If part of your morning routine includes rubbing sore heels or taking gingerly steps as you get out of bed, it might be time to pay closer attention to your foot health. While everyone experiences occasional foot pain, discomfort in your heels each morning is a sign of an ongoing condition.
Many residents of Canton, Stow, and Rittman, Ohio, rely on the team at Ohio Foot and Ankle Center for comprehensive foot health services, including targeted diagnostics. Aaron Chokan, DPM, and Kristina Minniti, DPM, take great pride in helping patients identify the source of their pain so they can consider effective treatment options.
Heels are complex structures that rely on an intricate connectivity of bone, muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves, and other soft tissues. A problem with any of these components can lead to significant heel pain.
Not only does your heel enable movements like walking and running, but it also acts as a type of shock absorber throughout each day. Heels are also a critical part of maintaining your balance as you go through your daily routines.
For some, pain is present upon waking, and you can feel it even while you’re still lying in bed. That discomfort can range from mild to severe, and often takes on a throbbing effect.
Others don’t notice anything amiss until they take those first few steps in the morning. The resulting pain can be sharp or dull, and you might also notice stiffness in your feet and ankles. Sometimes the pain improves after you’ve had a chance to move around a bit, but it may also worsen as the day progresses.
Some pain can be clearly tied to an event like a foot injury or a lot of time spent on your feet the previous day. But it’s also possible to experience morning heel pain without a clear cause.
There are several factors that may be contributing to your morning heel pain. Here are the two most common causes:
Your fascia is a long band of tough connective tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot, connecting your toes to your heel. This tissue absorbs shock while walking, running, and jumping. It also supports the arch of your foot.
If you strain your fascia through frequent high-impact activities like running, inflammation will likely develop. This swelling leads to pain, which is often felt when you first put weight on your feet in the morning.
Most people find their discomfort lessens after a few minutes of walking and stretching, which helps warm up the muscles and fascia in the feet. Left untreated, plantar fasciitis can lead to the development of bone spurs on the heel, which can cause further pain.
Your Achilles tendon is a large band of tissue that connects your calf muscles to your heel. While your Achilles tendon is incredibly tough and resilient and is used throughout each day, overuse can cause problems, including painful swelling.
The most common cause of Achilles tendinitis is engaging in high-impact athletic pursuits like basketball and tennis. Interestingly, it isn’t professional athletes or high-level fitness enthusiasts who most often develop Achilles tendinitis, but people who are only active on weekends or infrequently.
Unlike with plantar fasciitis, the pain that comes with Achilles tendinitis doesn’t usually get better once you are up and moving about. Pain can linger throughout the day and can worsen as the hours pass.
Numerous other factors may be contributing to your morning heel pain. These include:
The best way to determine the cause of your discomfort is to visit Ohio Foot and Ankle Center for a thorough diagnostic workup.
Allowing heel pain to continue without treatment can make matters worse and can lead to the need for a more invasive treatment path. It can also prevent you from staying active, which can have numerous adverse health consequences.
Don’t let heel pain keep you off your feet. Reach out to the team at Ohio Foot and Ankle Center to schedule an appointment time that suits your busy schedule. We offer online booking as well as phone scheduling, so don’t wait another day to begin a path toward pain-free mornings.
