SearchExclusive.com

Symptoms and Treatment for Heel Pain

Pain over the back of the heel is a common problem worldwide, and it is usually nothing serious. It is the most common type of foot pain. Posterior heel pain commonly affects the back or underside of the heel. There are a few causes of posterior heel pain. Pain over the back or underside of the heel can cause difficulty in walking, running, and standing. Wearing tight shoes often aggravates the problem. Posterior heel pain is prevalent in older people and overweight people.

Commonly associated symptoms of this condition are swelling, tenderness, redness, and pain in the heel. These signs and symptoms worsen with activity and weight-bearing situations like prolonged standing.

Posterior heel pain is not a diagnosis itself, but instead, it’s a sign of other conditions like plantar bursitis, Achilles tendonitis, etc. Back of heel pain treatment focuses on identifying the underlying cause and relieving pain and discomfort. Back of heel pain treatment involves medication, physiotherapy, and home remedies.

Common causes of posterior heel pain

Back of heel pain treatment depends first and foremost on an accurate diagnosis. Since posterior heel pain is a relatively vague symptom, it has a vast differential diagnosis.

The three main causes of posterior heel pain are commonly called ‘terrible triad.’ They are—Insertional Achilles tendonitis, Retrocalcaneal Bursitis, and Haglund’s deformity.

Insertional Achilles Tendonitis
The Achilles tendon is a long and strong tendon that connects the large muscles of the calf to the heel. It is the largest tendon in the body and is regularly subjected to heavy forces up to 24 times a person’s body weight. Repetitive stress on the Achilles tendon, especially in athletes, causes wear and tear over time. This weakens the Achilles tendon. The Achilles tendon tends to degenerate the most, at its insertional point in the heel called the calcaneus. This degeneration triggers an inflammatory response that causes pain, swelling, and redness over the back of the heel. In chronic cases, the tendon gets calcified with bone-like fragments.

Retrocalcaneal Bursitis
A bursa is a sac containing fluid that helps lubricate any two surfaces that rub against each other. These are found throughout the body and help with mobility. There are several bursae present in the heel that help in smooth movement of tissues present there. Even though bursae are very small, when inflamed, they can swell up remarkably. Inflammation of the bursa is called bursitis. The bursae in the heel are positioned over the Achilles tendon, which helps it glide over the insertion point. A thickening of the heel bones or the Achilles tendon can result in bursitis. In some cases, the bursae become too enlarged that it appears as a visible and palpable bump over the back of the heel.

Haglund’s Deformity
Haglund’s deformity is a bony bump that forms over the back of the heel. The soft tissue over the Achilles tendon calcifies and gets inflamed when the back of the heel rubs on the back of shoes, especially hardback shoes like men’s dress shoes and women’s high heels. This bony prominence develops over time and causes discomfort and irritation to nearby tissues.

Other common causes of posterior heel pain are:

Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
Plantar Fasciitis
Peripheral neuropathy
Stress fractures, etc.

Back of heel pain treatment options

There are some options for the back of heel pain treatment.

Heel or shoe lifts
Back of the heel pain treatment can be done with a heel lift. A heel lift will take some of the weight-bearing load off the Achilles tendon while walking. This gives some rest and relief to the tendon, which will help in recovery.

Stretching exercises
Gentle stretching of the Achilles tendon and the calf muscles, can improve the mobility of the leg and relieve the tension in the muscles and tendons. This improves the durability of the tendon.

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Agents (NSAIDs)
There are over-the-counter medications that can alleviate the symptoms but does not treat the underlying cause. Back of heel pain treatment with NSAIDs reduces the inflammation and pain.

Weight loss
Reducing the amount of weight being borne on the heel will vastly reduce any strain and pain over the back of the heel. Even a small amount of weight loss has exponential benefits for the back of heel pain treatment.

Surgical back of heel pain treatment
Surgical intervention is the last option for the back of heel pain treatment. All other treatment options must be exhausted first before resorting to surgery since recovery is hard and post-operative success is unreliable. Surgery for the back of heel pain treatment involves removal of the Haglund’s deformity, removal of the inflamed bursa, and debriding the Achilles tendon. In severe cases, the Achilles tendon has to be removed and reconnected, or removed completely and replaced with another tendon, extracted from elsewhere in the body. Surgery puts you at risk of complications like infections, deep vein thrombosis, etc.

Lifestyle changes
Avoiding unnecessary wear and tear on your feet, wear correctly sized shoes, and use supportive devices if necessary.

Heel pain is a painful symptom that can sometimes lead to other syndromes. Visit a doctor for an accurate diagnosis so that you could begin treatment.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.