Can different shoes dramatically alter how you feel heel pain?  The answer for some is yes.  The University of Maryland recently released a study that showed how tight shoes, especially those with a raised heel, contribute to heel pain.  This is often devastating news for the fashion forward female, but the fact is you could be doing serious damage to your heel, especially if you’re already suffering from heel pain.  Other than shoes a variety of custom arches to place in your shoes to help make them feel less painful.  One such arch that seems to be popular is the Footminders brand.  Unfortunately, it takes some trial and error to figure out what works best for you.

For many, including skilled doctors, it can be difficult to distinguish between posterior heel pain and tendinitis.  In many cases, tendinitis is caused through overuse, as is the case with runners or other very active people.  An important thing before discussing treatment of one of these two types of heel pain is whether or not this is an acute or chronic problem.  Acute problems can often be improved simply by taking some time off and resting.  Those suffering from chronic heel pain should enter into rehabilitation immediately.  Unless of course it is an issue with Achilles tendinitis that has compromised the integrity of the tendon.

You’ve tried everything: pills, shoes, orthotics, diet, but could it be that heel pain is in your head?  That’s not to say the pain isn’t real.  Anyone who suffers from chronic heel pain will tell you just how real the pain is.  Some argue, however, that the brain can create or exacerbate pain by not sending sufficient oxygen to certain areas of the body.  Why?  To divert you from past or present psychological pain.  This pain could be latent pain from your childhood, or even the result of an existing trauma.  In this way, meditation and yoga have helped numerous people ‘cure’ their heel pain.  It’s an alternative theory to heel pain treatment, but one you may want to think about.