Symptoms
The heel can be painful in many different ways, depending on the cause:
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Plantar fasciitis - Plantar fasciitis commonly causes intense heel pain along the bottom of the foot during the first few steps after getting out of bed in the morning. This heel pain often goes away once you start to walk around, but it may return in the late afternoon or evening.
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Heel spur - Although X-ray evidence suggests that about 10% of the general population has heels spurs, many of these people do not have any symptoms. In others, heel spurs cause pain and tenderness on the undersurface of the heel that worsen over several months.
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Calcaneal apophysitis - In a child, this condition causes pain and tenderness at the lower back portion of the heel. The affected heel is often sore to the touch but not obviously swollen.
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Bursitis - Bursitis involving the heel causes pain in the middle of the undersurface of the heel that worsens with prolonged standing, pain at the back of the heel that worsens if you bend your foot up or down.
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Pump bump - This condition causes a painful enlargement at the back of the heel, especially when wearing shoes that press against the back of the heel.
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Local bruises - Heel bruises, like bruises elsewhere in the body, may cause pain, mild swelling, soreness and a black-and-blue discoloration of the skin.
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Achilles tendonitis - This condition causes pain at the back of the heel where the Achilles tendon attaches to the heel. The pain typically becomes worse if you exercise or play sports, and it often is followed by soreness, stiffness and mild swelling.
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Trapped nerve - A trapped nerve can cause pain, numbness or tingling almost anywhere at the back, inside or undersurface of the heel. In addition, there are often other symptoms - such as swelling or discoloration - if the trapped nerve was caused by a sprain, fracture or other injury.
