It is often seen as a repetitive stress injury, and thus lifestyle modification is typically the basic course of management strategies. For example, a person should begin doing foot and calf workouts. Strong muscles in the calves and lower legs will help take the stress off the bone and thus help cure or prevent heel spurs. Icing the area is an effective way to get immediate pain relief.

With prompt treatment, particularly open reduction, and early mobilisation the outcome is generally good. High energy injuries and associated fractures worsen the outcome.

The goal of non-surgical treatment of tarsal coalition is to relieve the symptoms by reducing the movement of the affected joint. This might include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), steroidal anti-inflammatory injection, stabilizing orthotics or immobilization via a leg cast. At times, short term immobilization followed by long term orthotic use may be sufficient to keep the area free of pain.

Surgery is very commonly required. The type and complexity of the surgery will depend on the location of the coalition. Essentially, there are two types of surgery. Wherever possible, the bar will be removed to restore normal motion between the two bones. If this is not possible, it may be necessary to fuse the affected joints together by using screws to connect them solidly. Cutting away the coalition is more likely to succeed the younger the patient. With age comes extra wear in the affected and adjacent joints that makes treatment more difficult.

Treatment consist of a long leg orthopedic cast for several weeks.

Bone mineral density decreases with increasing age. Osteoporotic bone loss can be prevented through an adequate intake of vitamin C and vitamin D, coupled with exercise and by being a non-smoker. A study by Cheng et al. in 1997, showed that greater bone density indicated less risk for fractures in the calcaneus.

Surgical treatment is only initiated if there is severe pain, as the available operations can be difficult. Otherwise, high arches may be handled with care and proper treatment.

Suggested conservative management of patients with painful pes cavus typically involves strategies to reduce and redistribute plantar pressure loading with the use of foot orthoses and specialised cushioned footwear. Other non-surgical rehabilitation approaches include stretching and strengthening of tight and weak muscles, debridement of plantar callosities, osseous mobilization, massage, chiropractic manipulation of the foot and ankle, and strategies to improve balance. There are also numerous surgical approaches described in the literature that are aimed at correcting the deformity and rebalancing the foot. Surgical procedures fall into three main groups:

1. soft-tissue procedures (e.g. plantar fascia release, Achilles tendon lengthening, tendon transfer);

2. osteotomy (e.g. metatarsal, midfoot or calcaneal);

3. bone-stabilising procedures (e.g. triple arthrodesis).

Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of calcaneal spurs. To quote Edward Kwame Agyekum, "When stress is put on the plantar fascia ligament, it does not cause only plantar fasciitis, but cause[s] a heel spur... where the plantar fascia attaches to the heel bone. Generally, a calcaneal spur develops when proper care is not given to the foot and heels. People who are obese, have flat feet, or who often wear high-heeled shoes are most susceptible to heel spurs.

Type II should be managed conservatively whereas type I and Ia requires to be treated surgically. Surgery involves four major steps:

- Development of the calcaneal part of the foot

- Repositioning of the navicular bone

- New adjustment of the ankle, and

- Various stabilization measures including the Grice operation and transposition of various tendons.

There are few good estimates of prevalence for pes cavus in the general community. While pes cavus has been reported in between 2 and 29% of the adult population, there are several limitations of the prevalence data reported in these studies. Population-based studies suggest the prevalence of the cavus foot is approximately 10%.

Botulinum Toxin A injections as well as similar techniques such as platelet-rich plasma injections and prolotherapy remain controversial.

Dry needling is also being researched for treatment of plantar fasciitis. A systematic review of available research found limited evidence of effectiveness for this technique. The studies were reported to be inadequate in quality and too diverse in methodology to enable reaching a firm conclusion.

Calcaneal fractures are often attributed to shearing stress adjoined with compressive forces combined with a rotary direction (Soeur, 1975). These forces are typically linked to injuries in which an individual falls from a height, involvement in an automobile accident, or muscular stress where the resulting forces can lead to the trauma of fracture. Overlooked aspects of what can lead to a calcaneal fracture are the roles of osteoporosis and diabetes.

