Heel Pain Shouldn’t Be Part of Your Daily Routine.
Pain In Back Of My Heel: Causes, Symptoms & Best Treatment!
Pain In The Back Of My Heel: This problem is most common while wearing tight shoes, walking, or running! There are 4 main common and treatable causes!
Pain in the Back of Your Heel? Here’s What Could Be Going On
A sharp ache each time you push off, a dull throb after a long day, or swelling just above your shoe line—all are classic signs of back‑of‑heel pain. While an occasional twinge may fade on its own, persistent discomfort often points to an underlying issue such as Achilles tendinitis, bursitis, or a bone spur. Understanding the root cause is the first step toward lasting relief.
Common Causes of Back‑of‑Heel Pain
Back‑of‑heel pain usually stems from one (or a mix) of these conditions:
Cause | What Happens | Key Symptoms |
---|---|---|
Achilles Tendinitis | Overuse inflames the Achilles tendon | Swelling, stiffness after rest |
Retrocalcaneal Bursitis | The bursa between tendon & heel bone inflames | Tender lump just above heel bone |
Haglund’s Deformity (“Pump Bump”) | Bony enlargement at back of heel | Red, irritated skin where shoe rubs |
Achilles Tear/Rupture | Partial or full tendon tear | Sudden “pop,” sharp pain, weakness |
Calcaneal Bone Spur | Extra bone growth where tendon inserts | Persistent ache, shoe pressure pain |
Sever’s Disease (Kids/Teens) | Growth‑plate irritation in active youth | Heel pain after sports, tight calves |
Tendonosis/Scar Tissue | Chronic degeneration of Achilles fibers | Thickened tendon, morning pain |
Early diagnosis prevents small problems from turning into chronic limitations.
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Pain in the back of My Heel After Running Video:
Pain Around The Back of My Heel Causes:

Achilles Tendon & Back of Heel Pain
Back of the Heel Pain Causes:
Back of the heel pain is most commonly caused by the Achilles tendon and back of the calcaneus damage.
The most common causes of back heel pain are:
- Fat pad atrophy can lead to calcaneus bone pain.
- Insertional Achilles tendinitis pain.
- Achilles tendinitis 2-6 cm above the heel bone.
- An Achilles tendon strain or rupture.
- Nerve impingement or entrapment in the heel.
- Achilles tendinosis.
- Back of the heel spur pain.
- Achilles tendon bursitis.
- Plantar fasciitis.
Achilles Tendonitis Symptoms:
- Achilles tendonitis symptoms can be a pain in the morning when you first wake up.
- Pain when trying to bend the foot up as the Achilles tendon inserts into the back of the heel.
- Worsening inflammation and tenderness while standing and walking for long periods of time.
- Improvement when wearing good shoes, good orthotics, and supportive sandals.
Is Your Problem Worse In The Morning Or Before Exercise?
Note: Say no if movement, stretching, and increased blood flow do not make it better.

Say Yes To Morning Pain If:
- Your Achilles tendon gets sore due to overuse.
- If your Achilles tendon is stiff upon stretching in the morning.
- If the pain is worse before you get moving and massaging!
Say No To Morning Pain If:
- It is a hard bump on the back of your heel.
- If it hurts because it is pushing against the back of your shoe.
- If it is not due to Achilles tendon pain or inflammation.
Heel Pain In Back Of My Heel Causes:
There are 4 major causes for heel pain in the back of my heel. The most common is Achilles heel pain. The next most common is calcaneal bursitis. But don’t worry, they are treated almost the same!
1. Achilles Heel Pain
- The Achilles tendon is the strongest in the body.
- It is responsible for your foot pushing off.
- This is used 1,000s of times a day walking and running.
- This tendon can very easily become overused!

- Back of heel pain in the morning.
- The morning pain will get better within 15-20 minutes of walking or stretching.
- Massaging the back of the heel will make it feel better.
- There can be redness and swelling.
- Pain in the back of the foot above the heel.
- Sharp pain in the back of the heel is from nerve irritation.
- Sharp pain can cause numbness, burning, and tingling.
2. Bone Spur On Back Of Heel
- This is the result of years of Achilles heel pain.
- The years and decades of pain cause micro-tears and bleeding.
- This bleeding can form a little piece of bone that grows into the Achilles tendon.
- This can press against the back of your shoe.
- It can also make the Achilles tendon more likely to rupture!
Bone Spur On Back Of Heel Symptoms:
- This pain will be very similar to Achilles heel pain.
- It will be more progress.
- There will be morning pain and irritation.
- You might be able to feel a hard bony formation at the Achilles tendon insertion.
- It will press up against the back of your shoe and irritate.
3. Heel Bursitis
- The bursa is like gel sacks that allow friction-less gliding of the Achilles tendon.
- They allow the Achilles tendon to glide past the skin and the bone.
- If they become irritated, the friction will increase and cause pain.
- This is called bursitis.

