - an unpleasant symptom that accompanies injuries, excessive stress on this part of the foot. Causes of discomfort and pain may occur when the bone, the patient is overweight, adipose tissue the heels become thinner, and they absorb shocks worse when running. The heel can hurt when there is severe tension in the heel bone, when the patient walks in high-heeled shoes or stands for a long time.

Pain sensations due to inflammation in joint tissue and muscles, infectious diseases and other pathologies cannot be excluded.

Causes of pain and their symptoms

Plantar fasciitis

Painful sensations associated with this disease begin in the morning after a person gets out of bed. When you step on your heel, the pain spreads throughout your entire foot; you have to practically walk on tiptoe to get rid of the discomfort.

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Irina Martynova. Graduated from Voronezh State University medical University them. N.N. Burdenko. Clinical resident and neurologist of the Moscow Polyclinic.

After unpleasant symptoms go away, but if the patient lies or sits for a long time, they return sharply again.

The causes are inflammation of the connective tissue of the sole (fascia). Prerequisites:

Constantly wearing low-heeled shoes
Great physical activity
Standing for long periods of time
Excess weight
Flat feet (when the arch of the foot drops, the sole experiences tension, becomes injured and hurts).
The process can become chronic, often accompanied by salt deposition, leading to the formation of heel spurs.

Systemic pathologies

Ankylosing spondylitis. Characterized by an inflammatory process in the spine and joint tissue, it begins due to disruptions in the immune system and its hostility to ligaments and joints. As the disease progresses, the vertebrae fuse together and the spine stops bending. Pain appears at the very beginning of the disease.
Rheumatoid arthritis. Affects the patient's joints, begins with movement, intensifies at night. Sometimes the pain doesn't let you sleep at night.
– a pathology that occurs when the metabolic process is disrupted. Uric acid salts accumulate in soft tissues. Pain begins, radiating to the joints, often the most severe symptoms begin in the feet and toes, pain radiates to the heel. The skin turns red and the local skin temperature rises.

Injuries

Heel fracture. The pain is localized at the site of injury, and deformation of the heel bone occurs. The patient complains of swelling and the appearance of hematomas. The pain is so severe that it is impossible to stand on your feet.
Bone bruise. Characterized by inflammation of nearby tissues. A burning pain appears in the heel area, and it hurts to stand on your foot.
. When bending the foot, the pain intensifies. The cause may be a sprained ligament.
Calcaneal epiphysitis. The reason is micro-tears in the connective tissue in the heel area. There is discomfort when walking or touching the foot.

Inflammatory processes

Bursitis. It begins after mechanical impact or leg injuries. The heel swells, hurts, and the skin turns red. Pain is felt on palpation. If inflammation progresses to chronic stage, then the skin of the heel becomes rougher and thicker.
Tendinitis. The prerequisite is a large load on the calf muscles. Observed local increase temperature, edema and swelling of the heel.

Infectious diseases

Tuberculosis of bone tissue. Manifestations of the disease begin with necrosis of the skin or bones. The infection quickly spreads to large areas of tissue; fistulas filled with pus are formed. Consequences of the disease: deformation of the affected leg and lameness.
Arthritis. Prerequisites: infections of the gastrointestinal tract and genitourinary tract that occur hidden. Pain begins when walking and intensifies at night.
Osteomyelitis. This inflammation, caused by bacteria, forms in the bone tissue and affects nearby soft tissue. The pain is bursting, acute, becomes stronger with movement. The skin of the heel turns red and swells.

Which doctors should I contact?

For heel pain, the following may help:

Podologist (a doctor specializing in pathologies of the lower leg and foot). He performs the functions of a neurosurgeon, orthopedist, vascular surgeon, etc.
Surgeon
Traumatologist
Orthopedist

Treatment

When heel pain occurs, depending on the cause of the pathology You can prescribe a course of massage, apply compresses, drink nutritional supplements for bone tissue restoration.

An effective remedy would be folk recipes, created from natural products, honey, medicinal herbs.

First aid for pain

To eliminate acute pain, cinquefoil tincture with alcohol is used. You can buy the liquid at a pharmacy kiosk and make it yourself. The resulting mixture is diluted with water (2 teaspoons of tincture per 1/3 of a glass). Course of treatment: 20 days, 3 times a day. A compress of tincture on the heel also helps. A compress is applied at night.
Another excellent remedy, which allows you to quickly relieve pain is a compress with propolis. Apply a compress, apply a bandage or insulate the leg with a scarf.
If the cause of acute unbearable pain is a spur, then it will help White cabbage. It is chopped and poured with boiling water in a basin. We wait for the broth to cool down a little and steam our feet in the warm cabbage infusion until it becomes cold.
Apply a compress from ammonia mixed with vegetable oil. The ingredients are taken in a ratio of 1 to 1. We soak a tampon in it and place it on the heel.