Unfortunately, the prevention of falls and automobile accidents is limited and applies to unique circumstances that should be avoided. The risk of muscular stress fractures can be reduced through stretching and weight-bearing exercise, such as strength training. In addition, footwear can influence forces that may cause a calcaneal fracture and can prevent them as well. A 2012 study conducted by Salzler showed that the increasing trend toward minimalist footwear or running barefoot can lead to a variety of stress fractures including that of the calcaneus.

Chopart's fracture–dislocation is a dislocation of the mid-tarsal (talonavicular and calcaneocuboid) joints of the foot, often with associated fractures of the calcaneus, cuboid and navicular.

About 90% of plantar fasciitis cases will improve within six months with conservative treatment, and within a year regardless of treatment. Many treatments have been proposed for plantar fasciitis. Most have not been adequately investigated and there is little evidence to support recommendations for such treatments. First-line conservative approaches include rest, heat, ice, and calf-strengthening exercises; techniques to stretch the calf muscles, Achilles tendon, and plantar fascia; weight reduction in the overweight or obese; and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen. NSAIDs are commonly used to treat plantar fasciitis, but fail to resolve the pain in 20% of people.

Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) is an effective treatment modality for plantar fasciitis pain unresponsive to conservative nonsurgical measures for at least three months. Evidence from meta-analyses suggests significant pain relief lasts up to one year after the procedure. However, debate about the therapy's efficacy has persisted. ESWT can be performed with or without anesthesia though studies have suggested that the therapy is less effective when anesthesia is given. Complications from ESWT are rare and typically mild when present. Known complications of ESWT include the development of a mild hematoma or an ecchymosis, redness around the site of the procedure, or migraine.

Corticosteroid injections are sometimes used for cases of plantar fasciitis refractory to more conservative measures. The injections may be an effective modality for short-term pain relief up to one month, but studies failed to show effective pain relief after three months. Notable risks of corticosteroid injections for plantar fasciitis include plantar fascia rupture, skin infection, nerve or muscle injury, or atrophy of the plantar fat pad. Custom orthotic devices have been demonstrated as an effective method to reduce plantar fasciitis pain for up to 12 weeks. The long-term effectiveness of custom orthotics for plantar fasciitis pain reduction requires additional study. Orthotic devices and certain taping techniques are proposed to reduce pronation of the foot and therefore reduce load on the plantar fascia resulting in pain improvement.

Another treatment technique known as plantar iontophoresis involves applying anti-inflammatory substances such as dexamethasone or acetic acid topically to the foot and transmitting these substances through the skin with an electric current. Moderate evidence exists to support the use of night splints for 1–3 months to relieve plantar fasciitis pain that has persisted for six months. The night splints are designed to position and maintain the ankle in a neutral position thereby passively stretching the calf and plantar fascia overnight during sleep.

Other treatment approaches may include supportive footwear, arch taping, and physical therapy.

Tarsal coalition is almost exclusively a product of an error during the dividing of embryonic cells in utero. Other causes of synostosis (bone fusion) could include a surgical 'screwing together' of two bones, a very advanced case of arthritis leading to self-fusion of a joint by an internal process within the body or some other very traumatic event. The birth defect responsible for tarsal coalition is thought to often be an autosomal dominant genetic condition. This means that if you have a parent with the disorder it is highly likely to be passed on to offspring.

The proposed mechanism involves shear stress and lack of displacement due to the periosteum that is relatively strong compared to the elastic bone in young children.

Rocker bottom foot, also known as congenital vertical talus, is an anomaly of the foot. It is characterized by a prominent calcaneus (heel bone) and a convex rounded bottom of the foot. It gets its name from the foot's resemblance to the bottom of a rocking chair.

It can be associated with Edwards' syndrome (trisomy 18), Patau syndrome (trisomy 13), Trisomy 9 and mutation in the gene HOXD10.

It can also be associated with Charcots foot.