- These are very similar to Achilles heel pain.
- Heel bursitis is also treated very similarly to Achilles heel pain.
- The morning pain will get better within 15-20 minutes of walking or stretching.
- Massaging the back of the heel will make it feel better.
- There can be redness and swelling.
- Pain in the back of the foot above the heel.
- Sharp pain in the back of the heel is from nerve irritation.
- Sharp pain can cause numbness, burning, and tingling.
4. Lump On Back Of Heel:
- This is called a Hagland’s bump.
- It is a large bone prominence on the back of the heel.
- This is not calcification of the Achilles tendon but an increase in the size of the heel bone.
- This is very common in women who wear high heels.
- It is also likely if you have a high arch foot.
Lump On Back Of Heel Symptoms:
- This is different than Achilles heel pain.
- There is no difficulty standing on your tippy-toes.
- It does hurt in the morning or after rest.
- Walking and running make it feel worse rather than better.
- This is because it rubs and compresses against the back of your shoe.
- This can cause a sharp back of the heel pain due to nerve irritation.
If The Bottom Of Your Heel Hurts:
Consider Bottom Of The Foot Pain.
Back of the Heel Spur Home Treatment:
- These are great treatment options for the back of the heel pain.
- This works for all the above problems!
- This heel pain needs to be controlled in 2 phases: Inflammation control and correcting the biomechanics.

Best Heel Pain Products:
- There are usually two phases to treating plantar fasciitis pain.
- The two phases of treatment include controlling the acute inflammation, and correcting the biomechanics which led to the problem in the first place.
- If the tendons and ligaments are inflamed, they are almost frozen in place and cannot function properly.
- Once the inflammation is decreased, we need to correct the bio-mechanical causes to ensure that they can never become over worked and inflamed again!
- This doesn’t matter whether it’s plantar fasciitis, plantar fibroma, sore bottom of foot, or even Achilles tendon pain. Treatment is all roughly very similar.
Plantar Fasciitis or Achilles Tendonitis Inflammation:
Massage & Ice Products:
- Ice is the an excellent option that can be safe for almost everyone.
- There is some debate whether icing is worth doing, but for chronic pain this can help limit the need for medications and keep your options open.
- This works great for your arch, less for the ball of the foot.
- The more muscle and ligament tissue there is, the better ice will work there.






Menthol Based Gels:
- Biofreeze is one of our favorites.
- These gels have been studied to work 2x as long as ice.
- This works great for the ball of the foot.
- This can be very effective for bottom of the heel and Achilles tendon sore regions.








Massage Sticks:
- These can work great for loosening your muscles.
- This allows less tightness and pressure on the ball of your foot.
- This is very effective for the arch, the gastrocnemius or calf muscle and for the hamstring and thigh muscles.
- This also works very well for the gluteus muscles if you are having butt cheek or hip pain.






Remove the Plantar Fascia or Achilles Tendon Stress:
- The key is to prevent future pain.
- This means keeping you active while keeping stress off of your plantar fascia tendon. This will prevent future re-injury and development of plantar fasciitis.
- If you can get rid of the pain and swelling, this will let you start walking normally.
- If you can walk normally, the vast majority of your pain should gradually start to go away.
- The best way to ensure that your plantar fascia, foot and ankle ligaments are not overworked is to support them.
- The best way to support them is to use great orthotics and great shoes.
- Some people may also need to rely on supportive ankle braces and other supportive modalities.
The Best Heel Pain & Plantar Fasciitis Shoes:
- Getting a great supportive pair of shoes will make sure that there is pressure removed from the heel and plantar fascia region.
- This is especially important if you have plantar fasciitis, heel spur pain or Achilles tendonitis.
- Consider shoes combined with a good supportive orthotic for best pain relief!
- The following link will show you what our favorites are.
Best Heel Pain & Plantar Fasciitis Orthotics:
- These are our recommended orthotics for plantar fasciitis.
- Custom orthotics can work very well, but they should not be a first line of treatment.
- There are different types for different shoes.
- Women’s shoes usually need a less bulky orthotic, but allow for less correction.
- A full length orthotic requires a running shoe, boot or comfortable walking/dress shoe.
- We recommend doing everything you can to get a good supportive shoe that can fit a full length orthotic.
- This is the best way to maximize your orthotics for great results.
Click this link for the best podiatrist recommended orthotics!
Best Full Length Orthotics:
- These will only work in wider shoes or a good supportive running shoe.
- This will not work in sandals, flats or most women’s dress shoes.