Folk recipes

These are compositions made from infusions and decoctions of medicinal plants, vegetables, fruits, bee products, salt, tar, etc.

The use of these funds by patients can be external or internal.

External use

Compresses

An effective method to relieve pain: a compress of boiled potatoes in “uniforms”. It will help remove heel spurs, eliminate salt deposits and calluses. Warm potatoes are mashed without peeling to a puree state and placed on the heel. We tie the affected area of the foot with polyethylene and put a warm scarf on top. Leave on the heel for 2-3 hours. Course of treatment: week.
A mixture of grated garlic and chalk. Mix grated garlic cloves and crushed chalk in a 1 to 1 ratio and mix thoroughly. Steam the feet in warm water and apply the mixture to the heel, securing with gauze or bandage.
If your heels hurt badly or spurs have formed, a compress of grated radish will help. To do this, several radish fruits are grated on a fine grater without peeling. The resulting mass is spread on cloth or gauze and applied to the affected area. Cover the compress with polyethylene on top. The patient puts on socks on top and goes to bed. In the morning the compress is washed off warm water.

Baths

We take two containers, which we fill with cold and hot water. Take turns holding the limbs first in hot water, then in cold water for half a minute. We repeat thirty times. You can enrich hot water with a decoction of chamomile. After the procedure, lubricate the feet nourishing cream or vegetable oil and massage.
With the help of such a bath you can quickly relieve pain and increase blood flow in the extremities. Take a liter of boiling water, three hundred grams of salt dissolves in it. Pour the resulting solution into the prepared container. Heels are treated in this way for 14 days.

Ointments, creams

A mixture of mumiyo with liquid honey works effectively. Take five grams of mountain resin and dissolve it in 2 tablespoons of honey. Every evening we lubricate our heels until the symptoms are completely eliminated.
An ointment based on wild rosemary and lanolin will help eliminate pain and make your heels healthy. To do this, wash the collected wild rosemary grass and pass it through a meat grinder (shred with a food processor). Squeeze the juice out of the resulting slurry. Take 20 ml of juice, mix 40 g. butter(lanolin) and stir until smooth. We enrich the ointment with 40 grams of Vaseline and mix again. The ointment is used after steaming the feet and lightly rubbed until completely absorbed. Keep the resulting medicine in the refrigerator.

Internal use

Infusions and decoctions

Take 6 teaspoons of plant material (yellow capsule flowers) and pour a liter of boiling water. Place on low heat and simmer for another 15 minutes. Let it brew for an hour, strain, and add warm water to a liter of liquid. Take 100 grams 3 times a day during meals. Relieves joint pain, eliminates inflammation of muscles in the feet, eliminates pain from bruises.
Take one hundred grams of birch buds, add two and a half liters of water and prepare the decoction until the volume of liquid is reduced to 0.5 liters. Strain the broth from the kidneys, add a glass of granulated sugar. After the medicine has cooled, you need to add a glass of liquid honey to it and stir. The product is drunk 100 grams 3 times a day.
To eliminate the inflammatory process, take crushed rosehip roots in a mortar and fill them with boiling water. Boil them for 30 minutes, then leave for a couple of hours and strain through cheesecloth, add a little water. Dosage: 150 grams 3-4 times a day.

Herbal teas

Tea made from lingonberry leaves is good for eliminating heel pain. To do this, take a tablespoon of raw material, brew it with boiling water and leave for 15–20 minutes.
To relieve pain, tea prepared from chamomile or calendula herbs is suitable.

Alternative techniques

Massage using a kitchen rolling pin. This measure will help not only remove the formed heel spur, but also prevent its development and formation. Take a rolling pin, place it on the floor and roll it back and forth with your heel for 15 minutes. This way you can strengthen the muscle tissue of the foot and increase blood flow. After treatment, a bath is made and a compress with medicinal herbs is applied.
Heat half a kilogram of coarse salt in a cast iron frying pan (without vegetable oil). Pour it into a container, wait until the salt cools down a little, and heat the heel in it. The procedure continues until the warm salt has cooled completely. Course of treatment: 7–14 days.
We take country moonshine (150 grams), set it on fire, place the heel over the hot flame and warm it up over the fumes. Then we smear the foot with rosehip oil and massage with vigorous movements. Alternatively, instead of a massage, you can use rolling an ear of corn on the floor or walking on a pebble.

