Could a beach holiday be causing your heel pain?
A reader thinks they may have trodden on something sharp in the sand. Dr Mark Porter explains why a common foot condition could be the real cause.
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A reader thinks they may have trodden on something sharp in the sand. Dr Mark Porter explains why a common foot condition could be the real cause.
We have just come back from a beach holiday in Lanzarote where I think I may have trodden on something in the sand because ever since, I have had a painful left heel, most noticeably when I first get out of bed. It settles by mid-morning but is back with a vengeance the next day.
I can’t see any splinter or cut, and I don’t remember feeling any pain after stepping on anything. Any idea what it could be?
I would need to see and examine you to be sure, but if there isn’t an obvious puncture wound or foreign body I suspect that this is plantar fasciitis – a kind of “tennis elbow” of the sole of the foot where the tissues attach to the front of the underside of the heel bone.
The inflammation is commonly triggered by doing a lot of walking barefoot on a sandy beach, and the classic symptom is pain under the heel that is worse in the morning, particularly when you first put your heel to the floor. People sometimes describe it as feeling like they have a stone in their shoe.
Your GP will be able to confirm what is going on and advise accordingly. I usually recommend a combination of stretches, impact-absorbing insoles in shoes (such as Sorbothane) and avoiding going barefoot or wearing flip-flops. Or indeed oversized Crocs or wellies (basically any loose footwear that makes you claw your toes).
Google “plantar fasciitis” for more details on specific stretches, but please be patient as it often takes weeks, and sometimes months, to get better.
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