The Causes of Heel Pain

The Causes of Heel Pain Pam: Hi doctors, I have a bump on the back of each heel. It hurts s badly that I've been unable to wear shoes that cover the back of my heel for about two years now. Do you have a solution for me? Travis Stork: Well here to help answer Pam’s question is pediatric Dr. Phil Radovic with California Foot and Ankle Associates from Irvine, California so thank you sir for joining us. So what in the world was going on with Pam? Dr. Phil Radovic: Well it could be any number of things but most likely one or two things, heels first which are called retrocalcaneal achilles tendocalcinosis which is a spur of calcification as you guys know going right up to the achilles tendon. The second most common or probably you know right after a tie which is a pump up which we guys are talking about bumps today and that’s just a bump on the calcaneus a bump of bone there and it’s caused by a number of things. One, you can be born with it when the growth play closest on the heel during adolescence it could grow to a form or it pictures the calcaneus any forms bump there that rubs against the heel counter of our shoe. Another one is shoes themselves. Shoes themselves just being stiff in the heel counter and pumps a particular because they're hard, they put the pitch and I’ll show you here like on a skeleton. And when you're in a heel like a pump like this a high heel is very rigid back here it doesn’t give a lot of flexibility or room and then you put it up in this angle it pitches the calcaneus right up against that heel counter and then walking around all day it’s going to rub. Rub causes inflammation. That inflammation causes the bone to form a bump or a pump bump. Another thing that can happen though is the way your foot walks mechanically. Look for heel counters that are not quite so stiff have a little flexibility a little stretch in the leather. And the treatments whether it is a heel spur or its pump bump it will basically be the same. Another thing is backless shoes. You know you take the back out of there, there's no rubbing. Ultimately there is surgery if that doesn’t work or they're huge like you saw in the picture earlier, a simple exostectomy to take that bump off. Shockwave therapy before which we've done on the show works very well for that. It’s a none operative procedure but if that fails of course surgery. Travis Stork: And the earlier you're going to check it out the more likely you can avoid surgery. Dr. Phil Radovic: Absolutely, I mean Pam the first thing get an x-ray let’s find out what it is and then go from there. Female: And wear those pumps in moderation. Travis Stork: Thank you Dr. Radovic.