Best Dress Shoe Orthotics:
- These are a great choice for dress orthotics.






Best 3/4 Length Orthotics:
- These are great options for women’s dress shoes and thinner shoes.
- These are not the most supportive pair of orthotics.


Get A Great Dynamic Stretch:
- It is possible to stretch on your own, but these products can also really help!
- This will take pressure off of the ball of your foot.
- We personally prefer this method of stretching.








Get A Great Static Stretch:
- These devices are great for stretching while you are resting.
- This will also help take pressure off of the ball of your foot.
- This works great for plantar fasciitis.
- It can be used while watching TV or at night time.






Best Heel Compression Brace:
- A good compression brace can stabilize your foot from turning outward.
- This prevents your foot from pronated.
- Pronated foot will turn your foot outward in your foot will rub on the outside of the shoe.
- For many of her patients this has solved their pain and is very comfortable to wear inside your shoe.
- This solves both pain and outward pronation for a relatively low cost.




Best Heel Stability Brace:
- Stability brace goes little bit further than the compression brace to stop your foot from turning out.
- This takes pressure off of your heel and plantar fascia.
- At the same time this is a little bit bulkier and does not affect every shoe.
- We find people are little bit happier trying the compression brace before the stability brace.






Heel Injury:
- If you think you might have a broken heel, a calcaneal stress fracture or something of similar severity, these products might help!
- Always remember to see a foot and ankle specialist like a podiatrist if you are having plantar fasciitis or more severe pain!
Plantar Fascia Tear, Broken Heel Bone, Achilles Tendon Tear:
- If you have a traumatic injury such as a torn plantar fascia ligament, calcaneus stress fracture, heel fracture or insertional Achilles tendon injury: consider protecting your foot!
- The best way to do this is of course to see your podiatrist and get evaluated with an x-ray, ultrasound and potentially even an MRI or CT scan.
- If you are unable to do so it may benefit you to be in a cast, fractured boot, or even keep the weight off of it with a rolling knee scooter or other protective devices.
- We as podiatrists frequently take patients off work for very long period of time when they suffer a traumatic injury, unfortunately there is no other way around us in labor jobs.
- If you have a sit down job there are ways to get people back to work quicker, but this can be very difficult otherwise.
Heel Injury Boot Treatment:
- There are pros and cons to using a boot to treat your heel injury. If you are immobilized too long the cons are that you will gradually become stiff and overworked to your other leg. The Pros are that you injured heel will hopefully have a chance to gradually heal!
- Our favorite fracture boots and their supplies:








Offloading and Scooter treatment:
- These are favorite knee scooters and walking devices:








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Frequently Asked Questions About Back‑of‑Heel Pain
Achilles tendinitis hurts along the tendon; bursitis pain sits just in front of it, often with a spongy lump.
Yes. Rigid heel counters and high backs can irritate the Achilles and surrounding bursa.
Mild cases improve with rest and stretching, but ongoing pain needs a structured rehab plan.
Ice, calf stretches, heel‑lift inserts, and switching to open‑back or low‑heel shoes often reduce strain.
If pain lasts >2 weeks, worsens, or you felt a sudden “snap,” an ultrasound or MRI can confirm damage.
Cortisone near the tendon carries rupture risk—specialists use it cautiously or choose alternatives.
Yes. Sever’s disease is common in active kids aged 8–15 and improves with rest and heel cups.
Custom or semi‑custom footbeds reduce excess pronation and off‑load the tendon insertion.
Mild tendinitis: 2–4 weeks. Chronic cases or post‑surgery: 8–12 weeks with therapy.
Surgery is reserved for large bone spurs, chronic tears, or pain unresponsive to 6 months of conservative care.