Heel hurts with first steps
You swing your feet out of bed and stand up. The first step lands, and your heel bites. After a few minutes of walking, it often eases off.
The sore spot may be under the heel, or at the back near the tendon. In psoriatic arthritis, pain often sits where a tendon or ligament joins the bone. Doctors call this enthesitis, which just means a sore tendon attachment.
Rest can make that first step worse, not better. An hour in a chair, then the sharp stab comes back. Heel pain has other causes too, like tight calf muscles, a strain, or flat shoes with no support.
When to see someone
See a doctor if your heel is red, hot and puffy, or you run a fever. Get seen fast if you felt a snap at the back of the ankle, or you cannot push off that foot. Book a visit for heel pain that drags on for weeks, wakes you at night, or comes with scaly skin patches, pitted nails or a whole swollen toe.
Below is a list of remedies from our reviewed file on psoriatic arthritis. Each one carries a grade that shows how strong the research behind it is. A grade is not a promise about your heel, so talk with your doctor before you change anything.



