Celebrate Foot Health Awareness Month by Ending Heel Pain!
April is Foot Health Awareness Month!
This year’s foot health theme is heel pain. Since children’s heel pain is the most common children’s foot condition, for the month of April we at HealthyFeetBlog would like to remind parents that it’s never to early to think about your children’s foot health!
Sever’s disease (calcaneal apophysitis), a repetitive stress injury to the heel growth plate common in child athletes, is the most frequent cause of children’s heel pain. Sever’s disease can be prevented by providing young athletes with athletic shoes that support the child’s still developing arch. If your child’s shoes do not have built-in arch support, you can place a pediatric arch support insert in the shoe. If your child is already suffering from heel pain, you can sooth their tender feet by having them wear children’s heel cushions.
Sever’s disease can be very painful, but most children grow out of it as their heel ligament structure strengthens and solidifies with age. If the heel cushions don’t seem to be helping your child’s heel pain or you don’t think your child’s heel pain was caused by calcaneal apophysitis, then you should take your child to a podiatrist as soon as possible. The other less common causes of children’s heel pain such as fractures and bursitis will require a doctor’s intervention to heal properly.
Children aren’t the only ones who suffer from heel pain. A recent study by the APMA (American Podiatric Medical Association) showed that nearly 40 percent of Americans have experienced some form of heel pain in the last 12 months. That makes heel pain the most common foot condition in America. Another survey by the APMA revealed that over half of Americans thought that foot pain was normal and did nothing to treat or prevent it. The majority of foot pain can be prevented and chronic foot pain should always be treated because overtime it can develop into a serious mobility challenge.
If you suffer from heel pain, let Foot Health Awareness Month be your excuse to take action and seek treatment. The average sedentary person takes between 3,000 to 5,000 steps per day. The average active person takes over 10,000. If every step you take is painful, imagine the difference in your level of comfort and happiness if you could put an end to all that pain by simply switching to healthier shoes or wearing an orthotic insole. A change like that could improve your entire outlook on life. If you suffer from chronic heel pain the first step is to visit a podiatrist. The podiatrist will be able to determine what type of foot condition you have based on what part of the heel is giving you pain. After determining whether you have plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, fat pad atrophy, or another foot condition; a podiatrist will then recommend appropriate treatment.
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