Are you currently experiencing heel pain? It wouldn’t come as a surprise as a study conducted by the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), found that this was one of the most common foot ailments affecting 16% of the American population.

Heel pain can be caused by your feet coming into contact against hard surfaces when playing sports or simply wearing poor fitting shoes. While most of us might shrug off heel pain as something trivial, this could also be a symptom of a serious foot injury. And if left untreated, we could quickly aggravate the injury.

Heel pain can be caused by many factors or foot injuries. When pain becomes chronic or intensifies, consult a podiatrist. Dr. Jonathan Kletz is a podiatrist who specializes in helping people with bunions and other foot conditions.

Plantar fasciitis – this foot condition occurs when the ligament (plantar fascia) that supports the arch of your foot becomes strained. The pain is usually located under your heel. Pain starts as something mild but eventually worsens especially when you take your first steps in the morning or after a long period of rest.

If left untreated, plantar fasciitis can become difficult to treat. Treatment options include pain medications, orthotics, injections, immobilization and physical therapy.

Achilles Tendinitis – this can be the result of excessive use of your Achilles tendon. This tendon connects the calf muscles to the heel bone. Other causes include tightening of the calf muscles, age, injury, bone spurs and basic tendonitis.

Achilles Tendinitis should be treated as quickly as possible. This can result to a ruptured tendon or tendonosis which is a chronic condition and produce scar tissue formation.

Fat Pad Thinning – your fat pad thins through walking or running on hard surfaces, age and obesity. This condition occurs on the fleshy ball of the heel of your feet. This can be caused by aging and when this happens it is best to consult your podiatrist. Treatment and management of fat pad thinning includes the use of special foot wear or wearing supportive insoles.

Texas Foot Works located in Dallas, Athens and Gun Barrell City, TX, we specialize in helping people with foot injuries.  Toschedule an appointment, call 214-340-8885.