Sore heels are getting me sore :< .

Recently I’ve become interested in different afflictions people get in their feet – sore heels, heel pain, etc. – and what to do about them.

So I’ve decided to start doing some research into sore heels and post about it here.  I’ve already done a little bit of research and found that sore heels can be linked to a thing called plantar fasciitis.  Plantar fasciitis is a pain in the heel that some people describe as a sharp pin or sting.  Apparently it affects runners mainly, or people that end up with a lot of weight on there feet over a long period of time… e.g., overweight people.

However, I wanted to look more into sore heels, as I imagine plantar fasciitis isn’t the only reason for sore heels.

Oh — speaking of sore heels… I recently started a walking regime based on a book I read.  I’m walking 30 minutes a day (or, at least, trying to :> ).  The goal is to get up to 1 hour a day, which I’m sure I can do physically, it’s just finding the time.  But I digress… the reason I bring this up as every now and again I get a sore feeling in my foot.  It’s not a sore heel, but more the ball of the foot.  Another thing to research!

I also sometimes end up with a pain in my calf.  Not major, and both don’t show up until hours, or a day, after the walk, and go away after a few hours.  The pain is never great or majorly uncomfortable… just makes you aware it’s there.

So, there’s my point… I’m going to start looking into various aspects of sore heels — why we get them, how we can avoid them, and what we can do to reduce the pain when we get it.

I already know one treatment, specifically for plantar fasciitis, if that’s the reason your heel is sore — night splints.  I plan to write about night splints for plantar fasciitis, but essentially they are a contraption you put on a night (duh) that stretches your foot a bit.

The reason for these things is pain in the heel from plantar fasciitis usually occurs after periods of resting the foot — e.g., sitting, sleeping, etc.

So by stretching the foot (and, specifically, the plantar fascia) overnight, your foot isn’t allowed to ‘rest’ and reduces the pain you’ll feel in the morning.  I’ll look into night splints more and post on that as well, as the two are certainly tied to sore heels.

And that’s it for now… more to post when I’ve researched sore heels and night splints more!