Heel pain is an injury to the foot that is unique to humans. Of all four-legged vertebrates, only humans walk with the heel touching the ground. All other animals use the tip of the foot (toes). This is known from the process of learning to walk in small children. Children stand and walk on their toes, walk with the center of gravity in front of their bodies, lift their legs when bending their hips and knees, and then stomp on the ground, easy to fall. When they learn to walk on their heels, the toes turn up when walking to avoid tripping.
When walking, the position of the center of gravity in the feet, different ages have different. Children walk, the body’s center of gravity is located in front of the feet. Children and young people walking, the body’s center of gravity is more in the middle of the foot. In middle-aged and elderly people, the body’s center of gravity is mostly behind the feet. This is the reason why heel pain mostly occurs in middle-aged and elderly people.
Pain in the heel of the foot is mostly seen in two places. One is below the heel (bottom of the heel); one is behind the heel (where the Achilles tendon is attached to the heel bone or slightly above the Achilles tendon). The causes and treatments vary from site to site.
Pain below the heel
Pain under the heel has one cause – swelling. This is the cause of pain when the foot touches the ground.
Why is it swollen? There are three reasons for the formation of heel swelling.
One is the environment; almost all living areas are now hardened floors. Anyone who stamps his foot hard towards the ground will be in pain (some may say, who is so stupid? There are really stupid people in the world to do so, of course, not really stupid, is unintentionally stupid, later will talk about).
Second, the shoes are not suitable. In the city to wear “rural shoes” (thin-soled, sponge, plastic soles, hard heel shoes). These shoes and hard ground cooperation, the heel want not to hurt are difficult.
Third, walking posture. As mentioned earlier, children walking, the body’s center of gravity leaning forward, young people walking, the body’s center of gravity is located in the feet, the elderly walking, the body’s center of gravity gradually moved to the back of the foot. No matter what age, the stride between the two feet is the length of its own two feet. That is, the distance from the heel of the front foot to the toe of the back foot is the length of their own two feet. The length of the stride remains the same, and the center of gravity of the body changes. The negative emphasis of the foot naturally changes. Therefore, the elderly walk more with the heel stomping the ground.
The number of stomping on the ground is equivalent to knocking the heel with a sledgehammer equal to the weight. If the ground is hard and the shoes are hard, can the heel not be swollen? The body is swollen place can not be painful? Many elderly people adhere to walking exercise, heel constantly stomping the ground. It is the “silly” people mentioned earlier.
If a doctor says to you that the pain in your heel is due to a bone spur. You’ve met a doctor who is a two-hundred-fifty man. Because he does not have basic common sense. It’s not a spur, it’s a calcified (petrified) scar where the metatarsal tendon membrane attaches to the heel bone. If you look at it from the side, it looks like a thorn, but in the other direction, it’s not a thorn. The tip of the thorn is facing the toe, and it should be facing downward before it sticks to the heel.
The reason for the heel pain is clear, so we know how to treat it. It is impossible to change the environment, no one can take a step, smash a step, and make the ground loose and soft. There are also three methods of treatment.
A change of shoes. City people should wear “city shoes” (thick rubber-soled shoes). Slope heel, flat bottom can be. The key is thick enough, more than two centimeters, to have a certain elasticity and hardness. Although the sponge bottom elastic, too soft. The body weight pressed on it is not elastic, so it is not suitable.
Two small steps. Walk out of the foot to maintain the length between the two feet in about a foot. This ensures that the weight is pressed on the entire sole of the foot, reducing the weight bearing on the heel. The pain is immediately reduced.
Three cold water foot wash. Cold to what extent? Like the feeling of putting your feet in cool water in summer (24-28 degrees Celsius). Do not use hot water to scald your feet.
Using the above three methods at the same time will not make the heel pain go away immediately, but it will gradually reduce (the edema in the heel gradually decreases) and heal itself in about two weeks to one month.
Pain behind the heel
The pain behind the heel is usually at the back of the heel, at the Achilles tendon and on both sides. And there is also edema in the painful area.
Edema is the cause of the pain. There are two causes of edema.
One is running and jumping on hardened ground, and the Achilles tendon sheath is damaged or the bone (pediatric is epiphysis) at the attachment of Achilles tendon is injured.
The second is the back of the shoe is not appropriate, the heel extrusion, friction leads to skin and skin in (under) the surface of the fascia injury.
Treatment is simple.
A stop running, jumping activities for a period of time. The time to stop running and jumping is shorter for those with pain at the Achilles tendon than for those with pain at the Achilles tendon attachment, which needs to be stopped for one to two months. The former can be stopped for about three weeks. Those who still have discomfort can extend their recuperation time.
Two loose and comfortable shoes. The back of the shoe should be soft and comfortable, and the ankle should be flexed and stretched without the feeling of pressure and irritation.
Third, wash the foot with cold water during the period of swelling and pain. To what extent is it cold? Just like putting your feet in cold water in summer (24-28 degrees Celsius). Do not use hot water to scald your feet.
Do not try to use closed methods, although closed can solve the temporary pain, but because of the use of anesthetics and hormones, affect the growth of the Achilles tendon damage repair. The use of more times, will cause the Achilles tendon rupture (Liu Xiang is so broken Achilles tendon).
For the body, there is no “fast to get well”, only “fast to hurt” and “fast to die”. “Sickness like fire, dispel sickness like silk” this old saying is not without reason.