Plantar Fasciitis Vs Heel Pad Syndrome. How to tell what's causing your heel pain

[@kategrant717]

Thanks so much for this straightforward explanation. I don’t have plantar fasciitis after all!

[@ChrisP3000x]

Did any medical professionals tell you that you still had PF, even though the test proves you don't? Just curious. Thanks.

[@PoeLemic]

Thanks for covering this topic. I've had PF (possibly heel pad syndrome too) since March 28, 2021, and it's Feb 10, 2022 now. Trust me -- it's a very painful condition. And, it's hard to heal. I went to one Podiatrist and she got it better, because I might have had micro-break or stress-fractures. And, a walking boot got it better. But, then, still after 45 PT visits -- got much better, but not healed. HOwever, I got a new podiatrist (not same one), because she dropped off my BCBS insurance -- so had to get another. And, he suggested better footwear and a footwear insert. My gosh -- almost immediately, only few days later most of my nerve pain at end of day (which was hell to ignore as you go to sleep, like a pinched nerve) is almost gone. Then, today, was first time that I ever had Crocs in the shower (my idea), and damned, that's even better for my left foot with PF. So, I finally seeing COMPLETE HEALING as a possibility. No more worries and fearful tears (private ones) that this would never go away. I think that I can get it under control now. Worst, long-term ailment that I have ever had.

[@droppedthekidsoffatthepool3257]

Standing in the shower barefoot is a huge flare up for PF, I have to use the bath it’s that bad so I totally get what you mean.

[@primehealthco_]

Thank you for sharing your story. It's so good to hear that your foot pain is now under control. Don't forget to do your foot strengthening exercises 🙃

[@larshowen3319]

2 years since you wrote this note, and I’ve come to see it. THANK YOU for posting! I’ve had plantar fasciitis in my arches before, but never in my heel. Doctor said PF, I thought it was fat pad atrophy. I’m going to treat as PF.

[@ChrisP3000x]

Update?

[@ChrisP3000x]

What shoes and inserts?

[@morganophelia5963]

I think I have both

[@PoeLemic]

Yeah, I had both. It's crippling and painful. Read my replies to "Apple Pie" above. I have really got my PF and heel pain under control. I won't cut & paste. Just look above. It'll help you, if you have what I have had. Trust me -- it'll feel like night & day difference very quick. Mine is finally letting me believe once again that I can be pain free. Or, I sure hope so.

[@primehealthco_]

It can happen!

[@prateekva]

i am having heel pain and by standing on toes my pain decreases it means i have heel syndrome. Please i request you to make video of how to decrease heel syndrome, techniques, exercises to be done. Will be very grateful to you if you do so.

[@primehealthco_]

I'm busy working on a video & blog post that explains how you can strengthen the muscles in your feet. That will help distribute the forces evenly through the tissues in your foot and offload the plantar fascia. It should be live in the next day or so 😊

[@deefee701]

Yes please make this video next. So many people are suffering this.

[@zxyn.783]

GO AND SEE DOCTOR

[@PoeLemic]

PRateek ... read my replies to "Apple Pie" above. I have really got my PF and heel pain under control. I won't cut & paste. Just look above. It'll help you, if you have what I have had. Trust me -- it'll feel like night & day difference very quick.

[@dinahyahuda7121]

ok not sure if i am dealing with pf or heel pad issues thought it was pf but not sure now…when going into a calf raise the pain is worse but while staying in the calf raise position the pain goes away…please what do you think?

[@sweetsue4204]

Well, this was interesting. Apparently what I’m experiencing isn’t plantar fasciitis at all. 🎉🥳🎉 Thank you for helping me clarify what’s causing the discomfort. Taping was my next step anyway, so I’ll simply proceed in that direction.

[@primehealthco_]

I'm glad it helped! Have a search for a heel fat pad taping technique, it's usually best to do it with the brown or white rigid (non-stretch) tape. Otherwise chat to a therapist in your area who has a sports background and they might be familiar with that technique

[@akkuverma2328]

Hi,how's ur foot now?

[@sweetsue4204]

@ my foot has completely healed, and thanks for asking.

[@akkuverma2328]

@sweetsue4204 could u please tell me briefly what helped u to get rid of the issue ? And how much time did it take?

[@sweetsue4204]

@ we’re talking two years back, but if I recall correctly I focused on gently stretching, paying attention to the connections between the feet and the pelvic girdle, so there was a lot of releasing tension in the calves and hamstrings and building up balance throughout the body. In reality, the internal you is one long string of fascia, in different stages of concentration that create bones, muscles and connective and supportive tissue, (look up Anatomy Trains for a fascinating lesson on what I mean) making it necessary to balance the whole to get relief for an isolated area. Over the last few decades I’ve been sporatically practicing a fitness program called Callanetics (a student of Sandra Hanna, who is no longer with the organization but has her own program now), which has kept me in good alignment. When I feel something slipping out of balance I typically become more consistent in my scheduled practice sessions and before long I’m back in tip-top shape. I’m pretty sure that was how I responded to the foot pain. I’m 71 and have yet to find another fitness approach that delivers the benefits of Callanetics. I can’t recommend them enough.

