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Heel or arch pain for many people is not a question of if they will have a problem but when they will have a problem. Do you experience:
- A sharp jolt of pain as soon as your feet hit the floor each morning?
- Aching that starts during or after exercise?
- Agony after a long day of standing or running around at work?
No matter when or how it occurs, persistent heel or arch pain should never be ignored. The good news is that most cases are easily treatable with professional care and without the need for surgery.
We help heel pain patients in Oak Creek, New Berlin, West Allis, and all areas in between find the relief they deserve. From traditional treatments to advanced technology like shockwave therapy, we'll find the right plan of action that best meets your needs.
One Heel Pain, Many Potential Causes
Heel pain might seem like a straightforward problem, but it's often not.
The reason is simple: there are many different reasons why someone might have heel or arch pain—and for each of those reasons, there can be different underlying causes.
What does that mean? Even when it's clear what the condition is that's causing your pain—plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, stress fractures, etc.—that doesn't always give us all the information we need. We also must determine the underlying causes of that condition.
Potential reasons that conditions can develop include:
- Abnormalities in foot structure (e.g., flat feet or overpronation)
- Strain and overuse during sports, workouts, or other activities
- Wearing unsupportive or inappropriate footwear for your needs
- Spending long periods of time having to stand or be on your feet, especially on hard surfaces
- Past trauma causing weakness or instability in areas of your feet
These are only a few potential reasons and more than one can be in play!
Many folks might have tried one or two ways to treat their pain, only to become frustrated when they didn't get the results they hoped for. It's seldom that their case is invincible, though; it's just that they haven't found the right course of treatment to directly address the causes of their problem! That's where our offices in Oak Creek and New Berlin excel.
Treating Heel and Arch Pain
To effectively treat heel or arch pain is to fully understand and address the causes behind it. We take the time not only to perform a thorough physical examination of the problem but also to learn more about when your pain occurs, when it's at its worst, and how it's affecting your daily life.
Only once we have a firm grasp of the situation will we recommend a treatment plan that best meets your unique needs.
A plan might consist of one or multiple treatments. One of our newer advanced treatments we are proud of is shockwave therapy, a treatment that uses high-energy pressure waves to stimulate the body's natural healing processes. This can help many cases of heel pain based on soft tissue injuries heal faster and feel better sooner!
Other potential routes of treatment include:
- Use of custom orthotics to redistribute weight properly across the feet and away from highly strained areas
- Changes to exercise, workout routines, and footwear
- Conditioning stretches and exercises to help strengthen and build endurance where needed
- Changes to your daily environment, such as adding anti-fatigue mats at work
- Other advanced treatments, such as amniotic injections, can help relieve pain and accelerate recovery
While the majority of heel and arch pain cases can be effectively resolved within a few months with conservative measures such as those above, there may remain rare occasions when a case will only respond well to surgical intervention. If surgery does become a consideration, we will be sure to answer any questions you may have and provide all the information you need before you ever have to decide how you wish to move forward.
Help for Heel Pain Throughout Greater Milwaukee
No matter when or how severely your heel or arch pain might strike, anything persistent should receive professional attention sooner rather than later. Such matters rarely go away on their own and can become worse if you don't start addressing their underlying causes.
We're here to help folks in Wauwatosa, West Allis, and all points beyond. Schedule an appointment by calling our office in Oak Creek at (414) 764-4500 or in New Berlin at (262) 821-1588, or fill out our online contact form to schedule an appointment with a board-certified podiatrist today.