Prevention

As preventive measures will do refusal from running and race walking. The patient is recommended to ride a bicycle and swim in the pool.

If a person suffers from flat feet, then it is necessary to purchase special insoles recommended by an orthopedist, and generally wear comfortable shoes.

You should not put heavy physical stress on your feet; you should beware of foot injuries and treat your feet at the first signs of inflammation or infection of soft tissues.

If you are overweight, you need to go on a diet to reduce it so that the load on the foot is less.

Based on this, we can conclude that pain in the heel can be treated not only with medications, but also with traditional medicine recipes. It should be remembered that you first need to consult a doctor and identify the root cause of the disease.

In some cases, the cause can only be eliminated through surgery.

Heel pain- one of the common problems that most often worries pregnant women, elderly people, athletes, and schoolchildren. Sometimes you can easily cope with such pain; for this they make baths, compresses, and apply ointments. True, if the malaise is provoked by some serious illness, you can get rid of unpleasant sensations only after a full examination and identification of the root cause.

In young years, when, as usual, the legs do not bother them, they take it for granted and do not pay much attention to them. But as soon as any problem with the legs is discovered, we immediately begin to realize how much our life and our mood can greatly depend on it. Extremely unpleasant heel pain, which are so painful, can practically knock you out of your usual rut for a long time. After all, even a short walk becomes a real test of endurance.

Main causes of heel pain

There can be many causes of pain. And its source may not necessarily be a serious and intractable disease. Among the reasons that cause unpleasant pain in the heels may be external negative factors or various diseases.

The most known reasons:

A sudden transition from high heels to completely flat soles that are not shock-absorbing at all can cause acute pain in the foot and heels.
Often the factor that provokes painful sensations feet, especially for women, may be caused by wearing uncomfortable high-heeled shoes - stiletto heels. The load on the foot is distributed unequally. Part of the foot turns out to be “overloaded” - the toe and heel area are constantly under tension, and part is inactive. As a result, intense pain of a shooting nature appears in the heel.
Heavy loads during sports training– if pain appears after jogging, then you need to temporarily switch to another type of muscle activity.
Injuries or bruises to the heel may be one of the causes of burning pain. The inflammatory process may not necessarily appear when the heel is damaged. Pain usually occurs when ligaments are damaged ankle joint. When moving, you may feel as if a needle is sticking into your leg, which with each step is piercing deeper and deeper into the body. In this case, you should try not to step on the injured leg and consult a doctor as soon as possible.
In the second half of pregnancy, a woman’s body weight increases from 6 to 18 kg. As a result, due to weight gain and poor circulation, pain may occur, which is usually felt when walking and in the evening. Thin girls are more prone to gain weight.

The most well-known and most common diseases that can cause heel pain are:

Obesity and hormonal changes can cause sudden weight gain.
Heel spurs are inflammation of the ligaments and peculiar bone growths on the plantar surface in the area of the heel bone. The main symptom of a heel spur is acute pain, which is felt especially when walking, in the morning, as soon as a person gets out of bed, upon palpation, deformation and swelling of the soft tissues are visually observed. The presence of a heel spur can be determined by ultrasound or by taking an x-ray of the foot.
Ankylosing spondylitis is rare chronic illness, which entails aggression of the immune system towards the joints of the spine and soft cartilage tissue. Inflammation in joints and bone tissue.
Gout is characterized by inflammation of the joint tissues. The disease occurs due to metabolic disorders and causes the accumulation of uric acid salts in the joints. Often leads to illness overuse salty and sour foods. Long-term unpleasant paroxysmal pain that goes away over time.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a joint disease that usually affects the lower extremities. Pain is felt when walking, and if the disease is advanced, even at rest.
Intestinal infection and pathogens in the genitourinary system - these diseases often cause reactive arthritis, which progresses quite quickly. Infection from the genital organs moves lower.
A malignant tumor quite often develops in the heel area. Initially, a small tubercle is formed, around which many expanded blood vessels. The tumor grows and hardens over time.
Tibial nerve palsy paralyzes the muscles and makes it difficult to bend the foot and toes.
Bone tuberculosis - a disease caused by the death of a part skin. Subsequently, the disease affects the bone tissue, and the cartilage seems to melt.
Cracked heels when walking cause a lot of inconvenience and discomfort. Formed in the layer of hardened skin deep cracks when inflamed, cause acute pain and bleed, delivering severe discomfort and making any walk painful and unbearable.
Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation that develops in the fascia - a tough connective tissue membrane that is located in a wide strip along the surface of the sole of the foot. A common symptom of heel pain is usually caused by inflammation of the fascia where it attaches to the heel tuberosity. If fasciitis is not treated in a timely manner, calcium salts may be deposited at the site of chronic inflammation, leading to the formation of heel spurs.
Reactive arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the joints, which can develop after certain infections, most often after infectious diseases genitourinary system, intestinal infections of the gastrointestinal tract. Some pathogens that enter the body can cause pain in the feet and heels. In most cases, these are genital infectious diseases. Hidden microorganisms serve as a source of reactive acute inflammation in the calcaneal tendon. With this disease, pain in the heel area is felt constantly, and is especially felt at night.
Damage to the Achilles tendon and its inflammation is common cause severe pain above the heel. This type of injury usually occurs in professional athletes, although it can also occur in ordinary people in case of strong physical exertion or an unsuccessful jump.

