Atlas Pain Relief Centre

Heel Pain Tamworth or Foot Pain Tamworth or Lichfield?

Both front of foot, ankle and heels can be painful at some stage of your life. Correct diagnosis and treatment is important in order to prevent chronic symptoms.

Heel pain in youngsters involving the back of the heel can be an inflammatory condition called Severs Disease. This area of the heel is where the Achilles tendon inserts and if overused during a growth spurt the heel becomes painful and sore.

Tamworth Physiotherapists and Tamworth Osteopaths are well trained and experienced in heel pain, achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis. They are used to treating youngsters with Severs Disease. Acupuncture may also be used for pain relief along with massage in older patients

Atherstone, Tamworth, Polesworth, Kingsbury, Swadlincote, Brownhills, Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham and Staffordshire parents bring their children to the Atlas Pain Relief Centre to provide advice and treatment on this painful condition.

Heel Pain is another common running condition which can be caused by overpronating ankles.  Plantar fasciitis is a painful condition which is found under the heel when fully weight bearing. Anyone can develop plantar fasciitis, sometimes called “Policemans Heel” which can occur if you are carrying additional weight or have dropped arches/flat feet

Diagnosis is confirmed by pressure applied over a very localised spot under the heel which is made worse after rest.  First thing in the morning when rising from bed can be very painful when you put your feet down on the floor.

Pain can be a stabbing feeling which gradually eases the longer you are on your feet.  It returns if you rest and stand up again. Foot pain can stop you running and needs to be treated before it becomes chronic.

The painful heel is caused by the elongated medial arch of the foot when the ankle overpronates. Lengthening of the arch puts a stretch on the structure under the foot called the plantar fascia which is pulled away from the heel.  This causes an inflammatory response and thus the resulting heel pain will manifest itself. When the fascia of the foot is warm and in use during exercise it is able to absorb the mechanics of stretching, however when rested the fascia cools down and becomes less pliable and pulls at its insertion on the heel creating discomfort.

In order to treat the problem you need to prevent the overpronation by either fitting prescriptive orthotics or using a temporary non stretch taping which prevents the lengthening of the medial arch of the foot. Electrotherapy should be employed alongside soft tissue manipulation in an attempt to treat the fascia. This can be done by a Sports Physiotherapist or Sports Therapist. Runners can access advice from our website www.runninginjuryclinic.co.uk

Plantar Fascia stretching may be needed to reduce the stress on the underside of the foot. As the condition is of an inflammatory nature then icing the area is very important.  This condition if left untreated may develop into a heel spur which will take much longer to deal with.

Steroid injections are often prescribed by GP’s and can be successful in pain relief however the pain often returns because the cause of the condition has not been addressed. Aggravating factors can be excess weight gain which puts more weight through the feet and increase in high impact weight bearing activity such as running.  The condition is simple enough to treat for the experienced therapist who can identify the cause of the condition. Custom orthotics can often be the answer if you pronate or overpronate.  The overpronating runner will stretch the plantar fascia and irritate the heel causing heel pain