If you’re suffering from heel pain, you may well assume that you have plantar fasciitis. This condition, often called “heel spurs,” is the most common cause of a painful heel – but in some cases, another condition may be to blame.
Stress fracture
This is a type of broken bone where the surface of the bone is cracked, rather than the bone being broken all the way through. If you have this type of fracture in a heel, the pain can be very similar to plantar fasciitis. Your podiatrist will look for tell-tale signs of a fracture:
- Stress fractures do not feel any better when you’re warmed up, unlike plantar fasciitis.
- An X-ray can be used to check for certain whether there is a fracture in your heel.
Epiphyseal plate injury
Epiphyseal, or growth, plates sit at each end of your body’s long bones until you reach adulthood. At that point, they are replaced by ordinary bone. Because they are weaker than solid bone, they can easily be damaged or become inflamed.
- If a growth plate becomes swollen and inflamed, this is known as Sever’s Disease
- The condition is most common in older children and young teenagers, and is not usually long-lasting.
Achilles tendinitis
This occurs when your Achilles tendon – which you can feel at the back of your foot – becomes swollen. It is often mistaken for plantar fasciitis because the pain feels similar, but it can have long-term effects, so it’s important to get it checked out.
- Achilles tendinitis can hurt a even first thing in the morning, before you’ve done any exercise.
- The pain is usually centered on the back of your heel. Plantar fasciitis tends to hurt underneath your heel.
Seronegative arthritis
This disease is caused when your joints, and the places where they meet ligaments and tendons, become inflamed. It cannot be cured completely, but there are many treatments which will help with the pain – so get your heel checked out early.
- Most people who have this condition will experience pain in other joints, unlike with plantar fasciitis.
- It’s most common in young adults aged between 20 and 40, especially if there’s a family history.