Indentation & Heel Pain

The bottom of the foot has a ligament called the plantar fascia that connects the ball of the foot to the heel. This ligament reacts like a rubber band to help your foot move, and supports the arch.

Foot Indentation

• The arch is the indentation on the inner portion of your foot. Damage to this indentation and ligament can result in heel pain.

Flattened or High Indentation

• If the foot indentation (arch) flattens too much, it eventually weakens the ligament at the heel bone, causing pain, according to the Centers for Foot & Ankle Care. Overly high arches contribute to heel pain too.

Symptoms

• Depending on the cause of your heel pain, your foot may be stiff, especially in the morning. You may also feel a burning, stabbing, or aching pain in the heel that extends toward the arch, or indentation. It may be very painful to walk.

Commons Cause of Heel Pain

• The most common causes of heel pain are plantar fasciitis-- an inflammation of the plantar fascia--or a stress fracture of the heel or compressed nerves in the body.

Other Causes of Heel Pain

• Heel pain is also a sign of other types of medical conditions such as tarsal tunnel syndrome, entrapment of the lateral plantar nerve, plantar fascial rupture, calcaneal stress fracture, calcaneal apophysitis, ankylosing spondylitis and various systemic disorders.

Diagnosis and Treatment

• A podiatrist or an orthopedic doctor can examine your foot, and take x-rays to rule out stress fractures, bone tumors and soft tissue damage. Stretching your calf and foot several times daily reduces pain by stretching the plantar fascia ligament.