Cracked Heels

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Often referred as heel fissure, cracked heels are a common foot problem typically caused by dry skin. For most people, this is a cosmetic problem, but when the fissures or cracks are deep, they are painful to stand on and the skin can bleed or become infected. Some people tend to have a naturally dry skin that predisposes them to cracked heels. Other factors that can involve the occurrence of cracked heels are but are not limited to:

• Prolonged standing
• Biomechanical factors, such as the way you walk.
• Being overweight – this increases the pressure on the normal fat pad under the heel, causing it to expand sideways
• Wearing open back shoes, which also allows the fat pad to expand sideways.

Some medical conditions that can instigate heel fissures are autonomic neuropathy caused by diabetes, an under active thyroid, psoriasis, or eczema. These lead to a reduction of sweat in your feet, increasing the dryness. Self treatment could soften your cracked heels, and this includes applying oil based moisturizing cream twice a day and using a pumice stone daily. This can reduce the thickness of the dry, hard skin. You can also avoid wearing open back or thin sole shoes because more pressure on your feet increase the risk of ‘cracks’ because this minimizes the flexibility of your skin.

Podiatric management of cracked heels often involves:

• Removing the hard thick skin by debriding
• Strapping may be used to hold the cracks together while they heel
• You may be prescribed a insole or heel cup to alter the way you walk and prevent from reoccurring heel fissures.

Phone: (505) 883-6600 |info@angelafootdoctor.com