[@stellasreadingagainohno]

can someone please recommend good everyday shoes for the heel pad issue? or just specs fo look out for while buying s pair

[@ChrisP3000x]

Hey! Have you seen any cases with no pain on calf raise, but still plantar fasciitis?

[@MissSarahGM]

This was helpful, so I must have heel pad inflammation as the position on my toes relieves me. I have walked with barefoot shoes (for my bunions) and added gel heel pads but my heels are still sore hours after I got home. It's tricky because I like the wide toe box, but the too thin sole doesn't work for me, being 10 kg overweight, and walking on concrete.

[@JohnSmith-zs1bf]

i knew it wasnt PF because i get that every now and then and know how to deal with it. thank you.

[@susmitadey7290]

Can u plz tell me how u deal with it?? I got someking of heal pain n its just not going away..its been 4 months

[@applepie9576]

Very good explanation. I am having heel pain that started right after I had a pair of thin rubber boots on for yard work and stepped on a rock right in the middle of my heel. It was right after that that my problems began. I have an appointment with a foot doctor in a couple weeks and I'm looking forward to a diagnosis and treatment.

[@jsuryakan]

Same problem occurs to me when I walk bare foot 👣 since 6 months ago. I can,t get cure by medicine as well as other tecnik or theorpy.what can I do.

[@applepie9576]

@@jsuryakan Look up heel pad syndrome, KZbin and Google. There is a way of taping the heel pad to help. Wear shoes at all times helps. I also bought silicone heel cups from Amazon, they help too. I see Dr on Monday. Good luck to you. I hope you find answer and comfort from your pain. 🙏

[@primehealthco_]

Silicone heel cups are great for heel pad syndrome

[@sg639]

That is exactly what happened to me in the summer, and I've been treating for PF.

[@applepie9576]

@@sg639 I did get diagnosed with PF, got a shot of cortisone and a night splint. Ummm no on the night splint. But I did look on here, YT, and got some great exercises for PF and ordered a few therapy tools for it off of Amzn. I ordered 2 pr of Hoka Bondi 7's...a pair for inside and a pair for out & about. I'm getting another pair for yard work. Also, ordered arch suppports from Amzn. They don't go the whole length of the shoe which allows room for it. The ones the dr showed me, I could have put straps on them and worn them as shoes themselves. lol. I had ordered silicone heel cups but they pushed my foot too far above the back of the shoe which caused the shoe to flip/flop. The xrays showed no break or fracture BUT I still believe there was a soft tissue injury and heel pad syndrome is involved. It can happen after a traumatic injury to the heel. When I stand w/o shoes, it feels like I'm standing right on my heel bone! But in all, everything I have done has me back to 95%. One piece of advice....whatever you do to the injured foot, also do to the good foot, espec wearing any arch supports. Hope this helps anyone who reads this.

[@danmosby7980]

The best way to cure plantat faciitis is a massage use a rolling pin on the floor, Put you foot arch on top and massage the arch roliling back and forth for 5 min. This will cure the issue if 2 weeks. rolling pin or cyclinder.

[@primehealthco_]

Great comment 😊 This technique definitely works and we sometimes prescribe it to help manage the pain. It can also be done with a frozen plastic water bottle if someone finds that they respond well to icing an injury - although not everyone will respond well to this. However, you still need to address the biomechanical issue that caused you to land up with plantar fasciitis in the first place. If there is a significant weakness of the foot flexor muscles (not able to produce a force equal or above 7-10% of body weight) then more load is being absorbed by the plantar fascia instead which can irritate the tissue.

[@MrFalcon58199]

Will heel fat pad syndrome ever settle down based on your experience with patients and your opinion? I have it in both heels since November last year. Extremely severe, can't walk for more than few minutes, walking is never pain free and it tends to hurt even when resting. MRI showed inflammation and oedema in fat pad under the calcaneus in both heels, and slight fat pad atrophy in my left heel. I'm never barefoot, moving around the house in cushioned footwear and spending most of the days sitting and laying down. Also doing every day icing, some PT exercises, etc. My doctors ruled out plantar fasciitis. I'm in my mid-twenties and this thing turned my life upside down and no improvement is in sight.. I'm very desperate.

