Why heel pain hangs around for months
Most heel pain is plantar fasciitis: the strong band of tissue under your foot is being overloaded, and every day on your feet re-irritates it before it can settle. That's why rest alone so rarely fixes it, and why it's often still there six months later. The way out is to change the load: find out why your fascia is taking more strain than it should, offload it while it calms down, then build the capacity so it doesn't come straight back. That's exactly what a podiatry-led plan does.
What your assessment covers
Aaron examines the heel and confirms what's actually driving the pain, because Achilles tendinopathy, fat-pad irritation, nerve entrapment and (in children and young teenagers) Sever's disease all masquerade as 'heel pain' and respond to different treatment. You'll have a biomechanical exam and gait check to find the cause, then leave with a clear plan: targeted stretching and strengthening, footwear changes, taping or offloading, and custom orthotics only if they'll genuinely help your case.
Morning-first-steps pain, and when to come in
The classic story is sharp pain under the heel with the first steps of the morning that eases as you get going, then returns after sitting or at the end of a long day. If that's been going on for more than a few weeks, it's worth being seen: plantar fasciitis caught early responds much faster than fascia that's been irritated for a year. Patients come to the Shepperton clinic with heel pain from Sunbury-on-Thames, Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge, Chertsey and Staines.