Plantar calcaneal bursitis is a medical condition in which there is inflammation of the plantar calcaneal bursa, a spongy fluid filled sac that cushions the fascia of the heel and the calcaneus (heel bone). It is characterized by swelling and tenderness of the central plantar heel area. It is sometimes called 'Policeman's heel'. It sometimes was, and should not be, confused with plantar fasciitis, which is inflammation of the plantar fascia and can affect any part of the foot.

Treatment is usually with some combination of the Ponseti or French methods. The Ponseti method includes the following: casting together with manipulation, cutting the Achilles tendon, and bracing. The Ponseti method has been found to be effective in correcting the problem in those under the age of two. The French method involves realignment and tapping of the foot is often effective but requires a lot of effort by caregivers. Another technique known as Kite does not appear as good. In about 20% of cases further surgery is required.

Retrocalcaneal bursitis is an inflammation of the bursa located between the calcaneus and the anterior surface of the Achilles tendon. It commonly occurs in association with rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathies, gout, and trauma.

The pain is usually on the back of the heel and swelling appears on lateral or medial side of the tendon.

Using the Ponseti method, the foot deformity is corrected in stages. These stages are as follows: manipulating the foot to an improved position and then holding it with a long leg cast, then removing the cast after a week, and then manipulating the foot again. The foot position usually improves over a course of 4-6 casts. The amount of casts varies from person to person to address each individual's characteristic needs.

- The initial cast focuses on aligning the forefoot with the hindfoot as Ponseti describes the forefoot as relatively pronated in comparison to the hindfoot. Supinating the forefoot and elevating the first metatarsal improves this alignment.

- Subsequent casts are applied after stretching the foot with a focus on abducting the forefoot with lateral pressure at the talus, to bring the navicula laterally and improve the alignment of the talonavicular joint. In contrast to the Kite Method of casting, it is important to avoid constraining the calcanocuboid joint. With each additional cast, the abduction is increased and this moves the hindfoot from varus into valgus. It is important to leave the ankle in equinus until the forefoot and hindfoot are corrected.

- The final stage of casting, is to correct the equinus. After fully abducting the forefoot with spontaneous correction of the hindfoot, an attempt is made to bring the ankle up and into dorsiflexion. For the majority of children, the equinus will not fully correct with casting and a procedure is done to facilitate this final aspect of the deformity correction. The procedure is a percutaneous heel cord release or Tenotomy. Ponseti advocated for doing this in the clinic with a local anesthetic. For safety reasons, many centers perform this procedure with sedation or monitored anesthesia care. In this procedure, numbing medicine is applied, the skin is cleansed, and a small scalpel is used to divide the Achilles tendon. With a small scalpel there is minimal bleeding and no need for stitches. A small dressing is applied and a final clubfoot cast is applied with the foot in a fully corrected position. This cast is typically left in place for 3 weeks.

After correction has been achieved with casting, maintenance of correction starts with full-time (23 hours per day) use of a brace —also known as a foot abduction brace (FAB)—on both feet, regardless of whether the TEV is on one side or both, typically full-time for 3 months. After 3 months, brace wear is decreased and used mostly when sleeping for naps and at night-time. This part-time bracing is recommended until the child is 4 years of age.

Roughly 30% of children will have recurrence. A recurrence can usually be managed with repeating the casting process. Recurrence is more common when there is poor compliance with the bracing, because the muscles around the foot can pull it back into the abnormal position. Approximately 20% of infants successfully treated with the Ponseti casting method will have an imbalance between the muscles that invert the ankle (posterior tibialis and anterior tibialis muscles) and the muscles that evert the ankle (peroneal muscles). Patients with this imbalance are more prone to recurrence. After 18 months of age, this can be addressed with surgery to transfer the anterior tibialis tendon from it medial attachment (the navicula) to a more lateral position (the lateral cuneiform) to rebalance these muscle forces. While this requires a general anesthetic and subsequent casting while the tendon heals, it is a relatively minor surgery that corrects a persistent muscle imbalance while avoiding disturbance to the joints of the foot.