These diseases cannot be cured on your own, so you need to contact different specialists:

rheumatologist;
traumatologist;
surgeon;
phthisiatrician;
oncologist;
neurologist;
orthopedist,

so that the doctor, during a medical examination and based on the nature of the pain, finds out the cause of the disease. This makes it easier to diagnose the disease and helps the doctor prescribe effective treatment to get rid of pain.

Types of heel pain

Pain in the heel is divided into the following types:
1. Aching pain. In most cases, they occur due to rapid weight gain. Occurs in women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Often aching pain causes wearing uncomfortable shoes or high heels. Often the cause of such pain is fasciitis - chronic inflammation of the ligamentous tissues that hold the bones in a certain position. Typically, this disease is experienced by people who are forced to stand on their feet for a long time and stand in one position - hairdressers, salesmen and surgeons.

2. Spicy stabbing pain. Such pain is experienced by people suffering from gout, reactive arthritis, and fractures. With fractures, the heel becomes deformed and can skew to the right or left.

3. Heel pain when walking. If nothing bothers you at rest, but when you move, problems arise. sharp pains, then it most likely could be inflammation of the Achilles tendon.
4. Heel pain in the morning. If it hurts to stand on your feet after waking up, then most likely it is a heel spur. The pain may subside after a short walk. Sometimes a heel spur can be a nuisance at night and cause sleepless nights.
5. Heel pain during pregnancy. As usual, they are aching in nature, and can occur at the end of the day. It is enough to walk for one hour, and pain occurs when putting stress on the heels. After childbirth and weight loss, the pain goes away.
6. Painful sensations at rest. Usually discomfort appear at the end of the working day and constant standing. My legs start to hurt a lot in the evening. If work activity is not associated with constant standing, then pain at rest can be triggered by infectious diseases of the genital organs or infectious diseases of the intestines. Usually they can occur after an exacerbation of chronic diseases.
7. Postpartum heel pain. If there was no pain during pregnancy, and after labor was resolved, unpleasant pain in the heels began to appear, then most likely it could be nerve damage lumbar region in the spine. Sometimes an incorrect course of labor can cause lameness in a woman in labor. This usually happens to women who have a very narrow pelvis or when a large baby is born.
8. Throbbing pain. With the appearance of throbbing pain and swelling in the heel area, one can judge the presence of bacterial infection, which often occurs against the background of fasciitis or fungus.
9. Burning heel pain syndrome, which develops when different forms polyneuropathy. It is characteristic of him nagging pain in the muscles, burning sensations, muscle cramps, a feeling of numbness, tingling or “crawling” in the lower extremities while walking, and at times in the upper body - the shoulder and pelvic girdle. At rest, these symptoms are noticeably reduced.

Treatments for heel pain

If heel pain occurs, the most correct solution– do not delay until later and do not try to treat yourself, but urgently consult a doctor for qualified advice to determine the cause of the disease and prevent the occurrence various complications such a state.
There are many medical supplies, pharmaceutical ointments, as well as time-tested traditional treatments that are used to relieve pain in the heel. It is important only in accordance with the doctor’s recommendations to select the most effective and the right means, and start comprehensive treatment in a timely manner.

Medications to treat heel pain

The appropriate medications are prescribed by a doctor, and if a drug relieves someone of heel pain, this does not mean that everyone who suffers from a similar illness should purchase it. This especially applies to tablets. Gels, solutions and ointments also need to be handled with care.

