Treatment of Intractable Heel Pain

Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common conditions causing heel pain. Now a comprehensive introduction to heel pain. First, the anatomical mechanism of heel pain, the anterior side of the Achilles tuberosity has two lateral processes, the inner and outer. The lateral eminence is small and is the starting point of the little toe spreading muscle. The medial eminence is larger and is attached to the bunion, short toe flexor and metatarsal tendon membrane. The metatarsal tendon membrane consists of three parts: the central band, the medial band and the lateral band. The central bandplantar fascia (CBPF) is the thickest and toughest, originating from the metatarsal surface of the medial eminence of the calcaneal tubercle, and dividing into five branches to fuse with the flexor fiber sheaths of the toes and the lateral aspect of the metatarsophalangeal joints. The medial band covers the bunion, but is weak. The lateral band is also weak and covers the bunion spreader muscle, but is reinforced laterally by a strong fibrous band that originates from the medial or lateral eminence of the calcaneal tubercle and ends at the fifth metatarsal tubercle. Between the central band of the metatarsal tendon membrane and the medial and lateral bands, the plantar medial and lateral grooves were formed, from which the dermal branches of the medial and lateral plantar arteries and nerves passed out; the medial groove was deeper and the lateral groove shallower, and both of them were filled with adipose tissue. The tibial nerve sends out 1-2 branches of the medial heel nerve at 2 transverse fingers above the medial ankle, and the latter crosses the fibro-fatty cushion at the base of the heel and distributes throughout the entire heel and the medial periosteum of the heel bone. The tibial nerve divides into the medial and lateral plantar nerves at the deep surface of the divided ligament, and together with the medial and lateral plantar blood vessels, it passes through the deep surface of the bunion muscle to enter the plantar surface of the foot. Schepsis et al. suggested that the metatarsal tendon membrane, the medial heel branch of the tibial nerve, and the branch of the spreader muscle of the little toe all play a role in the formation of heel-plantar pain. Berkowitz et al. measured the metatarsal tendon membrane of eight patients with PF/HSS with MRI, and found that the thickest part was 7.40 mm in the sagittal plane and 7.56 mm in the coronal plane. In the five male controls matched by age and sex, the average thickness was 3.22 mm in the sagittal plane and 3.44 mm in the coronal plane, and in the five male controls matched by age and sex, the average thickness was 3.00 mm in the sagittal plane and 3.00 mm in the coronal plane, which showed that the metatarsal tendon membrane was significantly thickened in PF/HSS. However, measurements in a large number of cases (including normal values) have not yet been reported. The posterior tibial nerve descends to the posterior aspect of the medial ankle and branches into the medial flexor support band, which starts at the medial ankle and ends at the medial aspect of the heel bone; it travels upward to the medial malleolus in the plane of the medial malleolus and forms a subcutaneous branch that innervates the heel and metatarsal fat pads and the skin downward. The main branch continues to send 1-2 branches downward to form the calcaneal branch nerve, which is divided into the medial aspect of the calcaneus, and then the medial metatarsal nerve and lateral metatarsal nerve, which are distributed in the local tissues of the medial and lateral metatarsal respectively. The first branch of the lateral metatarsal nerve, which according to Rondhuis and Huson (1986) is a mixed nerve (sensory and motor), enters the deep and lower part of the metatarsal tendon membrane. Therefore, branch 1 of the lateral metatarsal nerve is the main cause of heel and plantar pain due to irritation of the plantar tendon membrane by the heel spur. At the same time, the lateral metatarsal nerve also sends branches to innervate the abductor muscles of the lesser toes, and some of the nerve fibers enter the short flexor digitorum superficialis, plantarflexor, metatarsophalangeal ligament, and calcaneal periosteum. The medial and lateral metatarsal nerves also pass through the retractor foramen and continue anteriorly toward the metatarsal toes. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that when heel spur stimulation causes heel and plantar pain, it is not limited to the heel and plantar side of the localization, but also in the heel and metatarsal medial part and the foot lumbar part of the pain and tenderness. Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of heel pain 1, medical history, onset of time, history of trauma, understanding of the patient’s footwear habits and work, treatment history. There is no internal medicine related diseases, etc. 2.Symptoms What time of the day is the pain; pain during weight bearing or pain at rest; nature of the pain, such as dull pain, stabbing pain, burning pain, persistent pain, pressure pain, etc.; 3.Physical examination Location of the pain; gait analysis; whether there is deformation of the foot; whether there is any change in the appearance of the skin of the foot; and inspection of the wear and tear of the soles of the shoes. 4.Examination X-ray photo; blood examination; joint fluid examination; bone scanning examination; tomography examination; magnetic resonance examination; ultrasonic examination; plantar pressure examination, etc. In other words, collect all kinds of information from the patient in detail, analyze it carefully, judge it carefully, and make an accurate diagnosis as much as possible.