The ultimate cause for these conditions is unknown, but the most commonly cited cause factors are rapid growth, heredity, trauma (or overuse), anatomic conformation, and dietary imbalances; however, only anatomic conformation and heredity are well supported by scientific literature. The way that the disease is initiated has been debated. Although failure of chondrocyte differentiation, formation of a fragile cartilage, failure of blood supply to the growth cartilage, and bone necrosis all have been proposed as the starting point in the pathogenesis, recent literature strongly supports failure of blood supply to growth cartilage as most likely.

The term osteochondrosis has been used to describe a wide range of lesions among different species. There are different types of the prognosis: latens, which is a lesion restricted to epiphyseal cartilage, manifesta, a lesion paired with a delay in endochondral ossification, and dissecans which is a cleft formation in the articular cartilage.

The prognosis for these conditions is very variable, and depends both on the anatomic site and on the time at which it is detected. In some cases of osteochondrosis, such as Sever's disease and Freiberg's infraction, the involved bone may heal in a relatively normal shape and leave the patient asymptomatic. On the contrary, Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease frequently results in a deformed femoral head that leads to arthritis and the need for joint replacement.

Achilles bursitis is bursitis (inflammation of synovial sac) of bursa situated above the insertion of tendon to calcaneus. It results from overuse and wearing of tight shoes.

Studies of the benefits of supplementation with calcium and vitamin D are conflicting, possibly because most studies did not have people with low dietary intakes. A 2013 review by the USPSTF found insufficient evidence to determine if supplementation with calcium and vitamin D results in greater harm or benefit in men and premenopausal women. The USPSTF did not recommend low dose supplementation (less than 1 g of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D) in postmenopausal women as there does not appear to be a difference in fracture risk. It is unknown what effect higher doses have. A 2015 review found little data that supplementation of calcium decreases the risk of fractures.

While some meta-analyses have found a benefit of vitamin D supplements combined with calcium for fractures, they did not find a benefit of vitamin D supplements alone.

While supplementation does not appear to affect the risk of death, there is an increased risk of myocardial infarctions with calcium supplementation, kidney stones, and stomach problems.

Vitamin K deficiency is also a risk factor for osteoporotic fractures. The gene gamma-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) is dependent on vitamin K. Functional polymorphisms in the gene could attribute to variation in bone metabolism and BMD. Vitamin K2 is also used as a means of treatment for osteoporosis and the polymorphisms of GGCX could explain the individual variation in the response to treatment of vitamin K. Vitamin K supplementation may reduce the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women; however, there is no evidence for men.

Certain medications have been associated with an increase in osteoporosis risk; only glucocorticosteroids and anticonvulsants are classically associated, but evidence is emerging with regard to other drugs.

- Steroid-induced osteoporosis (SIOP) arises due to use of glucocorticoids – analogous to Cushing's syndrome and involving mainly the axial skeleton. The synthetic glucocorticoid prescription drug prednisone is a main candidate after prolonged intake. Some professional guidelines recommend prophylaxis in patients who take the equivalent of more than 30 mg hydrocortisone (7.5 mg of prednisolone), especially when this is in excess of three months. Alternate day use may not prevent this complication.

- Barbiturates, phenytoin and some other enzyme-inducing antiepileptics – these probably accelerate the metabolism of vitamin D.

- L-Thyroxine over-replacement may contribute to osteoporosis, in a similar fashion as thyrotoxicosis does. This can be relevant in subclinical hypothyroidism.

- Several drugs induce hypogonadism, for example aromatase inhibitors used in breast cancer, methotrexate and other antimetabolite drugs, depot progesterone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists.

- Anticoagulants – long-term use of heparin is associated with a decrease in bone density, and warfarin (and related coumarins) have been linked with an increased risk in osteoporotic fracture in long-term use.

- Proton pump inhibitors – these drugs inhibit the production of stomach acid; this is thought to interfere with calcium absorption. Chronic phosphate binding may also occur with aluminium-containing antacids.

- Thiazolidinediones (used for diabetes) – rosiglitazone and possibly pioglitazone, inhibitors of PPARγ, have been linked with an increased risk of osteoporosis and fracture.

- Chronic lithium therapy has been associated with osteoporosis.