There is a very painful condition that seems to show up out of nowhere that attacks the inner-bottom part of the heel.

The tell-tale sign that you have this condition is that there is no pain when you are not standing on your foot, and there is pain when you first stand or begin to walk. This pain, for example, occurs when getting out of bed in the morning or after being off your feet for a while. The pain doesn’t last long, at first, but as this disease process progresses, the pain will last longer and longer.

This can be a very frustrating, never-ending condition. A quick online search will tell you it can take a year or longer for the pain to “go-away.” Some sites give advice just to “wait it out.” But does that make any sense? Do you want to limp in pain for up to a year or longer? Do they realize not only the negative impact on one’s activity level but what it means to live in constant pain? There is a tremendous negative impact on one’s mental health knowing that they are going to experience sharp shooting pain in the inner heel when they first get out of bed in the morning, or when they get out of their car after driving home.

The range of treatments of heel pain is numerous. There are many forms of conservative, non-surgical options to somewhat radical operations. Some may find relief from these treatments, but the majority of people suffering from chronic heel pain seem to never find a long-term solution, even after heel surgery. The reason why heel pain has historically been such a difficult condition to “fix” is because this diseased tissue occurred as a result of a pre-existing orthopedic deformity.

Pain is a warning signal that something is wrong. The nerve sensors have been activated as an alarm that tissue damage is occurring and it needs attention. Imagine the smoke detector making the loudest noise you ever heard because it detected smoke – a fire. What if you choose to ignore the fire and only try to stop the detector from making that annoying noise? You put earplugs in your ears, pillows over your head, or you just went and cut the wires to the smoke detector. That might stop the noise, but what caused the smoke? Was there a fire in the house? This is basically what is happening in treating heel pain. The majority of attention is directed to pain reduction while little to no attention is directed to eliminating the underlying cause of heel pain.