Heel pain in adults can be resulting from several conditions, however by far the most frequent cause is a condition known as plantar fasciitis. The pain from plantar fasciitis typically are beneath the heel and the classic symptom is that the pain is worse when getting out of bed first thing each morning for those initial few steps. Right after those first steps the pain does ease considerably, but it worsens once more as the day goes on. The plantar fascia is a long ligament underneath the bottom of the foot that is responsible for assisting the arch of the foot, so plantar fasciitis is caused by there is too much force on the arch of the foot. The leading risk factors for this are tight calf muscles, being obese and having increased amounts of exercise. Lower limb alignment issues that adds to the load in the plantar fascia are also an issue in increasing the strain.
The first approach to plantar fasciitis is pain relief with the use of ice following activity and maybe the use of anti-inflammatory as well as pain relief medication. Low dye strapping may also be used in the short term to help with the pain. Foot orthoses enables you to lessen the stress on the arch of the foot and improve any dysfunctional issues that might be a issue in causing the problem. It is important to stretch the calf muscles as it really is a big risk. Night may also be used to help with this stretching if needed. Strengthening the muscles that also support the arch could also be of great benefit because they take some load of the plantar fascia. Over the long term, losing weight is important since this actually does create a lot of stress in the foot. If these types of approaches may not be working to well, then it's time to look at treatment such as shockwave therapy or corticosteroid injections. A last consideration would be surgical procedures.