Characteristics of medications:

Anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs. Taking anti-inflammatory drugs non-steroidal drugs relieves pain, however, they cannot be used for a long time due to the great variety of side effects. Such drugs are produced in the form of a gel, they can quickly relieve pain, however, healing effect there is no relief from such a drug, it cannot eliminate the cause of pain, and it is often prescribed by orthopedists to relieve pain. Preparations of such pharmacology, produced in ampoules, are intended for intramuscular injections and is used for the treatment of chronic arthritis in the acute stage and for fasciitis.
Anti-inflammatory analgesic antipyretic drugs. Available in ampoules for injection, as well as in the form of ointments, suppositories and tablets. It is most effective to use rectal suppositories, because they are quickly absorbed by the intestines and have a minimal number of contraindications. The medicine does not eliminate the very cause of pain, but only blocks pain, reducing pain, relieves inflammation and fever. Used to treat symptomatic heel pain caused by arthritis, fasciitis, and heel spurs.
Anti-inflammatory anesthetic and antimicrobial drugs local action. Available in liquid form in bottles. Used primarily as a warming agent aqueous solution, which by means of heat reduces pain symptoms, the medicine also relieves inflammation and swelling.

Folk remedies for treating heel pain

As a rule, people do not immediately seek treatment from a qualified specialist, but use recommendations traditional healers and try to get rid of pain using traditional methods. In no traditional medicine There are many simple and quite effective recipes for relieving heel pain and reducing inflammation. Most often, compresses, ointments, and baths using medicinal herbs are used.

Folk remedies:

Pain in the heels can be relieved with contrast baths, alternating heat and cold. This is done using two basins of the same volume with cold and hot water, alternately dipping the feet first into cold and then into warm water. Instead of plain water, you can also use a decoction of chamomile. After this procedure, you can massage your heels.
Using an ice bed with lemon juice. A small plastic bag filled with ice cubes made from diluted lemon juice, wrapped in a towel, is placed on the sore heels. The duration of the procedure is up to fifteen minutes. This “pillow” is used after heavy loads on the foot and sports training.
You can localize heel pain caused by a spur with the help of marsh cinquefoil - a common and popular plant that has a strong anti-inflammatory effect. Thanks to this plant, the immune system is normalized and the process of removing salts from the body is accelerated. To prepare the medicine: one tbsp. l. dilute marsh cinquefoil tincture with 1/3 tbsp. water, drink orally 3 times a day before eating. The duration of the course is 20 days, then take a break for 10 days. If necessary, the course can be repeated.
Walnut tincture, which is taken orally, helps relieve heel pain. The product is prepared from 20 gr. chopped walnuts, pour in 200 ml of vodka and infuse for 10 days. The medicine is taken one tablespoon 3 times a day before meals. Treatment like this folk remedy effectively relieves heel pain.
Compresses with black radish. To do this, grate the washed root vegetable along with the skin on a fine grater. Afterwards, the paste is spread on gauze and applied to the sore heel, then the compress is secured with a plastic bag and placed on top with an elastic bandage. The procedure can be done every day and left overnight. In the morning, rinse your feet with warm water. Treatment is carried out until complete healing.
A tincture made from dried lilac flowers also helps to get rid of painful sensations in the heels. The plant needs to be infused with vodka in a ratio of 1/10 for ten days. Then strain and consume a teaspoon per 50 ml of boiled water 2-3 times a day. At the same time, you need to rub the sore spot at night.
For heel pain, you can also use fresh knotweed grass, put it in your shoes, and walk with it throughout the day. In the morning the grass is changed to fresh.

Using ointments for heel pain

In traditional medicine, ointments prepared on the basis of:

anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs. They are easy to apply to the affected area, they quickly relieve inflammation and pain. Among other things, they have minimal side effects, because they are practically not absorbed into the blood. Used for muscle pain and joint diseases, the affected area must be lubricated with ointment three times during the day and lie down for a while until completely absorbed.
Ointments based on anti-inflammatory substances are often used after joint surgery to relieve pain after injuries.
Preparations based on phenylbutazone are effectively used for arthritis, gout, bursitis, and heel spurs. Medicines are applied to the skin with a thin film up to three times a day.
The drug based on piroxicam anesthetizes and is quickly absorbed into the skin. The ointment is applied after surgical intervention, at closed fractures heels, as well as when treating heel spurs, the medicine is applied three times a day.

