Heel Pain

Heel Pain services offered in Hopewell Junction, Wappingers Falls, Poughkeepsie, Pawling, Mahopac and Carmel, NY

Heel Pain

Heel pain can affect the back of your ankle or the bottom of your foot, making walking challenging. Christos Kyrou, DPM, Kamal Farha, DPM, and their team at Kyrou Podiatry Associates offer high-quality heel pain diagnosis and treatment at their offices in Wappingers Falls, Carmel, Poughkeepsie, Mahopac, and Pawling, New York. They have on-site X-ray and ultrasound facilities to accurately diagnose the problem and provide the most advanced conservative and surgical treatments. Call your nearest Kyrou Podiatry Associates office or request an appointment online today to benefit from the team’s experience of relieving heel pain.

Heel Pain Q & A

What causes heel pain?

Heel pain affects the backs of your soles and ankles. Common causes include:

Stress fractures

Overuse and excessive strain can cause hairline cracks in the bone that build up over time.

Achilles tendinitis

This is inflammation in the Achilles tendon, the large connective tissue at the back of your leg.

Arthritis

Joint pain is often caused by aging (osteoarthritis) or an autoimmune disorder (rheumatoid arthritis).

Tarsal tunnel syndrome

Also called posterior tibial nerve compression, this condition affects the back of your leg.

Haglund’s deformity

This bone enlargement at the back of your heel is also called a “pump bump.”

Overpronation

Overpronation is caused by excessive inward angling of the foot and ankle when you walk or run.

Bursitis

This inflammation affects the fluid sacs that cushion the joint on the back of your heel.

Plantar fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis is the most likely cause of pain in the bottom of your heel. It develops when the plantar fascia connective tissue that supports your arch becomes inflamed from overuse or excessive strain. You can also develop heel spurs, bony outgrowths your body produces to reinforce a weakened area.

How is heel pain diagnosed?

To diagnose heel pain, the Kyrou Podiatry Associates team evaluates your symptoms, checks your medical history, then completes a physical exam. You might need to stand, walk, go on tiptoe, or flex your foot in various ways to help them determine your heel pain’s cause.

You might need diagnostic imaging procedures like X-rays, ultrasound, or a CT scan to evaluate the damage or rule out specific causes of heel pain.

How is heel pain treated?

Heel pain treatment varies depending on your condition, how bad your pain and disability are, and other things like your age and general health. The Kyrou Podiatry Associates team first takes a conservative approach, using treatments like:

  • Bracing
  • Splinting
  • Orthotics (custom-made shoe inserts)
  • Stretching exercises
  • Anti-inflammatory medication
  • Antibiotics for a bacterial infection

You might need steroid injections if conservative treatments don’t work. Steroids are potent anti-inflammatory drugs. Injecting them into the pain’s source offers a long-lasting reduction of inflammation and pain.

Some patients will require surgery to address their heel pain. The board-certified foot and ankle surgeons at Kyrou Podiatry Associates perform all types of heel surgery, including plantar fascia release, fracture repair, and bone spur removal.

Call Kyrou Podiatry Associates or request an appointment online today to find the cause and solution for your heel pain.