The heel is the largest of the 26 bones in the human foot. It is designed to provide a firm support for the weight of your body. The heel absorbs the impact when your feet hit the ground when walking and running, and it springs you forward, ready for the next step. While walking, the stresses placed on your feet can be one-and-a-quarter times your body weight (this increases to two-and-three-quarters times when running). So it is not surprising that heel pain is common.
Although heel pain can be mild and will sometimes disappear on its own, in some cases the pain persists and can become a chronic problem.
Heel pain has a variety of different causes, although the most common is a condition called plantar fasciitis. Other conditions that may cause heel pain include policeman’s heel (inflammation of the bursa, a fluid-filled fibrous sac under the heel) and pain coming from the nerves in the lower back.
Continue to next section: Symptoms of heel pain