Sometimes we step on an extremely hard object in the wrong way.  This can cause bruising underneath our heel.  This is known as a stone bruise.  The word bruise can be somewhat misleading because you may or may not have a buise-like discoloration on your foot.  The name stone bruise comes as if you stepped hard and wrong on some form of rock or stone.  The good news about a stone bruise is that it will eventually go away.  You may want to rest, take it easy, in order to speed the healing process up, but you will not do any long term damage by walking on a stone bruise, though it may be painful.  The best treatment, however, is rest.

Pregnancy can add myriad health complications.  A growing number of women, however, are experiencing heel pain and seeking treatment.  The reason they are facing this pain: fashion.  A recent study showed that pregnant women still feel pressure to keep up with celebrity fashion trends – many of which include shoes difficult to wear under normal circumstances.  Adding the weight and body changes of pregnancy, however, only complicates the problem for many women.  They continue to wear fashionable, but unsupportive shoes (high heels, ballet pumps, flip flops, etc).  The treatment solution for this problem: stop doing it.  When pregnant, your body faces many challenges, don’t add to them just by trying to look good ladies.

A growing number of podiatrists are using shock therapy to treat heel pain.  The use of shockwaves can be a less invasive alternative to surgery for those with serious heel pain.  The energy used in this treatment is similar to the radioactive waves sent to break up kidney stones.  Most treatments last only 15-minutes sending two thousand different waves through the heel.  Most researchers believe that these pulsations can help the stimulate the body’s natural healing process.  The price of the therapy is not cheap and is of course not guaranteed.  You’re likely to pay anywhere between $400-$600 for the procedure.

Oh boy, do we ever let stretching become the one great treatment that we forget to do.  There are a variety of rational reasons why stretching gets neglected.  Firstly, you rarely see immediate effects.  Secondly, it’s a tedious endeavor.  A few very easy stretches can help keep your tendons in flexible and heel pain down.  The first is simply sitting down and touching your toes.  Alternatively, you can also do this standing up.  The other stretch is to place your feet along the edge of a stair and (gently!) lower your heel off the stair.  Be careful not to extend your heel down too far or put tons of pressure as this is an unnatural position, but it can help treat your heel pain.