Compresses for heel pain

For heel pain, compresses are often used, using ready-made pharmaceutical solutions or prepared independently. As a rule, hot pepper, vodka, garlic, cinnamon, medical alcohol and other warming products are used.

Compress recipes:

A popular recipe using a grated onion and a spoon of pharmaceutical birch tar can cure heel pain. Apply a homogeneous onion mass in a thick layer to the heel. Cover the top with a cloth folded in three layers and secure with a bandage, leave the application for five hours. Rinse off with warm water. The procedure is carried out for five days in a row.
Red hot pepper is used to create a warming effect. The red pepper pod along with the seeds are ground in a meat grinder. Add 30 ml of bee nectar to the pulp. All work must be done with gloves and protect your eyes. Place the mixture on a cloth and secure with a bandage, leave on the heel for at least 4, maximum 6 hours. After the compress, lubricate the skin with a rich cream. Hot pepper cannot be used for wounds on the feet, cracks, or watery calluses.
To prepare a garlic-based compress: grate five cloves and mix the mixture with crushed white school chalk. Apply the paste onto gauze and apply to the sore spot, leaving for three to five hours. The product should not be used when open wounds and cracked heels.
An effective remedy for heel pain is a mixture of a tablespoon of honey, 50 milliliters of iodine and a teaspoon of fine salt. Apply the mixture to gauze and before going to bed, apply it to the affected area, cover the top with polyethylene and secure well with bandages, leave the bandage overnight. This amount of mixture is enough for five procedures, during which you can get rid of heel spurs if you have been diagnosed with this disease. IN for preventive purposes Repeat treatment after six months.

Potato compresses also help relieve heel pain:
1) Mash the potatoes boiled in their skins well, add 10 ml of Lugol and mix thoroughly. Apply the still hot mixture to the sore spot and, securing it with a gauze bandage, leave the compress until it cools completely. This compress can be used every day for a week.
2) Pour 30 ml of purified kerosene into the mashed potatoes cooked in their jackets. Apply the mixture to the sore spot and wrap it in cellophane. Put on socks on top and walk around for three hours. The course of treatment is 8-12 procedures.
— To prepare medicine from pharmaceutical bile, you need to mix 30 ml of the product and 20 ml of medical alcohol with a spoonful of grated laundry soap. Apply the mixture to the sore spot and cover with a cloth. Keep the compress on for three to five hours. After the compress, wash your feet with warm water and massage. The course of treatment is 10 procedures.
— Folk methods also recommend a special flatbread made from honey and oatmeal for pain relief. Place a cake on the steamed, affected leg and wipe it dry and secure it with a bandage. It is recommended to keep such a compress on the leg for as long as possible. The course of treatment is 10 procedures.

Treatment of heel pain with baths

Healing baths effectively help relieve foot discomfort, inflammation, and pain. Typically, sea salt, herbal infusions, as well as vegetables and fruits are used for baths.

Bath recipes:

In a basin with 2.5 liters warm water add a tablespoon baking soda and pour in 20 ml of iodine. Dip your feet into the liquid and hold until the solution cools completely. It is not recommended to use the bath for fractures or bruises of the heel.
Pour 20 g of dried nettle leaves into a liter of boiling water and cook for two minutes. Leave until completely cool and then reheat. Keep the heels in the strained broth until they cool completely. Carry out the procedure every day before going to bed.
Grate the cabbage stalk, pour boiling water over it and boil for five minutes, then strain. Pour the broth into a bowl and add a small amount of hot water. Immerse your feet in a basin with the solution and hold for at least 15 minutes. Carry out the procedure the night before bedtime.

Preventing heel problems

First things first, you need to refrain from exercising. race walking or running, because these sports are not very protective of the legs, in favor of cycling or swimming in the pool. It is important to lead to normal indicators weight. After all, every additional kilogram harms not only the entire body, but also the heels, which need to withstand these extra pounds.

If there is at least the slightest symptoms flat feet, you need to buy special orthopedic insoles. They help keep the muscles and ligaments of the foot in place. in good condition, and at the same time protect the heel.

Give preference to comfortable shoes with low heels, up to five centimeters. A heel of this height allows you to slightly relieve the heel and not overstrain the foot.

In order to prevent leg diseases, it is very useful to regularly engage in special therapeutic exercises.

A huge number of people are faced with the problem of pain in the heel when walking.

This is one of the symptoms characteristic of many diseases, or a consequence of an injury. Female representatives are more often susceptible to such diseases because they wear high heels, further increasing the load on their feet and heels.

