Everything You Could Ever Need for Your Heel Pain—Right Here

And hey, there’s nothing wrong with quick and easy fixes—when they work, that is. The problem, of course, is that they often don’t, or at least not for more than a short period of time.

Yes, that goes for heel pain, too.

Trust us, we’d love it if there was a quick and easy solution that worked 100 percent of the time. It’d make our jobs a whole lot easier! But that isn’t the way it is.

The truth is that heel pain can be a lot more complicated that it initially seems, with a handful of different diagnoses (plantar fasciitis, tendinitis, Sever’s disease…) and an even greater variety of potential underlying causes (shoes, hobbies, occupations, foot structure…).

But just because heel pain is complicated and there’s no “quick fix” doesn’t mean there isn’t a method to getting rid of it! It just means you need a proper diagnosis, and a personalized treatment plan that’s appropriately tailored to your needs.

That’s where we come in. And when people “buy in” to our method, the results have been nothing short of tremendous.

The Heel Pain Circle of Care

What do we mean when we talk about our “circle of care” at Lakes Foot and Ankle? Basically, the idea is that we surround you with everything you could possibly need for the proper diagnosis, treatment, and management of your heel pain.

What will you find in the circle? Among other things:

Thorough Diagnostic Testing and Examination

As we said, heel pain can be quite complicated, with a multitude of possible combinations of causes and diagnoses. So it’s really critical to identify the correct diagnosis and causes, the first time.

A big part of this is simply having the necessary diagnostic tools in the office so we can get a fast and accurate read on the condition of your heel.

Our Commerce Township office is equipped with both digital X-ray and diagnostic ultrasound devices. The X-ray allows us to take high-resolution pictures of your heel bone and review them during the appointment, while the ultrasound gives us a real-time look at the health of soft tissues like fascia, muscles, ligaments, and tendons.

But accurate diagnosis and examination isn’t just about taking pretty pictures. It also means taking time to talk with you—as much time as necessary—about how you are feeling, what you’ve noticed, how long you’ve had your pain, what activities make it hurt, and even what your short, medium, and long-term lifestyle goals are after treatment.

These conversations aren’t just to make you feel good about your experience—although that’s a nice benefit! Careful listening and discussion gives us the critical information we need to be sure any treatments or procedures we recommend have the best chance of fast, effective results.

Speaking of which …

Building a Personalized Treatment Plan (Using Advanced Options When Necessary)

As we said before, we take pride in surrounding our patients with everything they could possibly need.

Now, when it comes to your heel pain, “everything you could possibly need” might actually be pretty simple and straightforward. If, for example, you have a mild case of plantar fasciitis exacerbated by poor footwear decisions, all you may need is a little bit of rest, some stretching exercises to practice (in the proper sequence!), and some professional advice about what to look for in your next pair of shoes.

However, if that was all we could offer, then for every satisfied patient we’d have half a dozen who felt like we wasted their time.

So we’ve also made it a priority to stay up-to-date on the latest heel pain research and evidence-based treatment protocols as well. This includes remedies such as:

• Go 4-D Custom Orthotics. Trust us—these are not your granddad’s bulky, plastic monstrosities. The system incorporates the latest biomechanics research and modern technologies like digital foot scanning and 3D printing to create the most comfortable, lightweight, and effective orthotics you’ve ever had. They’re perfect for a lot of heel pain conditions at least partially caused by foot structure or foot-ankle biomechanics imbalances.
• MLS Laser Therapy. This incredible tool uses a pair of synchronized lasers to rapidly stimulate anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, and tissue regeneration processes that are already at work in your own body. A few treatment sessions can often bring significant relief for most cases of chronic heel pain.
• HyProCure. In some cases, heel pain may be the direct result of a specific kind of hindfoot misalignment called talotarsal displacement, which essentially causes the ankle bone to “slip off” the heel bone and collapse a small, naturally occurring space (not a joint) called the sinus tarsi. If this is the case for your situation, the best solution may be to insert a small stent into the sinus tarsi via a minimally invasive surgical procedure, which should permanently realign the bones and remove the source of pain.

These advanced treatments may be accompanied by detailed instructions for things like which shoes to buy, sports medicine taping techniques, specific stretching exercises to try—all chosen based on your condition and your goals, and covered in depth in the office so that you’ll leave extremely confident that you’ll know what to do.

(Of course, if you ever need to ask more questions, you can call us anytime!)

Now, again, not everyone will need all or even any of these advanced procedures. But the point here is that, whatever is causing your heel pain, however long you’ve had it, and however bad it might be, we have you covered.

From the simplest cases to the most complex and confusing forms of heel pain, you aren’t going to find a local podiatric clinic better trained, better equipped, and better prepared to help you get better as quickly, effectively, and non-invasively as possible.

Want to be surrounded by our circle of care? Give us a call today at (248) 360-3888, or connect with us online and we’ll reach out to you during normal business hours.