Heel pain is terrible, but your podiatrist can help you find relief in many ways.
Do you wake up every morning with a sharp, stabbing heel pain? Is it worse as soon as you first get out of bed? You might have plantar fasciitis, a frequent cause of heel pain caused by inflammation of the thick connective tissue in the back of your heel.
This is one of the most frequent and excruciating conditions I treat as a podiatrist. People will do almost everything to get rid of that terrible, persistent heel pain. Do you want some good news? A wide variety of treatments exist, and many of them are simple, noninvasive, and effective. Want the bad news? Some so-called miracle cures are a little too experimental and are to be avoided at all costs. Learn more by reading on.
Getting Stung by a Bee to Treat Heel Pain
It’s true what you read in the header. Due to the anti-inflammatory properties of bee and hornet venom, some individuals are crazy enough to step on bees to relieve their heel pain.
Is it effective? Apparently. Will the stings hurt as much as or even more than your current issue? Most probably! So, if your heel hurts, would I advise exposing yourself to a swarm of bees? Never!
Hornet venom is being studied to determine whether it might assist with foot issues such as plantar fasciitis. So, whatever comes out of that study, which is supported by science, I will support. But if you want to get rid of heel pain without having to walk through a swarm of bees, keep reading for far simpler options.
How to Treat Heel Pain in Five Easy Steps
Want to avoid that discomfort? Consult a podiatrist and do the following five easy steps:
1) Stretch Your Legs
This step is important forrunners in particular. However, anybody suffering from heel pain should take this advise. After walking, running, sitting, or even a leisurely stroll, be sure to stretch your legs. Focus on loosening up your hamstrings, calves, and thighs since stiffness in any part of your legs can cause your tendon to experience more pressure each time you move.
Do you need some ideas? Here are three yoga-based heel stretches to help you relieve heel pain. Jenny Sugar, a CrossFitter and yoga instructor, provided them for PopSugar.
Yoga Poses for Heel Pain
Extended Wide Squat
This stretch simultaneously stretches your lower back and both hips. Then, as you lean forward, concentrate on pushing your heels into the floor to extend the bottoms of your calves and the backs of your ankles.
Extended wide squat
Stand with your feet just little wider than your hips. Kneel down and get your hips close to the floor. Roll up a towel and lay it beneath your heels for support if your heels don’t touch the floor.
Bring your palms together in the middle of your chest and squeeze your elbows firmly towards the inside of your knees. This will assist in further opening your hips.
To enhance the stretch in the hips and lower back, release the hands to the floor and move them further from your feet after five breaths. Put pressure on the heels and hold for an additional five breaths.
Runner’s Lunge
This stretch is excellent for loosening up your hip flexors, and you may stretch one arch at a time by pressing the heel of your straight leg back.
Runner’s lunge
From a plank position with the shoulders over the wrists, step your left foot forward to the outside of your left hand.
Hold for five breaths, pushing the right heel back actively.
Step back with your left foot and repeat with your right knee bent for another five breaths.
Tip-Toe Three-Legged Dog
Tip-Toe Three-Legged Dog
Lift your hips up from a plank position to achieve the upside-down V pose known as downward dog. Hold for five breaths while pushing your heels into the floor to stretch your calves.
Step your feet together until the big toes are in contact. Inhale and lift your left leg into the air for five breaths.
Next, go into Tip-Toe Three-Legged Dog by raising the right heel as high as you can to extend the right foot’s arch while simultaneously circling the left foot in all directions. Hold this position for five breaths while maintaining parallel shoulders to the floor.
Lower the left foot to the floor and do the same on the right side.
To experience a deeper stretch in the calves, consider lowering the heels even farther when you return to Down Dog with the right foot down.
2) Examine Your Shoes
Choose footwear with plenty of support in the heels and arches if you suffer from heel pain. When coping with plantar fasciitis, you should also try to avoid wearing high heels as much as possible. Your tendons will be put under additional stress from any heels, but notably tall, pointed ones. If not wearing heels at all is just not an option, try to keep the time you do spend wearing them to a minimum and keep the height to no more than three inches. At every chance, change your shoes for something more supportive. And if your heel pain is acting up, never go barefoot.
3) Pay Attention When You Run
Running athletes often experience heel pain. To prevent plantar fasciitis, runners must take precautions. Is there a simple method to do this? Don’t run on the sidewalks or the streets. Try to exercise on soft, even surfaces instead, such as a dirt track or a paved route.
You may lessen the stress on your feet each time you strike the ground by running on softer surfaces. That implies less strain and inflammation on your tendon, which should result in reduced heel pain!
4) Pause Work Outs
The importance of rest days and recuperation times cannot be overstated in any training program. Heel pain may be avoided by including a rest day into your schedule. One day may not be enough if you already have plantar fasciitis symptoms, however. You should avoid exercising while symptoms are present until the discomfort goes away. Visit your podiatrist when you’re missing the gym. You may be fitted for custom orthotics there. When you are able to restart regular exercises, they will assist in relieving some of the strain on your tendon.
5) Train to Lose Weight
You put pressure on your feet, heels, arch, and yes, plantar fascia when you carry additional weight. You put less strain on your lower extremities as you get closer to your ideal weight. Therefore, losing weight—along with the other solutions we’ve discussed in this post—might be a part of the answer if you consistently get heel pain.
Do you still have heel pain? Make a quick appointment by calling Dr. Ejodamen Shobowaleof DeNiel Foot and Ankle Center. We’ll talk about your pain right away and collaborate to find a quick fix for your heel pain. I guarantee no bee stings! Don’t wait for the pain in your heel to go away on its own, because it probably won’t.
