It starts with a little ache in your heel in the morning. You decide to “walk it off,” thinking it will go away on its own. But weeks turn into months, and that little ache becomes a chronic pain you “learn to live with.”

What you may not realize is that by ignoring your heel pain, you could be setting off a chain reaction of new problems throughout your body. At Advanced Foot Care of NJ, we see this ripple effect all the time, and we want you to know about it. Read on for causes, considerations, and signs to watch for.

The Body’s Compensation Plan

When a part of your body hurts, you naturally (and often subconsciously) change the way you move to avoid the pain.

If you have chronic heel pain from a condition like plantar fasciitis, you might start to…

Shift your weight to the outside of your foot
Shorten your stride
Put more pressure on your toes

This is your body’s attempt to protect the sore spot. Yet while this compensation might provide temporary relief for your heel, it forces other parts of your body to work in ways they weren’t designed to.

Where Does the Pain Show Up Next?

Trying to avoid putting excess pressure on a sore heel makes something else “give.” And this shift in your gait can lead to new and sometimes even more painful problems.

The most common places for compensation pain to occur are:

Other Parts of the Foot: Pain can develop on the outside of your foot, in the arch, or in the ball of the foot as these areas take on extra stress.
The Opposite Leg and Hip: Your “good” leg starts to take on more of the load, which can lead to hip pain or strain.
The Knees: An altered gait changes the alignment of your legs, which can lead to significant knee pain over time.
The Lower Back: When your walk is off-balance, it can throw your entire kinetic chain out of alignment, often resulting in lower back pain.

From Nagging Ache to Serious Injury

Over time, compensation can lead to more serious injuries. We’ve seen patients develop:

Stress fractures in their metatarsal bones
Achilles tendon tears due to their altered gait, which puts an unsustainable amount of stress on other structures.

Bottom line? It can be hard enough to solve plantar fasciitis, let alone try to get multiple conditions to heal at the same time!