Heel pain treatment in Dublin

Yes, it can. How quickly depends on how long you've had it and what recovery looks like to you, whether that's walking the dog without limping or running a 5K. We agree on a goal with you at the start and build your rehab around it. Heel pain comes back when the foot loses the strength it needs for what you're asking of it. So you finish with a simple exercise routine and the know-how to keep your foot strong, long after you've stopped coming to see us.

Most patients feel some relief in the first two or three sessions. That's step one of our method, and it's what lets us get on with the real work of strengthening the foot. Full recovery depends on three things: how long you've had the pain, how strong and mobile your foot is now, and what you're aiming to get back to. If it started a few weeks ago and your goal is to walk around the block without pain, that's usually a matter of weeks. If you've had it for months, can barely walk, and want to run a 10K, expect a few months of steady work. After your assessment we'll give you an honest estimate for your case.

Honestly, no. If you've had it for more than a month, it's very unlikely to be gone in a week, whatever a video or an insole advert promises. Anything that's been building for months has usually left the foot weaker than it should be, and strength doesn't come back in seven days. If it only started in the last few days, it's a different story, and getting it looked at early is the quickest route back. Either way, a week is enough to get the pain settling and a plan in place.

Some of them, for some people. Exercises are the core of how heel pain gets better, but only if they're the right ones for what's causing yours. A generic calf stretch or towel curl might be exactly what one person needs and a waste of time for the next. That's why we assess first: to find the cause, measure where your foot is starting from, and then give you exercises that match. If you've been doing the online ones for a few weeks and nothing's shifted, that's usually the sign they're not the ones you need.

Not necessarily. An orthotic doesn't fix anything on its own. It moves pressure from one part of your foot to another, so it only helps if the part taking the new load is strong enough to cope. That's why we work on making your foot as strong and mobile as possible first, and add orthotics only if the assessment shows you need them. When they are the right call, ours are 3D-printed from your own pressure scan rather than picked off a shelf. If you've already bought insoles in a shop, bring them to your assessment.

Probably not. Plenty of people have a heel spur and never know it, because spurs on their own don't usually hurt. So a spur on an X-ray doesn't mean it's the cause of your pain, and heel pain doesn't mean you have a spur. In most cases the pain is coming from the plantar fascia, and the spur is a bystander. The treatment is the same either way: find out why the fascia is overloaded and fix that. If you've had an X-ray, bring it along.

In most cases, yes. Stopping altogether tends to leave the foot weaker, which is the opposite of what you want. What we do is bring the load down to a level your foot can handle: shorter distances, strapping to support the sore area, maybe a change of footwear, and Class 4 laser to take the edge off the pain. Then we build the distance back up as you get stronger. How much you can safely do depends on your assessment, so book that first if you're in pain now and unsure.

Because tissue that's been overloaded stiffens up when it rests. While you're on your feet during the day it's being loaded and warmed up with every step. Overnight there's no weight on it, it cools and tightens, and your first steps in the morning ask it to take your full body weight all at once. That's the sharp pain or stiffness. After a few minutes of moving it eases. The same thing happens when you stand up after sitting for a while.

No. Both can ease the pain for a while, and for some people that's useful. But neither one changes why the area was overloaded in the first place, so on their own the pain tends to come back. Our approach is to settle the pain with strapping and Class 4 laser, then fix the cause by building strength. If your case is one where an injection is worth considering, we'll tell you and point you to the right person.

For heel pain, a podiatrist. Physios treat the whole body, and a good one will help. But feet are all we do, all day, every day, and heel pain is one of the most common things we see. That means we've got the kit for it, like pressure plate analysis and Class 4 laser, and we've seen every version of it walk through the door.

If you've been in pain for under 6 weeks, a podiatry assessment is €90: muscle, joint and strength testing to find the cause, then a plan to get you back to what you love. If it's been over 6 weeks, a full biomechanical assessment with our Footscan pressure plate is €169. Most Irish health insurance plans that include podiatry will cover some or all of it. Check your policy or ask your insurer, and we'll give you a receipt to claim with.

No. You can book directly with any of our clinics, online or by phone, and you'll be seen by a CORU-registered podiatrist.