Heel Pain Treatment

heel treatment

Comprehensive Heel Pain Treatment at The Footlift London

The Footlift London has a special Heel Pain treatment plan for quickly checking and treating heel pain or plantar fasciitis.

One in ten people will have heel pain, and for many, it can really affect their daily lives.

The Footlift London offers complete care for plantar fasciitis, providing many advanced treatment options for people with long-lasting heel pain.

At our clinic, you can usually get your check-up, x-rays, advice, and first treatment all in one visit.

How is Plantar Fasciitis Diagnosed at The Footlift London?

At The Footlift London, our specialist can usually diagnose plantar fasciitis by talking to you and examining your feet. Most of the time, no special tests are needed.

Sometimes, tests may be done if the diagnosis isn’t clear or to check for other reasons for your heel pain. This might include:

  • X-rays of your heel, are mostly used to rule out other issues, not to diagnose plantar fasciitis.
  • Ultrasound scans to look at the fascia, which often shows thickening and swelling if you have plantar fasciitis.

The Treatments We Provide

Footwear advice
We may suggest you change your footwear. You should stay away from wearing thin, flat-soled shoes because they won’t support your heel and could increase your heel pain and make it worse. Preferably, you should wear shoes that cushion your heels and offer a good amount of support to the arches of your feet. It is essential to wear footwear which has cushioning under the heels around the home.
Orthoses
Orthoses are special medical insoles that go inside your shoes. They change the pressure on your feet and offer some cushioning. Medical studies show that orthoses can help lessen heel pain symptoms.
Particular Exercise & Stretching Programs
Several excellent quality medical trials display that stretches can help with heel pain. Exercises are often instructed to stretch both your calf muscles and your plantar fascia. Our team can plan a specified set of stretches and exercises to help restore your mobility and minimize pain.
Strapping and Night Splints

Instead of using orthoses, you can have your heel wrapped with special tape. This can help take pressure off your heel. We can show you how to put on the tape yourself.

Night splints, which look like boots, keep your toes and feet pointing up while you sleep. This helps stretch your Achilles tendon and plantar fascia, which may help you recover faster.
Injection therapy
In some conditions of heel pain, we may suggest the use of corticosteroid (steroid) injections. Corticosteroids are a sort of medication that has a strong inflammation-reducing effect and can help to minimize pain. These injections are useful in minimizing pain in the short to medium term.
Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (eSWT)

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy is a comparatively new type of non-invasive treatment. Non-invasive signifies it doesn’t include making cuts into the body. The treatment includes making use of a device to produce high-energy sound waves into your heel. Shockwave therapy is considered to work in two manner:

  • Make the nerves that send pain signals to your brain feel numb.
  • Help boost and speed up the healing process.

Causes of plantar fasciitis

You can get plantar fasciitis if there is too much pressure on the tissue band on the bottom of your foot. Here are some things that can make your risk higher.

  • Being overweight or obese
  • Having high arches or flat feet
  • Doing high-impact activities like running or suddenly doing more of them
  • Spending a lot of time on your feet, like in a job where you stand or walk all-day
  • Wearing shoes that don’t fit well, are old, or lack support
  • Having tight leg muscles or a tight Achilles tendon, which can affect how you walk
  • Having certain types of inflammatory arthritis, like psoriatic arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis

Symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis

Symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis

The main symptom of plantar fasciitis is pain in your heel. Sometimes, the pain can also spread to the arch of your foot. Plantar fasciitis pain:
  • Often feels like a sharp, stabbing pain
  • Usually gets worse with your first steps after waking up or being still
  • This can happen after walking, standing, or running for a long time
  • May get a little better as you move around, but gets worse later in the day
  • Might hurt more if you walk barefoot, on your toes, or go upstairs
  • Usually feels better if you rest your foot