[@jameshandysam]

Hi mate, I'm really sorry to hear what you are going through! I am going through it as well since Oct 2022. I can tell you from experience that it can settle down, especially at your age but can take 6 months to do it - and the only way for it to settle is for you to completely NOT bare weight on you heel. I've had it now 4 times in my left heel and for me it was "easy" to not weight bear as I just walked around on my tip toes on one foot... for 6 months. For you, it sounds like the recovery is going to suck even more - but unfortunately you are just going to have to do what you are going to have to do. I can also say from experience, that it doesn't feel 100% until you start using it again, and here lies a problem, how do you know when you can start using it again? Short answer is you don't. I recommend for you - go something like 2-3 months of completely no weight bearing and then try use them again. If the pain doesn't pretty much immediately resolve within a day or 2, then unfortunately its too early and you need more time off your feet (I've found that upon use again at the right point the pain resolves almost immediately) - go another 2 weeks to a month and try again - the worst thing you can do is keep using it as then it will never get better!! Personally, I wouldn't worry about things like ice and anti-inflammatories but any cardio exercise you can do - especially if it involves your legs (you may be able to ride for example) should help as it will get your blood pumping and help with the healing process. The number one thing you can do though is just not use them. For background - I'm an ex professional aggressive inline skater and mine was from impact from skating (except for my latest one which has happened 14 years after my last and is from carrying heavy weights in crossfit). I'm also a final year medical student - although none of this is medical advice of course - currently taking a break from studies... because I'm unable to walk properly! Hope you get better soon mate. PS: Oh I find compression socks are super helpful as well as they help with blood flow and clearing the excess inflammation.

[@jameshandysam]

Just an update on the compression socks I mentioned above. I've found out they they have to be fairly weak compression socks otherwise they squeeze too tightly and probably cause more problems. You want very gentle compression to aid with blood flow and help shift some of the inflammation but not so compressed that its squeezing the damaged area tight. I just bought some new compression socks for mine that looked really good but they were too tight unfortunately :( Anyways hope you are getting better :)

[@AjithKumar-gw3pb]

@@jameshandysam thanks for your clarity mate ... are u now pain free??

[@AjithKumar-gw3pb]

@@jameshandysam thanks for your clarity mate ... are u now pain free by following this??

[@jameshandysam]

@@AjithKumar-gw3pb I am now pain free and returned to uni. Since writing my first response I cooked my other fat pad from over use and was in your position of having 2 cooked fat pads - tip toeing everywhere on both feet and wearing 2 moonboots just to sit in a chair 🙄 Ps: I also worked out that nicotine is very very very bad for this. I don't know if you smoke/vape but if you do chances are it's not gonna get better unless you stop. That's because you have very tiny blood vessels going to the fat pad (which is one of the reasons they heal so slowly anyways) and then vasoconstriction from nicotine basically occluded these blood vessels and over time may even make them disappear (no point having a blood vessel thar doesn't do anything!). How is your recovery coming along?

[@_Credence_]

My one was caused by stepping with my heel onto something blunt. A piece of rebar that stuck out of the floor. I always walk barefoot.

[@PoeLemic]

Yes, mine was stepping onto a concrete floor without shoes, as I love to walk BB too. NOT ANYMORE, THOUGH. I have feared touching the ground like 3-28-2021 at 3:28am. Yeah, felt like stepped onto a FUCKING LANDMINE. No exaggeration. I went to Urgent Care few hours after that, but couldnt' reproduce it. PF is so damned strange.

[@_Credence_]

@@PoeLemic i use different sitting positions, do some stretching and after a while it gets better. Then I am back outside walking barefoot. After 1 ½ hrs of walking I feel it again but by then I am usually almost back home.

[@primehealthco_]

Ouch 😖

[@mehakbhola3650]

Can fat pad syndrome in foot be cured..can any exercise promote increase in fat pad thickness under foot

[@akkuverma2328]

Hi,is hardening of the heel area is one of the symptoms of fat pad loss,I mean no elasticity in the heel area or tightness of the heel?😢

[@p.praveenadhanasekar.2427]

Wow now exactly I know why my pain is can u do this taping technique for heel pad syndrome and like how many hours u should be wearing this taping. Is it advisable during night

[@akkuverma2328]

Hi,got any relief?

[@mudassirshiraz6167]

Well I am having the same pain from your one year plz suggest me the best.

[@PoeLemic]

PRateek ... read my replies to "Apple Pie" above. I have really got my PF and heel pain under control. I won't cut & paste. Just look above. It'll help you, if you have what I have had. Trust me -- it'll feel like night & day difference very quick.

