Can acupuncture help heel pain?

Pain relief and speed healing with acupuncture

At Starting Point Acupuncture, we use a combined integrative approach to address chronic and complex conditions. Give our office a call today, (425) 686-4498 to schedule your initial consultation.

Can acupuncture help heel pain?

Do you have constant pain in your heels?

You may have heel pain aka heel spur syndrome or plantar fasciitis.

People often describe it as pain and tenderness along the heel, bottom of the foot, and even up to the calf. It is estimated that 10% of the population will experience this pain at some point and it leads to about 8% of injuries. Pain is usually made worse by pointing toes down, walking up or down stairs, weight bearing, or when planting feet on floor from rising from bed.

Common causes of heel pain

The most common cause of heel pain is excessive stress on the plantar fascia tissues that connect to the heel and bottom of the foot. This can be from repetitive stress/micro-trauma of the tissue, increased age, gait abnormalities, and excessive weight bearing activities. The routine route of treatment usually involves plantar fascia stretching, orthotics, anti-inflammatories, and even cortisone injection.

Can acupuncture help?

Yes! Often we hear at Starting Point Acupuncture, that we are “the last resort, with the best results.” Patients come to our office after they have tried everything else and are still in pain and not able to get back to the activities they love to do.

Acupuncture and combined integrative therapies, have been shown to decrease local and systemic inflammation, loosen trigger points and clear fascial adhesions, and improve joint range of motion and flexibility.

Read Dr. Heintze’s previous post on how acupuncture can help plantar fasciitis here.

What do the studies say?

In a recent study, they found that acupuncture can help to reduce heel pain when needled locally around the heel as well as distally at other acu-points that have specific functions to help reduce heel pain.