The fastest cure for heel pain depends entirely on what is causing the pain to begin with. The solution may be as simple as changing shoes, or it may be as complex as surgery. The different causes of heel pain include heel spurs, plantar fasciitis, a collapsed arch, an improper gait, bruising, fractures, and various unidentified conditions that may have gone undiagnosed. The fastest cure for heel pain includes determining the cause and then researching treatments; something simple like a blister can be treated easily at home, while a heel spur or even a wart on the heel will probably necessitate a visit to the doctor.
A plantar wart may occur when a wart develops anywhere on the sole of the foot. These are common on the heel, which can make walking, running, and any other activity that requires weight to be placed on the foot quite painful. Such warts are usually treated with medications that contain salicylic acid, but if that does not work, a doctor may perform a cryosurgery to remove it. This is perhaps the fastest cure for heel pain caused by a plantar wart, but it may leave scarring, as well. The doctor will freeze the wart with liquid nitrogen, which will cause a blister underneath the wart. The doctor will then cut the wart out. The recovery time for such a surgery is generally short unless an infection occurs.
Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the connective tissue of the foot. The heel is the most common area in which sufferers feel pain, though the actual cause of the condition may be elsewhere in the foot. The fastest cure for heel pain in this case may be as simple as purchasing more supportive insoles for the shoes, or purchasing new shoes altogether. In some cases, however, a surgery may be necessary. Such surgery is considered a last resort, since nerve damage is likely to occur. Stretching and massaging the foot can help release some of the tension in the foot, and this may be the fastest cure for heel pain due to plantar fasciitis, if it works. Sometimes plantar fasciitis is caused by a heel spur that will have to be surgically altered or removed before pain relief can occur.
Heel pain is often due to injury, such as fractures, strains, or simple overuse. In the case of overuse, muscle fatigue is the likely cause of the pain. The RICE treatment — Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation — works well to combat muscle fatigue and should get rid of the pain quickly. Fractures need plenty of time to heal on their own, and more severe fractures may require surgery.