[@primehealthco_]

The correct shoes can make a big difference as some other people have commented. Alternatively try silicone or Thuli heel cups and see if that helps your symptoms. If not then you're likely dealing with plantar fasciitis and that would require consistent foot & hip strengthening to offload the plantar fascia

[@davidpeightal4918]

@@PoeLemicthat is so funny!! I have never seen someone cut and paste a response that says they won’t cut and paste!! Thank you for the good laugh.

[@xandraj5487]

I had damage to my sciatic nerve. I can't even go up onto my toes on the injured leg. Could this cause the pain that i experience in the heel, or would it be comorbid with either of these conditions?

[@primehealthco_]

I hope you're being guided by a practitioner who can rehabilitate low back / sciatic nerve issues. But yes sciatic nerve pain can refer down the back of the calf and could likely be the source of pain in your heel. You might also find that because you're unable to put weight on the balls of your foot or toe off due to the injury that more weight is being put on your heels and possibly irritating the calcaneal fat pad. Definitely get the sciatic nerve injury assessed because significant weakness of the calf should not be ignored

[@Samual_33]

It's hard for me to diagnose my pain. I have just been teaching myself to walk again after 6 months non weight bearing for a intra articular comminuted calcaneum fracture. When I stand I feel like my heel bone is touching the floor and I also have pain/pressure around the talus/subtalar region.

[@primehealthco_]

I would definitely suggest booking an appointment with a podiatrist to see if they can build a custom orthotic to offload your calcaneus while you return to walking

[@akkuverma2328]

Hi,how's ur feet now? Any relief?

[@johnmaggiorino4493]

Work amazon 10hours on feet for 40hours a week, any suggestions besides leaving the job??

[@bendietrees]

I have pf and my most comfortable shoes are Hokas. I wear them with good arch support (my podiatrist recommended 10 second arch brand). Honestly you have to really do everything you can to heal because if it becomes chronic it is so crippling.

[@johnmaggiorino4493]

@@bendietrees thanks

[@primehealthco_]

Good supportive shoes are definitely the way to go. As a rule of thumb what we recommend to our patients when trying on different brands of trainers / running shoes is to try them on in the store and walk around in them. Choose the ones that feel the best on your feet. You might prefer a shoe with a higher arch or with more cushioning around the heel compared to somebody else. It might not sound like a really scientific way to select a shoe for your foot type, but the research shows that's probably the best method we have at the moment. Thuli heel cups or silicone heel cups worn inside your shoes can add an extra layer of shock absorption and help cushion your heel. I'd also recommend working on these exercises daily for about 4-6 weeks and see if that reduces your symptoms. Glute/hip strengthening also helps maintain good lower limb biomechanics.

[@orion7741]

@@bendietrees Plantar Faciaitis cannot be "chronic". it is always attempting to heal itself, and is never considered to be a permanent or "chronic" condition because if allowed, it will always heal itself.

[@PoeLemic]

@@bendietrees Yes, it is GD crippling. You are not kidding. I would not have believed it. I thought I had good shoes, but they are partially the cause. Or the cause of me not healing quicker. The ones that work for me are Sketcher's Strike On. Shoes make damned big difference.

[@jmjanacek4335]

More cushion made my heels hurt worse🤷

[@primehealthco_]

Have you tried silicone heel cups like the Thuli heel cup? They can help some people

[@contrarian717]

To make feet fat pads thicker, so that it doesn't feel like skin over bones, that's the jackpot question.

[@kimchee94112]

Spend a lot of $$ on various Dr. Scholl's insoles, none worked for me. My podiatrist said natural feet pads get thinner with age, no way around. I had pain on the balls of the feet (not the heel) whenever I walk. She ordered shoes and a rigid support pad, still some pain with it. Lost some weight, feet and leg exercise, now without pain and no special shoes. I could feel the pressure on the balls of the feet but pain free.

[@contrarian717]

@@kimchee94112 yes me too wasted thousands on stupid orthotics. Today a zero drop shoe and stress ball cut (which I put under my arch) does the trick. But can't walk or even shower barefoot.

[@kimchee94112]

@@contrarian717 It was so painful to walk. After all the footwear I gave up and tried the cheap floor interlock pads as cutouts for my regular shoes. (I used Dr. Scholl's insoles as pattern - ha, ha) That worked better than anything , no pain and super cheap. Need to do a new cutout once a month or two as it compressed and deformed. Don't need the cutouts anymore and go barefoot all day long in the house. I think dropping 20 pounds, exercising including legs and feet/ankle, eating real food cutting out sugar, refined carbohydrate, cooking seed/vegetable oils didn't hurt. For whatever reasons it worked for me, there should be a solution for you. Good luck.

[@contrarian717]

@@kimchee94112 thanks!

[@primehealthco_]

Try Thuli heel cups or silicone heel inserts. They aren't full length orthotics but they just provide really good cushioning for your heel