Pain In Back Of My Heel!

Pain In Back Of My Heel: This problem is most common while wearing tight shoes, walking or running! There are 4 main common and treatable causes!

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 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 exactly the same!

1) Achilles Heel Pain:

• The Achilles tendon is the strongest tendon 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!

Achilles Heel Pain Symptoms:

• 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 back of foot above heel.
• Sharp pain in the back of the heel, this 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 little piece of bone that grow 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 progressed.
• 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 cause irritation.

3) Heel Bursitis:

• The bursa are 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.

Heel Bursitis Symptoms:

• These are very similar to Achilles heel pain.
• Heel bursitis is also treated very similar 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 back of foot above heel.
• Sharp pain in the back of the heel, this 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.

Consider Foot Arch Pain.