If you have taken up running and have flat feet or high arches, the increased pressure and impact on your heels may have resulted in heel spurs. Even if you are under the care of a podiatrist, you may still feel some pain and discomfort with every step that you take. If so, use the following tips to help relieve the pain caused by your heel spurs.
Wear Well-cushioned, Form-fitting Shoes
One way you can help relieve your heel spur pain is by first taking a look at your shoes. When you have flat feet or high arches, pay particular attention to the cushioning that your shoes provide your feet. If there is not enough cushioning or support for your arches, this will not only contribute to the formation of the spurs, but it will also cause you more pain while you are trying to recover from them.
Your shoes should fit the contour of your feet and not leave any space between the cushion and the highest points of your arches. Also, thick cushioning or memory foam inserts can help redistribute your weight to even out the pressure of impact, helping to keep the pressure from causing you more pain.
If you cannot find shoes that match your feet, you can try using gel inserts. If this still does not help with the discomfort, speak to a podiatrist about having custom inserts tailor-made for your feet.
Do Stretching Exercises
Along with the pain directly caused to the bone, heel spurs also irritate, inflame, and cause pain to the tendons and muscles covering your heels. As a result, the tendons and muscles will tense up, causing spasms and increased pain.
One way you can help deal with this spastic pain is by performing stretching exercises for your feet and ankles. Draw large, slow circles with your toes to get started. Then, point your toes up toward the ceiling and pull back gently with your hands to help deepen the stretch. These stretches will help elongate and soften the muscles to help stop the spasms and relieve your discomfort.
While using the above tips can help relieve your symptoms while the heel spur heals, you should have the underlying condition diagnosed and treated so that you do not develop more spurs when you start running again. Make an appointment with foot sports injury treatment service for diagnosis as well as more tips on preventing heel spurs in the future.
For more information about foot or ankle sports injury treatment, contact a company like Town Center Orthopaedic Associates, P.C.
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