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How to get more heel pain patients: a plan for podiatry and foot and ankle practices

The glass front entrance of a podiatry practice

Adults call about pain under or behind the heel, pain with their first steps, or pain after standing or running: new heel pain calls, consult requests and follow-up visits. This guide covers heel pain in podiatry, orthopedic foot and ankle and sports medicine practices; plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, foot pain, ankle sprain and bursitis have their own guides. The podiatrist, the foot and ankle clinician or the treating clinician (the clinician below) evaluates the patient and decides the plan, including whether and which procedure is needed.

In short

  • Speak to adults with heel pain in their own words, without blame.
  • Keep landing pages simple: symptoms, evaluation, clinician, price, one way to book.
  • Book the visit with a short script that never names a treatment.
  • Relay the MedlinePlus contact lines whole, then tell the clinical team.
  • Follow up with consent, without pressure, and track each request.
  1. SearchAn adult looks for care near them.
  2. Your pageWhat you treat, who sees them, one way to book.
  3. Call or formThey call or send a request.
  4. Front deskBooks the visit and never guesses a cause.
  5. Clinical teamThe clinician decides the plan.
How a new patient request reaches your practice.

1. Who the patients are and what they search for

Callers are adults 18 or over, of any sex, with pain in one or both heels. They search for heel pain, pain in the bottom or back of the heel, heel pain in the morning, heel pain after standing or running, or a foot doctor near them. Use the same words on your pages.

The MedlinePlus heel pain page says “Heel pain is pain or discomfort located at the back, bottom (plantar surface), or sides of the heel.” It also says “Heel pain is most often the result of overuse. However, it may be caused by an injury.” Staff never guess the cause.

Aim ads at adults only, never target by sex or family status, and never build audiences from health information.

2. Landing page basics

Care starts with an evaluation. Only the clinician can tell one cause of heel pain from another, so the page sells the visit, not a result.

  • Name the symptoms people notice, in their words: heel pain, pain with the first steps, pain after standing or running, a tender or swollen heel.
  • Give the clinician’s name and real credentials.
  • Give a starting price and what it includes. Self-pay patients may be entitled to a good faith estimate.
  • Show one way to book.

Never blame a patient’s job, sport, shoes, body or age, never say who needs a procedure, never name a treatment, and never promise any outcome. Avoid “fix your heel”, “step out of bed without pain”, “heel pain gone”, “risk-free” and “insurance will cover it”. Better: “the clinician will examine your heel, ask about your symptoms and talk through the options with you”.

3. The phone script

Staff collect answers and book. They never judge urgency, never say what condition a caller has and never name a treatment.

  1. “Thanks for calling. May I take your name, your age and the reason for your visit?”
  2. “Which heel hurts, when did it start, and did a doctor refer you? Please bring a list of your medicines and any notes from earlier care.”
  3. “The evaluation starts at [price]. Further care may be extra. We will check your plan, but cannot promise coverage.”
  4. Which treatment, and will it work? “We cannot tell that on the phone. The clinician will examine you, ask about your symptoms and decide with you what the options are.”
  5. “I can book your evaluation now. May we text or email you about it?”

Book adults only; pass any caller under 18 to the clinical team. Staff never advise on medicines, sport, work or what to do at home; they pass those questions on. See the new patient phone script.

4. Routing and safety lines

Under When to Contact a Medical Professional, the MedlinePlus heel pain page gives one sentence and one list, quoted whole, in source order. It says “Contact your provider if your heel pain does not get better after 2 to 3 weeks of home treatment.” It goes on “Also contact them if:” and lists:

  • “Your pain is getting worse despite home treatment.”
  • “Your pain is sudden and severe.”
  • “You have redness or swelling of your heel.”
  • “You cannot put weight on your foot, even after resting.”

These are the source’s words, not front desk advice. If a caller reports anything that matches, tell them what MedlinePlus says, then tell the clinical team right away. Staff read the lines as the source writes them and add no words of their own about how urgent a call is. The saved source gives no other urgent line, so staff add none. Any other report that worries a caller goes to the clinical team right away.

Make follow-up visits easy to book; the clinician decides what each visit covers and how often to see the patient.

Text or email only with the patient’s own contact details and consent; see texting patients and the TCPA. Follow up without pressure (see consultation to treatment), never pay or take payment for referrals (see patient referrals for medical practices), and track each request from first contact to evaluation.

Where MediLeadGen fits

MediLeadGen sends practices requests from people interested in cash-pay elective treatments. Each request goes to one practice only, with the person’s consent naming that practice, at a fixed price per delivered request.

See how it works for practices

Questions practices ask

How do we get more heel pain patients?

Answer quickly, give clear prices and real credentials, keep claims inside the sources, and book an evaluation where the clinician decides the plan.

Can we tell callers which treatment they need or that it will work?

No. The podiatrist, the foot and ankle clinician or the treating clinician examines the patient and decides the plan after the evaluation, including whether and which procedure is needed.

What should the front desk do when a call sounds urgent?

Relay the matching MedlinePlus line from section 4, then tell the clinical team right away. Staff never judge urgency and never say what condition a caller has.

Does insurance cover heel pain care?

Coverage varies by plan. Check each patient’s plan, and do not promise coverage in ads or on the phone.

General information for practice teams, not legal or clinical advice. Check device labeling, FDA requirements, state rules and your advertising with counsel and your clinicians. Last reviewed October 2026.

More resources

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