Internist Questions Heel pain

How can I prevent heel pain?

I wear heels a lot to and from work, and it causes me to have a lot of pain in my foot--mainly in my heels because I'm on my feet the entire day. It's not unbearable, but I don't want to be dealing with this pain everyday. What is the best way to prevent heel pain?

10 Answers

Depends of cause of your heel pain, some common causes are plantar fasciitis, heel spur, ligament or tendon dysfunction, etc....please seek local podiatrist for full consultation.
Can you wear regular tennis shoes to and from work instead and then just wear the heels at work once you get to your area? The reason is heels put a lot of pressure abnormally on the foot and ankle and really should look at a different heel or more of a wedge shoe even.
This will progress if left untreated. Stretching, different shoes, and many other treatments are available.
Wear arch supports, and go without heels several days per week.
Heel pain occurs due to a muscle imbalance of the foot and lower extremity. The heels will likely change the pressures and cause other structures to compensate, which will then cause pain. I recommend you be evaluated by a foot and ankle surgeon to determine the best course of treatment
Best support possible and stretching is key, to take tension off of the plantar fascia. See your doc about using night splints and getting into orthotics and physical therapy.
There are icing and stretching that can be done to reduce the pain. Sometimes an injection. Sometimes modification in shoe gear can help.
The question, "What is the best way to prevent heel pain?" is a fairly broad question. In the case you are discussing, wearing high heels is obviously the problem. You should try changing the type of shoes you are wearing.
Avoid wearing heels too much. The pain may be caused by strain of the plantar fascia. Also, in my years of practice women who wear heel a lot tend to have a shortened Achilles tendon. And when they try to wear flats or walk around barefooted the tendon becomes stretched thus causing discomfort and pain
There are multiple causes for heel pain, but the main etiology is usually inflammation of the plantar fascia (ligament on the bottom of the foot). Shoe selection is important with this. I would veer towards platform type shoes more and possibly integrate a "harder" (tougher material) arch support in the shoes. You should also start stretching your calf muscle multiple times throughout the day and at the end of the day, take a frozen water bottle or tennis ball and roll your foot over it back and forth to release tension and tightness of the structures on the bottom of the foot. If the heel is too inflamed, I would suggest seeing a specialist for other treatment options to combat the inflammation.