Prevention of heel pain and high-risk groups

In the orthopedics clinic, many patients come to see the clinic because of heel pain, and many of them have been troubled for many years. Many diseases can cause heel pain. Today, I will share with you the most common and the most important category of diseases, which are related to pain. In this popular science article, I summarized some of the common problems that patients have about this disease and asked them questions. If you have other questions, you can leave a message in the comment area and we will continue the discussion.

Question: “How to prevent follow-up pain”

A: Lose weight
B: Stretch before exercise, step by step, and exercise according to your usual exercise ability and amount of exercise. Don’t think of losing weight today, just want to run a marathon in one breath. It’s too late, the ancestors’ words are full of philosophies.
C: Usually do more of the plantar fascia stretching mentioned above, if you are a high-risk group.
D: Eat a balanced diet and ensure calcium intake. Women need to supplement calcium at the beginning of menopause. Men also routinely start calcium supplementation after 55 years of age. Not only calcium supplements but also vitamin D and sun exposure, proper aerobic exercise.
E: Avoid jumping from high places, and don’t always participate in highly confrontational competitive sports, such as badminton, football, and basketball when you reach a certain age.
F: Don’t walk long distances quickly to exercise. It’s okay if you want to take a walk, and control the rhythm yourself.
G: Soak your feet with hot water every day to increase blood circulation in your feet and delay the accumulation of strain.

Question: “Which people are at high risk of pain?”

In addition to the aforementioned obesity, pregnant women, athletes, soldiers, and the elderly, there are the following groups of people.
A: Patients with flat feet
B: Patients with high arch feet
C: Patients with excessive calcaneal varus or valgus deformity
D: Patients with hallux valgus
E: Diabetes
F: Patients with ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis
G: Patients who need to stand for a long time or walk long distances due to work
H: Patients with foot fractures or surgery
I: Patients with osteoporosis
J: People who usually lack exercise
K: People who smoke for a long time
L: There have been patients with tenosynovitis or nerve entrapment in other parts of the body

Is the heel pain due to long bone spurs? What can I do to quickly relieve the pain?

Many people think that heel pain is caused by bone spurs on the heel. “You think, when you stand up, the weight of your whole body presses the bone spurs into the flesh, it’s hard to think it hurts!”

Long bone spurs may indeed cause pain, but the heel pain caused by it only accounts for a very small part.
But not all bone spurs cause pain. On the contrary, its appearance can help the foot better support and balance. What is going on, what are the causes of heel pain, and how to relieve the pain, let me explain in detail?

Why are there bone spurs on the heel?

“Bone spurs” are also called hyperosteogeny and osteophytes. It is the bone that the human body actively and compensatively proliferates to make up for aging, wear, and overwhelmed joints. It can play the role of auxiliary fixation and support. It often occurs in the elderly and postmenopausal women with more severe bone loss.

The above-mentioned spontaneous hyperplasia of the human body is a good thing in most cases. It happened to show that “organizations need it”. For example, some patients have long-term lumbar disc herniation and lower back pain. After a few years, the low back pain has spontaneously improved. As a result, the film showed that the lumbar spine had osteophytes, which increased the stability of the lumbar spine.

Of course, bone spurs that do not grow well do cause heel pain.

What should I do if my heel hurts?

If you suddenly experience heel pain after a fall, fall, etc., please go to the hospital for examination immediately. If heel pain appears gradually and slowly worsens, first take the following measures to relieve it:
(1) Rest and reduce weight-bearing exercise
I believe that many people have this experience, their feet will hurt a lot after shopping for a long time, and they just want to find a stool to sit on. This is the long-term weight-bearing of the foot fascia, and the inflammatory factors that can cause pain are produced after strain.

(2) Change a pair of suitable shoes or insoles
What kind of shoes is the most prone to pain when walking for a long time? The answer is flat shoes! That’s right, the soles of this kind of shoes can’t provide enough support for the soles of the feet, especially the foot sockets.
This will concentrate all the weight on the toes and heels. The toe and the heel are connected by the plantar fascia. Excessive force on these two ends will pull the plantar fascia excessively and cause pain.
It is recommended to wear sports shoes or buy a special heel pad.

(3) Use cold and hot compresses skillfully
The root cause of pain is inflammatory factors. Cold compresses can prevent the release of inflammatory factors, while hot compresses can accelerate the absorption of inflammatory factors. Usually, cold compresses are used when the pain first appears, and appropriate warm compresses after 48 hours of pain can effectively relieve heel pain.

(4) Stretching training
After long-term walking, the muscles of the feet may cramp and become stiff. Stretching can protect ligaments, reduce muscle tension, relax tight muscles, promote blood circulation, and relieve pain. If the heel hurts, it is recommended to perform towel stretching, stepping on steps, and massage stretching as shown in the figure below.
Note that when doing the above stretching exercises, don’t be too greedy. Choose one action to practice 3 groups at a time, and do 10 reps for each group.

What if none of the above practices can be alleviated?
Find a doctor! Plantar fasiit, Achilles tendinitis, and other diseases are aseptic inflammations, but if they are not good for a long time, they can seriously affect life. At this time, you can take some non-steroidal drugs, such as celecoxib, fenbid, etc. However, these drugs have certain side effects, so it is recommended to consult a doctor before taking them.
In addition, if the inflammation is severe, it may be necessary to inject hormones for anti-inflammatory, which need to be resolved by a doctor.