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Heel Pain

Relieve heel pain with custom orthotics from The FootLab, the St. Paul – Minneapolis, MN area experts

Heel pain can be caused by many reasons

Orthotics GuaranteeDuring the course of normal walking, each foot supports the entire weight of the body every other stride. Over the course of a mile that means that the average person’s foot has supported over 60 tons. For a runner that weight can go up to over 180 tons! With all this weight over a life-time of miles it’s understandable that feet get sore, heels hurt and the walking or running gait is compromised.

The stress that causes heel pain can result from an injury or a bruise incurred while walking, running, or jumping on hard surfaces. More typically, heel pain is usually a result of poorly supported feet and/or inappropriate footwear.

Plantar Fasciitis is a common cause of heel pain.

The most prevalent cause of heel pain is plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia ligament is attached to the bottom of the heel and the front of the forefoot. It’s what helps create the arch of the foot. When a foot is improperly supported the plantar fascia ligament is stretched to the point where it begins to tear away from the bottom of the heel. The sharp burning pain (worse in the morning) associated with plantar fasciitis is the result of micro tears at the base of the heel. A bone spur can develop where the plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone. The pain you experience due to these conditions is made worse by shoes that lack proper support. Custom orthotics provide this support, especially throughout the arch area of your feet.

Heel pain is most often the result of improperly supported feet

In most cases heel pain can be addressed by using a custom molded orthotic that will support your feet in the correct biomechanical position. Our custom molded orthotics will relieve stress on the heel bone and the soft tissues that attach to it.

A custom orthotic shoe insert will:

  • Control motion
  • Transfer pressure across the entire sole of the foot
  • Improve gait
  • Reduce friction

The human foot is made up of 26 bones and 33 joints. It is designed to be rigid enough to propel us during the walking stride yet be flexible enough to accommodate the sometimes irregular and uneven terrain we walk across. Because of the uniqueness of the bones and joints of the foot, no two feet are the same. A person’s feet are as unique to them as their fingerprints. And therein lays the problem. There is no way that footwear designed to fit as many feet as possible, can be supportive enough to fit an individual person’s unique foot.

In some cases an over-the-counter foot support product (Superfeet) may offer some relief to heel pain, however these products are also designed for the “average” foot, not an individual’s unique foot. A FootLab custom orthotic is molded directly from the patient’s foot and offers the best combination of correct alignment, support and comfort.

Get the custom orthotics you need to relieve heel pain, make an appointment today!

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