Podiatrists servicing the Scottsdale, Tempe, Glendale and Phoenix, AZ areas

Arizona Foot Health Our Services Foot & Heel Pain

Arizona Foot Health

Podiatrists located in Phoenix, AZ

Your feet are arguably the hardest working areas on your body, as they propel you through your day, every day. When foot or heel pain strikes, it can have a significant impact on your life if every step you take is a painful one. For expert diagnosis and treatment, turn to Ryan Golub, DPM, and Zachary Flynn, DPM, FACFAS, at Arizona Foot Health. Through innovative treatments, the tea puts a spring in the steps of Phoenix-area patients. For more information, call the office or use the online scheduler.

Foot & Heel Pain Q & A

Foot and Heel Pain

What are the main causes of foot pain?

Each of your feet contains 26 bones and, together, account for one-quarter of the bones in your body. Helping your bones support your body and provide mobility are soft tissues, including your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. In other words, for such small areas, your feet are incredibly complex structures, which means that there’s a lot that can go wrong, causing you pain.

The leading causes of foot pain are:

  • Arthritis
  • Trauma or injury
  • Bursitis
  • Fractures
  • Sprains
  • Tendinitis
  • Peripheral neuropathy
  • Stone bruises
  • Structural issues, such as flatfoot or high arches
  • Bunions
  • Hammertoes

This long list only covers the most common causes of foot pain, but the fact is that given all that your feet endure, day in and day out, foot pain is not at all uncommon and can be caused by any number of conditions.

What causes heel pain?

Far and away the leading cause of heel pain is plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the band of tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot from your heel to the base of your toes. Outside of plantar fasciitis, heel pain can also be caused by:

  • Heel spurs
  • Stone bruises
  • Bursitis
  • Achilles tendon problems
  • Fractures
  • Arthritis

If you consider that for every mile you walk, you place 60 tons of stress on each heel, it’s little wonder that heel pain can, and does, crop up from time to time.

How are foot and heel pain treated?

The answer to this question depends upon the underlying cause of your foot or heel pain. To get started, Dr. Golub performs a comprehensive exam of your feet, reviewing your symptoms and using diagnostic imaging to get a better look at the internal structure.

Once he identifies the source of your foot or heel pain, Dr. Golub comes up with an appropriate treatment plan that may include one or more of the following:

  • Medications for inflammation and pain
  • Custom orthotics
  • Physical therapy
  • Splinting, bracing, or a cast
  • Rest
  • Corticosteroid injections

As part of his treatment arsenal, Dr. Golub has found great success using amniotic growth factor injections to help your tissue heal more quickly and rebuild on a cellular level. By injecting your damaged tissue with much-needed, and natural, growth factors, your body repairs itself more quickly and sends in more resources to support the work.

If foot or heel pain is limiting your life, call Arizona Foot Health, or fill out the online form to request an appointment.