What’s this pain in my heel?

Symptoms:

» You’re in your early 60s, fit and active and you like to play tennis at the weekend. Last time you played you got a persistent pain in the back of your heel.

You’re in your early » 50s and suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. Recently you noticed that your heel has become very painful.

» You’re in your 40s and a keen runner and for exercise during lockdown you’ve been running more than usual. You’ve developed pain in the back of your heel running down the middle of the sole of your foot.

It could be:

Achilles tendonitis, due » to overuse of the Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscles to your heel bone. It’s quite common in middle-aged people who play sports only at the weekends.

Rheumatoid arthritis, » an inflammatory autoimmune disease, that can affect not only your joints but tendons too, including inflammation of the Achilles tendon that joins the heel bone.

Plantar fasciitis, » one of the major causes of heel pain which is common in runners, due to inflammation of the band that connects your heel bone to your toes.

Stop it:

» Achilles tendonitis can usually can be treated with NSAIDs to alleviate pain and reduce inflammation, plus hot and cold compresses. Give up tennis for a while, try stretching and strengthening exercises from a physiotherapist.

Inform your doctor of this » new development. You may need to change your medication and have some physiotherapy. A heel splint might help rest inflamed tissues.

» Stop running. Make sure your running shoes give you adequate support. Take NSAIDs to ease the pain and inflammation, ask your doctor to arrange stretching and strengthening exercises. Consider arch support.