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Healing Heel Pain

Reviewed By: Varnada Karriem-Norwood,

SOURCES: 2007 Medical Reference from Medstar Television. Judith Baumhauer, M.D., Orthopaedic Surgeon, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY.

© 1999-2011 Medstar Television

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Narrator:

Debbie Heilig's (HY ligz) heel pain spurred her to see a foot doctor.

Debbie Heilig:

She took an x-ray and she told me I had, like, a bone spur, but it was plantar faciitis.

Narrator:

Plantar Faciitis (PLANTER FASH ee EYE tiss) is a very common condition, with a telltale symptom.

Judith Baumhauer, M.D.:

You go to step on it and it gives you a yowchy pain, I always call it, right at your heel. And what that is is the plantar fascia stretching out relatively acutely when you stand on it.

Narrator:

The plantar fascia (PLANTER FASH ee uh) is a fibrous connective tissue that stretches across the bottom of the foot. As you rest, the tissue tightens up.

Judith Baumhauer, M.D.:

They'll take 20 or steps, sort of 'yowch, yowch, yowch, yowch, yowch,' and then as they get through that, they'll then ache after that.

Narrator:

Now a study by Doctor Baumhauer (BOMB hower) and colleagues finds a specific stretch can help resolve the painful problem.

Judith Baumhauer, M.D.:

A lot of time people would just lean against the wall and stretch their heel cords, and that wasn't enough. And we recognized that the plantar fascia, where it attached, it made better mechanical sense for them to bring their ankles up and their toes all the way up when they did this stretch.

Narrator:

To do the stretch, rest your ankle on your opposite leg and pull your toes toward the shin. Rub your finger along the plantar fascia for a count of ten. Do this at least three times a day.

Judith Baumhauer, M.D.:

Do the stretching protocol, 'cause that's going to be the thing that does the trick for them.

Narrator:

About 90-percent of study patients walked easier after sticking with the stretch. And that success has kept Debbie on her toes. For WebMD, I'm Damon Meharg.

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