Features of the heel structure

Together with the foot, the heel is considered a shock absorber. It consists of bone and a layer of fat, thanks to which it can withstand heavy loads when walking and running. Heel tissues reduce pressure during movement, protecting the spinal column from injury.

The heel bone is the largest of the twenty-six bones of the foot. It consists of vessels, blood, nerve endings, tendons. Heels are often susceptible various injuries, provoking pain syndrome.

Causes of heel pain when walking

If a person complains that the heel hurts, it hurts to step, the cause of this phenomenon may be pathologies that affect the structure of the foot, bones and joints, or injuries. Among the factors that provoke pain, which are not related to diseases, there are:

the stressed state of the foot structure for too long, as a result of which “heel pain syndrome” appears. This phenomenon is provoked by wearing uncomfortable shoes with a high instep, poor-quality insoles, or a sudden change from high heels to low ones. Foot tension is often a consequence of flat feet.
Depletion of the fat layer under the skin of the heel. This can lead to too much quick loss weight, increasing the amount of physical activity and movements.
Regularly being on your feet all day. This provokes excessive stress on the feet, after which, when a person walks, heel pain appears.
Active weight gain.

Fasciitis

This is an inflammatory process involving the fascia (the connective membrane responsible for distributing loads on the foot). Inflammation can be triggered by the following factors:

wearing uncomfortable shoes;

excess body weight;

diabetes.

If the causes of heel pain lie precisely in the presence of fasciitis, you can see the following characteristic symptoms:

Painful sensations are more pronounced in the morning.
The heel area becomes red, inflamed, and hot.

Therapy of the disease is carried out comprehensively, using medications and foot braces.

Heel spur

This is another pathology that makes it painful to step on your heels. A heel spur is a growth that forms as a result of the appearance of calcium salts on the heel, which begin to protrude beyond its limits, preventing comfortable movement. Often the disease is provoked by fasciitis present in a person. Distinctive features heel spurs from other diseases are:

pain during physical activity, provoked by the pressure of the growth on the soft tissue.
The appearance of a swelling that becomes very hard.
The existing growth is red and hot to the touch.

Treatment of the disease should begin immediately to avoid active growth of the spur, leading to the fact that the foot stops moving. To diagnose the disease, specialists send the patient for an X-ray or ultrasound. When the diagnosis is confirmed, the patient puts a special bandage on the foot to protect it from any pressure.

Tendenitis

Some people cannot determine the reason why their heel hurts and it hurts to step on it. This phenomenon can cause a stretch of the Achilles tendon, called tendonitis. The problem is a consequence of excessive loads on the foot, as well as damage to the heel area.

Tendenitis can be determined by the following: characteristic features:

pain in the heel area is localized on the side of the sole or above it. They become sharp when a person walks or rises on his toes. The most severe pain felt in the morning, several hours after waking up.
The pathology site is red, swollen, and hot to the touch.
It is difficult to move the foot and walk.

When treating tendonitis, you need to provide complete rest to your legs. To do this, they are wrapped with an elastic bandage.

Cold is applied to the heel to reduce acute attacks pain.

Arthritis and arthrosis

Heel pain when walking may be due to arthritis or arthrosis. Arthritis is an inflammatory process in the joints, which is provoked by infectious diseases, weakened immune system. In contrast, arthrosis is changes in the joints that appear with age.

Both diseases manifest themselves similarly:

painful sensations in the heels, which appear mainly in the evening. Discomfort may also occur in another area of the foot and may not subside even at night.
Physical activity becomes limited.
The joint increases in diameter and becomes deformed.
The site of the disease becomes very swollen.

To cure diseases, they take medications that eliminate the inflammatory process and painkillers. Advanced stages of diseases may require puncture of a joint affected by inflammation.

Erythromelalgia

It may be painful for a person to walk if they suffer from erythromelalgia, which is caused by dilation of blood vessels. There is such characteristic symptoms diseases:

the person experiences profuse sweating;
the pathological area becomes reddened;
the patient suffers from hyperemia;
a person feels a burning pain if he steps on his entire foot while walking.

Osteoporosis

To understand why your heels hurt when walking, you need to pay attention to the symptoms that are present. If pain is caused by osteoporosis, which reduces the density of the bone process, not only the heel, but the entire foot may hurt. The patient often experiences curvature spinal column That's why he's hunched over. The causes of the disease are considered:

poor nutrition;
Availability bad habits;
menopause that occurs too early in a woman;
After giving birth, a young mother breastfeeds for a long time.

