ABSTRACT
This chapter elaborates on the diagnosis and management of heel pain in light of the integrated nature of the human foot. It provides introduction to the science of metabolic therapies in podiatry and a call for collaboration between medical doctors and podiatrists for the future management of foot health from a metabolic perspective. Heel pain is one of the most common pathologies presented to the podiatrist office. For younger female patients, the use of oral contraceptives and exogenous estrogen must also be considered in the health of the plantar fascia and connective tissue. Advanced concepts in regenerative medicine should be considered in the case of degeneration and plantar fascia thickening. Interventions such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP), amniotic stem cells or umbilical cord stem cells may provide benefit in select patients as technologies progress.
