Tag foot pain

Cracked heels which are medically called heel fissures never look good, could be a real hassle but as they may sometimes lead to more serious issues if they are not dealt with you should take them seriously. They are more common in all those who have dry skin, are overweight and use shoes with an open heel. The ideal way to address them is simply giving the feet a little more attention by starting with a hydrating ointment on them at least two times a day to begin with for the dry skin. Once a day after it has improved will probably be sufficient. Seek out skin lotions or balms that have a thicker consistency. Some of them contain skin-softening agents, which include urea and salicylic acid which may help clear away dead skin.

If the cracked heels aren't improved with that regular use of the cream, then see a podiatrist. They will likely take away the thicker dead skin and after that if you make use of the ointment repeatedly after that, then that should help ensure that is stays manageable. You might like to give your feet a little bit more attention before you go to bed by soaking the feet for approximately 10 minutes in plain or soapy water. Just after drying the feet then gently rub your heels with a foot file or something like that that can help take away the dry skin. Apply a heavier, oil-based lotion and after that cover with a pair of thin cotton socks or silicone gel heel cup at bedtime to help the moisturizing lotion work. In addition try and target the risk factors for the cracked heels. Losing weight over the long term may help and try and avoid using footwear that are open in the heel region.

Most importantly, you should not ignore the dry cracked heels since you may develop deeper fissures in the dermis which usually raise your probability of an infection. If the above self care steps don't help, talk with your podiatrist concerning other treatment options you could have.

Heel pain frequently occurs and there are a number of reasons for that. Plantar fasciitis is by far the most frequent problem and is often easy to diagnose. However, there are numerous other causes that are not as common and are much harder to diagnose. One of the less frequent conditions is a ailment known as heel fat pad atrophy. There is a covering of fat under the heel that acts as a cushion and shock absorber when we are running or walking. Usually there is plenty of fat there to provide that protection, but in some individuals it atrophies or wastes away and it might no longer protect the heel with that shock reduction. Exactly why it happens isn't completely obvious, but there is some atrophy of that fat pad with getting older and some simply appear to atrophy greater than others at a faster rate. The main symptoms of fat pad atrophy are increasing pain with standing and walking under the heel. Additionally it is crucial that you rule out other causes because they could exist concurrently.

The main way to treat heel pad atrophy is to replace the fat which has wasted away. The simplest way is to wear pads in the footwear under the heel, usually made of a silicone gel which has a similar consistency as the natural fat, since they theoretically replace the pad that is missing. This normally deals with nearly all cases of this and that is all that needs to be done. A possible problem with this method is that you have to use the pads and you can’t do this when without shoes or in sandals without difficulty. The only other option is surgery called augmentation in which some fat is surgically implanted under the heel. The inserted fat can come from another part of the body or might be synthetically created in the laboratory. The longer term results of this sort of surgery aren't yet known, however early results from the procedure appear excellent.