Most Heel Pain is associated with
Plantar Fasciitis

Pain associated with plantar fasciitis is derived from the excess repetitive strain on the plantar fascia. The pain has little to do with the heel striking the ground. In fact placing something too soft under the heel will often aggravate the plantar fasciitis by letting the arch sink down lower thereby adding strain to the plantar fascia. Each time the foot strikes the ground, the heel hits first, followed by the ball, followed by the arch coming down. the plantar fascia bowstrings across the arch decellerating the speed at which the arch comes down. it is a shock absorbtion mechanism for the body. A foot that flattens too rapidly or too much overstretches the plantar fascia and it is the repetitive overstretching that leads to painful heels, Heels that display pain at the area which the fascia attaches to them. That flattening of the arch actually occurs with the foot rolling in too much, often called overpronation. Overpronation is often associated with heel pain.

There is no cure all to plantar fasciitis despite the various "gadgets" being sold on the internet. The key to helping plantar fasciitis often is related to the ability to decrease the tension or strain on the fascia. An arch support which "props up" the arch can help but an orthotic which works by releiving tension from the heel and ball, the areas where the fascia attaches can be much more effective. Bascially, if one turns the heel inward and the ball of the foot the opposite way, tension is releived from the plantar fascia. The goal of an orthotic is just to minimize that tension. If one can use the orthotic long enough to allow tension to be taken off the fascia, the fascia is no longer being overstretched and can heel itself.

Plantar fasciitis which has been around for a long time can lead to a deposit of calcium at the heel bone along the area where the fascia attaches. When that deposit of calcium is viewed from the side, considering the fact that x-rays are two dimensional, one sees a pointy area of calcium referred to as a heel spur. The heel spur is really a "shelf' of bone or calcium deposited along the origin of the ligament and points in the direction of the toes. The so-called "heel spur" thus has little or nothing to do with the pain experienced but is a two dimensional manifestation of a three dimensional shelf of calicified fascia. The spur itself is not the cause of the heel pain but rather a manifestation of it. It is just an "island" of calcification or ossification (bone formation) that forms in the area of fascia that is chronically inflamed.

Once one has adequate orhtotic support, then adequate cushioning may come from the shoe. If it does not, the employer may supply a rubber tred mat to stand on. If they don't  then don't fret becasue on can attach a "portable" tread mat to the outside of one's shoe AKA, an ErgoMate (see the link section for more information on this).