Also known as: Compressed Nerve in heel, Heel Neuritis, Inflamed Heel Nerve, Painful Foot Nerve.
Symptoms:
Common symptoms include numbness, altered/strange sensations, burning, stabbing pain or a dull pain around the heel, ankle or arch area. Severe cases can result in numbness in the underside of the foot.
Causes:
The large Tibial Nerve is the largest nerve to the foot and passes down the inside of the leg, around the inside ankle bone and under the foot. This large nerve has to pass behind the ankle through a narrow space and can commonly become compressed and irritated by the tendons and other structures in this area.
Once the nerve has been compressed and irritated, the nerve becomes swollen. This swelling and pressure stops the nerve working properly and pain or altered sensations result - just like leaning on your arm for a long time and the nerve becomes squashed resulting in numbness, tingling or pain.
Treatments:
There are a number of careful treatments that can be used such as heel raises, strapping tape to hold the foot in a certain position, orthotics to reduce pressure by tilting the foot and specific exercises.
Usually there are other injuries that happen in conjunction with Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome that need to be diagnosed and addressed.
Should you suffer from Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome and are looking for professional and expert treatment, make an appointment to speak to Shoes Feet Gear's podiatry team in Paddington today.