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Heel pain

Decoding heel pain: is it plantar fasciitis or something else?

Heel pain can have various causes, and it's essential to differentiate between them to receive appropriate treatment.

Where it hurts matters

Plantar fasciitis gets the blame for almost every sore heel, and often it is the culprit. But several other structures sit within a few centimetres of each other in the heel, and they cause quite different problems. Pointing to exactly where it hurts, and telling us when it hurts, is usually enough to separate them.

Plantar fasciitis

Pain under the heel, worst with the first steps in the morning or after sitting, easing once you warm up, then returning late in the day. It is tender to press on the inside of the heel where the plantar fascia attaches.

The other common causes

Fat pad irritation gives a deeper, bruised ache directly under the centre of the heel, often in older patients or after a period of hard walking. Achilles and retrocalcaneal problems sit at the back of the heel rather than underneath, and hurt when you push off or when a shoe presses on the area.

Nerve entrapment produces burning, tingling or numbness rather than a sharp local pain, and can radiate into the arch. A stress fracture of the heel bone hurts on both sides when squeezed and gets progressively worse with activity rather than better. In active children and teenagers, pain at the back of the heel is usually Sever's disease, an irritation of the growth plate, which is managed quite differently again.

Why the distinction matters

Each of these responds to a different plan. Stretching and orthoses help a plantar fascia but do little for a fat pad or a stress fracture, and load needs reducing rather than adding. Getting the diagnosis right first is what stops heel pain dragging on for months.

When to have it looked at

If heel pain has lasted more than two weeks, is waking you, is changing shape, or is stopping you walking or training normally, have it assessed. Most heel pain settles well once the right structure is being treated.

Sound familiar?

Have it assessed properly. No referral needed.

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podhealth

Podiatrist in Adelaide: Podhealth Foot & Ankle Clinic in Tea Tree Gully, Payneham and Kilburn

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Podiatrist providing routine nail and skin care at Podhealth in Adelaide
3D foot scanning for custom orthotics at Podhealth, Adelaide
Podiatrist performing a hands-on foot and ankle assessment
Paediatric podiatry gait assessment for a child in Adelaide
Podiatrist explaining foot anatomy to a patient in clinic
Foot treatment during a podiatry appointment at Podhealth

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Tea Tree Gully · Payneham · Kilburn

Health funds & funding

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What hurts?

Pain in the foot often starts somewhere else. Pick the area that sounds like yours — each one covers several possible causes.

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Everything we treat

What we do

All 17 →

A podiatrist is a university-qualified, AHPRA-registered health practitioner specialising in the foot, ankle and lower limb. You can book directly, no GP referral needed.

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Podiatrist treating a patient during a home visit in Adelaide Home visits Can't get to us?
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What we do

A podiatrist is a university-qualified, AHPRA-registered health practitioner specialising in the foot, ankle and lower limb. You can book directly, no GP referral needed.

Tap any service for the detail.

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What hurts?

Pain in the foot often starts somewhere else. Find the area that sounds like yours — each one covers several possible causes, and the first appointment is about working out which is yours.

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The team

Emmanuel Ngabo, senior podiatrist at Podhealth Foot and Ankle Clinic, Adelaide

Emmanuel Ngabo

Senior Podiatrist

Emmanuel graduated from the University of South Australia in 2015 and has worked predominantly in private practice ever since. Much of that has been inside multidisciplinary health centres, alongside GPs, physiotherapists and diabetes educators, and it shaped how he treats: the foot in the context of the whole person, not in isolation.

Patients describe him as knowledgeable, empathetic and attentive to detail. He is solution-focused, explains what he finds in plain language, and has a good sense of humour and better bedside manner. A member of the Australian Podiatry Association, he keeps up ongoing professional development so treatment reflects current evidence rather than habit.

Outside work he is usually with friends and family over good music and a glass of red. He has recently taken a keen interest in cycling, and still has some dance moves in him.

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Home visits · Metropolitan Adelaide

Good foot care, in your own space.

The same podiatry we provide in clinic, brought to you at home. For Support at Home packages, NDIS, DVA and private patients who can't get in to see us.

Podiatrist treating a patient during a home visit in Adelaide

What a visit covers

The first visit runs a full 60 minutes — time to understand your feet, your health, your mobility and what you want to be able to do.

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Home visits are not an emergency service. For urgent or life-threatening concerns, call 000.

First visit

40 minutes. No referral needed.

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Your everyday shoes, any orthotics, and your Medicare, DVA, NDIS or fund card.

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Foot health, explained plainly.

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Have it assessed properly. No referral needed.

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