Treatment of the disease primarily involves taking medications that will help replenish the body’s lack of vitamins and microelements.

Bursitis

This is a disease that provokes an inflammatory process in the synovial bursa. It appears unexpectedly, and a person experiences pain in the heels when walking. Symptoms characteristic of bursitis are:

swelling of the heel bone tubercle;
redness;
the place where the inflammatory process occurs is hot to the touch;
touching the heel, a person experiences severe discomfort and pain.

Bursitis therapy involves taking antibacterial drugs, complete rest of the legs, necessary physiotherapy.

Heel Spitz

The disease is otherwise called suspended wart. This is a dense, rounded formation that makes it painful to step on your heels and causes itching and burning of the affected area. Treatment of the disease is carried out by removing the pathology medicines or instrumentally.

Damage and injury

The heels withstand the greatest loads, so injuries are very common. The following types of injuries are distinguished:

heel bone crack;
Sever's disease;
bruised heel.

Calcaneal fracture

This phenomenon often occurs if a person lands on his heels from a height. The heel bone splits into pieces - this is main reason pain in the heels when walking. The affected area becomes swollen and bruising appears. The injured leg moves with difficulty or is completely immobilized.

Calcaneal epiphysitis or Sever's disease

Those who play sports professionally often wonder why their heels hurt after long walk. Painful sensations also bother them during physical exertion and when lifting on tiptoes. The damaged area is swollen, the calf muscles are limited in movement. When treating Sever's disease, the patient is recommended to wear a special heel pad that accelerates the regeneration of the damaged area.

Video

Plantar fasciitis

Treatment for heel pain

It is very important to know what to do if your heel hurts and it hurts to step on it. Treatment is determined after the underlying cause of the pain is diagnosed. Until the diagnosis is carried out, you must follow these recommendations:

provide your feet with rest, walk less;
stop wearing uncomfortable shoes, avoid high heels or flat soles;
if you have excess body weight, try to normalize its indicators;
do therapeutic exercises for the feet.

If the pain is not caused by a foot injury, the attending physician will conservative treatment. If you have diseases that make it painful to stand on your heel, therapy has the following features:

if there is a urogenital infection, it is recommended to take antibacterial agents that can overcome pathogenic microorganisms;
a person suffering rheumatoid arthritis, prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids;
to eliminate pain caused by bone tuberculosis, it is recommended antibacterial therapy, the use of anti-tuberculosis drugs of a synthetic nature.

For foot injuries that cause pain in the heels, orthoses and splints are often used. If a heel bone fracture is diagnosed, to immobilize lower limb apply a splint from the knees to the fingers.

When treating heel pain, doctors recommend various physiotherapeutic procedures and massage. Surgical intervention is carried out extremely rarely if the disease cannot be eliminated with the help of conservative therapy. The operation is performed when a tendon ruptures or it is necessary to remove a heel spur.

Arthritis is inflammation of the joints, bursitis is inflammation of the periarticular bursae. Both types of heel diseases affect the tissues that run along the foot and connect the heel bone to the toes. The pain is not felt immediately, at first you may not even pay attention to it, but it inevitably grows. The patient feels worse in the morning, but if a foot massage is performed, the pain subsides, but suddenly returns on tiptoe and when walking up the stairs.

People suffering from arthritis or bursitis are forced to “pace” in the morning when they have just gotten out of bed. It is especially difficult for those who are overweight. Heel pain can shoot through your entire body.

Plantar fasciitis

The fascia of the sole is nothing more than a compacted formation in connective tissues that go all over. Prolonged and constant wearing of tight or simply uncomfortable shoes creates a risk of inflammation in this area. Development plantar fasciitis provokes in the inflamed area, which very often leads to the formation of a heel spur.

Sudden changes in the musculoskeletal system of the foot can also cause unevenly distributed or excessive physical exercise. This often happens due to poor posture and injuries. As a result of these factors, the center of gravity shifts, which leads to the development of heel spurs.

Inflammation of the Achilles tendon

Reactive arthritis

Some infections can cause heel pain when walking, including: venereal diseases, chlamydia, gonococcus, etc. Reactive inflammation (arthropathy or Reiter's syndrome) of the heel tendons can also develop with hidden infections. In this case, the pain is strongly felt not only when walking, but also in any other position, especially when walking.

Reactive arthritis usually develops a month after an intestinal, respiratory or genitourinary infection. To the fore in clinical picture It is precisely the damage to the joints of the lower extremities that results.