Bruised Heel Bone Treatment [Causes & Best Home Remedies!]
Bruised Heel Bone Treatment: 90% of the time, a bruised heel can happen due to a big fall or even a light awkward fall. Use the BEST Home Remedies & FIX IT!
Look:
- The bottom of the heel pain can be improved with a few simple treatment changes.
- We are foot doctors & we see this problem get better almost every day.
- The goal is to solve this problem without medication or surgery if possible.
So, let’s GO!
Heel bone bruise pain causes:
Heel Pain Causes: Picture & Photo Gallery
Look:
- One of the top causes of heel pain is plantar fasciitis. This is damage to a ligament that holds your heel to your toes.
- Another root cause of heel pain has flat feet.
- There are also photos of heel spurs that can occur to the bottom of your heel (plantar fascia insertion) and the back of your heel (Achilles tendon insertion).
- Baxter’s nerve entrapment can also happen at the bottom of the heel.
- An underlying cause is an overpronated flatfoot or an over a supinated high arched foot.
- A plantar fibroma is a thick nodule that can occur within your plantar fascia ligament and contribute to plantar fasciitis.
- This can lead to the formation of a heel stress fracture( AKA calcaneus stress fracture.)
Please click on the gallery for a guided tour through heel pain conditions!
Causes:
Two Major Causes:
1) A bruised heel is usually caused by severe trauma:
- This is usually a fall with the front of your foot pointed up.
- This fall can magnify your body weight by 5-6x.
- So if you weigh 200 pounds, that’s over 1,000lbs pounds of force.
- The only thing protecting your heel bone from breaking apart is about 1 cm of the fat pad!
- Both the fat pad & the heel can become bruised.
- A bone bruise is also possible!
The fat pad can even herniate out into the skin.
2) Constant repetitive pounding on your heel:
- Even running on your heel in poor shoes can magnify your weight by 2-3x with each step.
- That is 2-3x your weight per heel for 1,000s of steps.
- Your fat pad can become bruised and sore, just like any other part of your body.
- Both the fat pad & the heel can become bruised.
- A bone bruise is also possible!
- The fat pad can even herniate out into the skin.
Bruised Heel Symptoms:
- Sore heel.
- Especially if you push at the center from the bottom with your thumb.
- Possibly herniated fat pad into the other edges of skin around your heel.
- It hurts to walk barefoot on a hard surface.
- Redness, swelling & bruising.
Achilles tendon-bone spur is at the back of the heel where the Achilles tendon inserts.
Bruised Heel Recovery Time:
- A bruised heel will usually take 1-3 weeks to recover.
- This can be increased with shock absorption.
- If the bone is bruised as well, it can take 2-6 weeks to feel better.
- If there is still severe pain after a few days or a week, consider a stress fracture or calcaneus fracture.
- It is possible to increase the bruised heel recovery time with PRICE therapy (mentioned below).
If you really bruise the bone underneath, it can take even up to 6 to 8 weeks. You will feel a lot better quicker if you wear good orthotics and good shoes.
How To Heal A Bruised Heel:
The goals of bruised heel treatment are:
- To protect the injury from getting worse.
- To decrease the inflammation.
- To allow healing to start earlier.
- To make sure nothing worse is wrong!
Bruised Heel Bone Treatment:
1)Offload the heel:
- Resting does not always mean relaxing on the couch.
- But maybe try swimming or biking instead of running for a couple of days.
- The bruise gets better in a hurry if you give it time to heal!
2)Ice & elevate the heel.
- Icing is key to faster healing!
- 2-3x per day for about 15-20 minutes will decrease the flow of inflammatory cells into the muscle.
- Afterward, the arteries will vasodilate, further flushing out inflammatory cells from the region.
- Ice has deeper penetrating power than heat.
- Do not use heat immediately after the injury!
3)Topical anti-inflammation creams:
- There are anti-inflammatory creams prescribed by your podiatrist that can decrease the inflammation and speed up your healing time.
- Capsaicin & Voltaren gel works great.
- Biofreeze or anything with menthol in it.
4)Oral anti-inflammation:
- These include Ibuprofen & Aspirin.
- This can be over the counter or prescription.
- Do not take these unless instructed to do so by your physician or podiatrist.
- Take a 1-2 week course to decrease the inflammation and speed up your healing time.
- Take 2-3x doses per day as instructed. This builds up anti-inflammatory enzyme levels in your system.
- Taking just 1-2 pills and then stopping does nothing for inflammation!
5) Get new shoes:
- Shoes have a max life of 300 or so miles.
- There are built more flexible & lighter than ever.
- This means they need to be replaced more often than ever.
- Getting a great supportive pair of shoes will make sure that there is pressure removed from your heel.
- This is especially important if you have a calcaneal stress fracture, planer fasciitis, or any other type of heel injury.
- Consider shoes combined with a good supportive orthotic for the best pain relief!
- The following link will show you what our favorites are.
6) Good Orthotics:
- Consider these recommended orthotics!
- These are the best orthotics we have reviewed, with great prices!
The best heavy-duty orthotics:
The best dress shoe orthotics:
The best 3/4 length orthotics:
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Other Causes of Bruised Heel Pain:
These are the most common other types of bottom of the heel pain.
1) Bottom Of The Heel Pain:
- This is the most common source of heel and arch pain.
- It is worse in the morning & better with a massage.
- This Includes heel spur treatment.
- If it feels like you do not have any fat pad cushion in your heel.
- This gradually onsets in high activity people starting a new activity.
- It presents over days and weeks as aching deep heel pain.
Posterior Tibial Nerve Entrapment:
- The posterior tibial nerve runs along the back and inside of the ankle.
- You will feel numbness, burning, and tingling.
- This happens after a long-running or a big fall.
- This is a deep contusion after stepping on a stone.
2) Bottom Of The Foot Arch Pain:
- This is the most common source of heel and arch pain.
- It is worse in the morning & better with a massage.
- This is a bump anywhere along your arch. It could be one or multiple.
- This feels like a pebble under your skin.
- This can happen when you fall violently.
- There may be swelling and bruising in the midfoot.
Posterior Tibial Nerve Entrapment:
- The posterior tibial nerve runs along the back and inside of the ankle.
- You will feel numbness, burning, and tingling.
- If you have severe pain in your arch after a fall or injury.
- Foot cramps are the most common muscle spasm in our body.
Back of the heel pain:
- If your pain is at the back of the heel, check this treatment guide out!
Ball Of The Foot Pain:
- Consider this ball of the foot pain and metatarsalgia treatment guide.
- This is the best information we have all rolled into one!
- If it feels like you do not have any fat pad cushion in the ball of your foot.
- This can happen when you fall violently.
- There may be swelling and bruising big toe joint.
- Foot cramps are the most common muscle spasm in our body.
- This is a deep contusion after stepping on a stone.
Many More:
- Bent Big Toe.
- Straight Big Toe .
- Pain in Small Toes (2-4th Toes).
- Sprained Big Toe (Turf Toe).
- The Ball of Your Foot.
- Ball of the Foot-Second Toe.
- Little Toe (5th Toe).
- The Outside of the Foot.
- Top of the Foot Pain.
- Foot Arthritis.
- Toe Cramps Or Spasms.
- Long Second Toe.
And remember… Get GREAT Shoes: