Heel pain is one of the most common types of pain that people complain.

Some of the primary causes of Heel pain are

  1. Injury - obvious reason for pain, due to being hit in heel, landing heavily on the heel, repetitive strain (Marching), poor footwear, accident. 
  2. Plantar Fascitis - Inflammation / Swelling of the soft connective tissue that runs along the length of the foot from the heel to the ball of the toes. Primarily caused by excessive pressure on the connective tissue leading to more stretch at the level of its attachment at the heel. Excessive pressure can be caused due to poor weight bearing technique in the foot (due to injury, poor foot bio mechanics, etc), obesity and damage due to age. 
  3. Achilles Tendonitis - The Achilles tendon (the wire like structure that connects the calf muscle and heel) attaches to the heel. Any abnormal pull by the achilles tendon will cause pain in the area of its insertion in the heel causing heel pain. 
  4. Bone growth -  Abnormal bone growth in the heel. This abnormal bone growth will irritate the surrounding tissues causing pain. Abnormal bone growth is caused due to excessive pull on the bone by the soft tissues, tendons and ligaments attached to the heel. 
  5. Bursitis - Bursae are cushion pockets present between two moving structures to avoid friction. Any abnormal friction force on the bursae will cause it to swell leading to pain