Talking Heel Pain, and Hammertoes with Dr. Barbounis.
Heel Pain – Hammertoes
The Heel bone, also known as the “Calcaneus” is the largest bone in the foot and is located in the rear of the foot. The heel being the largest bone in the foot naturally accepts the brunt of the weight placed on the foot. That being said, it is very common to experience some sort of heel Pain at some point in our lives. The feet being the basis of everything we do causes them much stress and on occasion can result in an injury or ailment to a specific area. In the Heel’s case those can ferment in the form of a general soreness to the area, or more specific areas such as pinpoint pain at the base of the heel where the Plantar Fascia inserts into the Heel bone, or in the rear foot where the Achilles Tendon makes its insertion into the Heel bone.
On a side note if these issues are ignored and left untreated they can cause stress to the surrounding environments and on occasion cause other issues such as lower leg muscle strain in the calf region, or tenderness and weakness in the arch of the foot. It is always recommended to have these ailments evaluated by an ankle and foot professional with tools such as diagnostic ultrasound, X-ray, and MRI if needed to rule in or out fractures, nerve entrapment, or tendon and ligament tears or ruptures.
Common Diagnoses for Heel Pain include:
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Achilles Tendonitis
- Stress Fracture to the Calcaneus
- Calcaneal Bursitis
- Posterior Tibial Tendonitis
- Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
Common Treatment options for Heel Pain include:
- R.I.C.E. – Rest, Ice, Elevation, and Compression
- Over the counter orthotic inserts for shoes
- Custom accomodative orthotics for shoes
- Anti inflammatory injections
- In office procedural intervention
- Outpatient surgical intervention if conservative approaches have failed
Hammertoes
Like Heel Pain, Hammertoes are another very common ailment of the foot. The term Hammertoe is used when the tendons on the bottom or top of the foot have over powered their weakend counterparts causing the digit itself to appear to either curl downward or to contract upward. This generally causes the toes to rub in the shoes causing pain and discomfort and on occasion can cause a callous or lesion to form at the tip or on the top of the toe. Hammertoes are very common in residents of tropical climates as they choose shoe gear of the open toed variety. This causes the toes to grab onto the sandal or boat shoe in order to keep it on the foot with every step. This unfortunately increases the chances of the tendons contracting and causing Hammertoes in the future.
Some common treatment options for Hammertoes include:
- A change in shoe gear
- Accommodative padding in ones shoes or between toes
- Trimming or injecting any painful lesions caused by hammertoes
- Tenotomy of the contracted tendon (in office procedure to relax the affected tendon)
- Outpatient surgical intervention if needed
Please view our educational videos below >>> Heel Pain, Hammertoes, and the Achilles Tendon!
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