Heel pain can be frustrating and debilitating, hampering your daily life and activities.

There are many causes of heel pain. These include plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinosis, heel spurs, and stress fractures. It can also be a symptom of underlying conditions such as arthritis or nerve damage.

But don’t despair! Our team of osteopaths understand the potential causes of heel pain, how to evaluate them and what treatment can help.

At Good Health Centre in Leeds, we’ve helped more than 60,000 people get back to health. Why not find out how we can help you?

You might feel pain underneath or in the back of your heel. It can also spread along the sole of your foot towards the toes or radiate up your leg.

The pain is often worse with activity, and you may struggle to run, walk or climb stairs. Many people also experience pain and stiffness following rest. You might have difficulty putting weight on your foot when you get out of bed in the morning.

One of the most common causes for these symptoms is plantar fasciitis. This is due to degeneration of the band of connective tissue that runs under the foot. Although it can be frustrating and difficult to shift, osteopathy can help by addressing the factors that stress the connective tissue and aggravate the problem.

If left untreated, plantar fasciitis can lead to the development of heel spurs. The body responds to inflammation by laying down extra bony tissue where the plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone. These bony protrusions can cause pain and irritation.

If you have pain at the back of your heel, you may have Achilles tendinosis. The thick tendon that attaches the calf muscles to the heel bone can degrade and inflame if stressed, causing pain with activity and after rest.

Studies on heel pain indicate that, in most cases, there’s a mechanical cause that can be helped without the need for surgery.

Here at GHC, we’ve treated many people with heel pain. We find there’s usually a combination of biomechanical factors that allow stress to develop in the foot. That may include a high or flattened arch, restricted mobility in the joints of the foot or ankle, or tight calf or leg muscles. There may even be issues further afield, such as hip or back problems, that are causing pressure in the foot.

Often, these issues show up when someone takes up a new sport or increases their physical exercise, or perhaps has a job that means long hours on the feet.

Osteopaths work holistically. That means they seek to understand all the factors in someone’s body and life that have come together to cause a problem.

Once your osteopath has listened to your story and done a full physical examination, they will develop a personalised treatment plan to address these factors.

The osteopath may treat you with a combination of muscle lengthening, stretching and strengthening, joint mobilisation and manipulation, or fluid drainage techniques.

These treatments are designed to reduce swelling, improve mobility and flexibility, and allow normalisation of the foot’s function.  

And, in addition, here at GHC, we can offer shockwave therapy. This is a proven and effective treatment and considered the gold standard for intractable cases of tendon and ligament pain, such as many common causes of heel pain.

Our osteopaths can suggest ways to manage your heel pain at home, including adaptations to your daily activities. They can also design a homecare programme of stretching and exercise to ensure the benefits of treatment last long after you’ve left the clinic.