Birmingham Heel Pain sufferers are treated for Plantar Fasciitis at Solihull Pain Relief Centre

Heel Pain is very common these days and if you suffer a sharp stabbing pain under your heel, especially when you put your foot down on the ground first thing in the morning, it is probably a painful heel condition called plantar fasciitis.

Plantar Fasciitis is an inflammation of the plantar fascia which runs under the bottom of the foot and joins the heel to the toes. It has a broader attachment at the front and a very narrow specific attachment under the heel. There are many forces which are applied to the foot when weight bearing and this results in a stretching of this fascia and pulling at the attachment at the heel. This eventually leads to inflammation which can become very painful when standing after periods of rest.

Common causes of plantar fasciitis are overpronated feet or dropped arches. This allows more stretch on the plantar fascia and increases the heel pain. Treatment will involve identification of the cause of overpronation via a biomechanical evaluation and if required the fitting of custom prescription orthosis or orthotics. These are prescription insoles that insert in your footwear and correct the biomechanics which stop the feet from overpronating.

There are many options of orthotics from DIY versions sold at the chemist shops, on line sales and sports injury clinics who will fit them for you. I have to stress that the orthotics come in different qualities and cheap is not usually best. In Solihull Birmingham and Tamworth Staffordshire there is a specialist centre for running injuries and they have vast experience in treating heel pain, achilles tendonitis and shinsplints.

At the Tamworth clinic they have a sports podiatrist who specialises in heel pain and running injuries. Facilities at the clinic include Biomechanical Evaluations, Laser Foot Scanning, Prescription Orthotics, and Video Gait Analysis which is up to date technology to pinpoint your problem and provide a solution.

Visit the website on www.atlaspainrelief.com for more details.

Other factors which can increase the symptoms of heel pain is, becoming overweight, tight calfs and restricted ankle dorsiflexion, which are all treatable. A visit to the GP may result in an anti-inflammatory injection in the heel which can be painful and often does not work. This is mostly due to the cause of the problem having not been addressed. Treating symptoms only, will likely lead to a recurring problem.