About Sydney Heel Pain Clinic
"There’s something uniquely cruel about heel pain, and that is that the search for a solution is often just as frustrating as the condition itself.”
— Dr Karl Lockett, Founder & Principal Podiatrist
Over the past two decades, Sydney Heel Pain Clinic has helped more than 7,000 patients overcome persistent heel pain through continual refinement of our assessment methods, clinical decision-making, treatment strategies and ongoing investment in clinical systems and technology. While many patients know us for our expertise in shockwave therapy, successful outcomes come from knowing when it should be used, when it shouldn’t, and what other interventions are required to achieve lasting recovery.
For our founder, Dr Karl Lockett, heel pain has never been just another condition treated in a busy podiatry clinic. It has shaped much of his professional career and, long before that, touched his life personally. As a child, Karl experienced persistent heel pain caused by Sever’s disease and was forced to step away from the sports he loved.
Despite undergoing regular physiotherapy over an extended period, the pain persisted. Years later, he watched his mother struggle with severe, persistent plantar fasciitis causing debilitating heel and arch pain in both feet. Applying the conventional knowledge and standard treatment approaches he had learnt at university simply wasn’t enough to help her recover. Those experiences began a clinical journey that has since been shaped by more than two decades of practice and the assessment and treatment of over 7,000 patients with heel pain.
Unlike a general podiatry practice, Sydney Heel Pain Clinic has deliberately concentrated almost exclusively on the assessment and treatment of heel pain for more than two decades. That singular focus has allowed us to continually refine our assessment process, clinical decision-making and treatment strategies.
Many of the patients who attend Sydney Heel Pain Clinic have already sought treatment elsewhere. They have often consulted other healthcare practitioners, completed home-based rehabilitation programs, purchased orthotics, changed footwear or followed online advice without achieving lasting improvement. We frequently recognise patterns that explain why recovery has failed. Our assessment identifies the biomechanical and clinical factors contributing to your condition, explains them clearly, and our treatment strategy addresses them directly.
Heel pain is not a diagnosis. While plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain, symptoms may also arise from Achilles tendinopathy, the heel fat pad, bone, nerve or other anatomical structures. Our assessment determines precisely which structure is responsible before the most appropriate treatment strategy is selected.
We know that no two patients arrive with exactly the same history, biomechanics or functional demands. While two people may share the same diagnosis, the clinical and mechanical factors sustaining their symptoms may be very different. Our assessment process is intentionally investigative, combining comprehensive biomechanical assessment with careful clinical evaluation to identify the mechanical, anatomical and lifestyle factors contributing to heel pain before determining the treatment strategies best suited to your diagnosis and recovery. We identify and address the underlying drivers contributing to your condition and help eliminate them, rather than simply treating the symptoms of pain.
Where custom foot orthoses are clinically indicated, every prescription begins with a 3D digital foot scan and is designed, reviewed and refined in-house using specialised CAD software, a dedicated orthotic design team and precision 3D printing technology. This provides complete clinical oversight of the design process, allowing every parameter of the prescription to be individually evaluated, refined and optimised before manufacture, rather than relying on a standardised laboratory process.
Footwear is another area where patients are commonly given conflicting advice. Human instinct is often to cushion the heel, a recommendation frequently reinforced by well-meaning advice. Cushioning is one thing. Control is another. Comfort is one thing. Correction is another. During your consultation, we explain exactly what characteristics are required for your condition and provide a condition-specific list of recommended shoes that is continually refined and updated as new models are released.
Recovery rarely depends on a single treatment. Progressive rehabilitation forms an important part of many treatment plans, restoring tissue capacity and helping reduce the risk of recurrence once pain has settled.
Heel pain can be complex, but your treatment pathway shouldn’t be. Our commitment is to combine more than two decades of clinical experience with a structured, investigative approach that delivers diagnostic accuracy, target-specific interventions and coordinated rehabilitation to maximise recovery and restore function as efficiently as possible.
Meet The Team
Dr Karl Lockett
Founder & Principal Podiatrist
Dr Karl Lockett has spent more than 25 years focusing almost exclusively on heel pain and lower limb biomechanics. His experience includes serving as Consulting Podiatrist to the Sydney Opera House, guest lecturing in biomechanics and presenting internationally, including for the Singapore Podiatry Association. He continues to lead the clinical direction of Sydney Heel Pain Clinic, overseeing the continual refinement of its assessment methods, treatment strategies and clinical systems.
George Milner
Sports & Musculoskeletal Podiatrist
George Milner is a Sports and Musculoskeletal Podiatrist with more than 10 years of experience in lower limb biomechanics, rehabilitation and movement-based care. He has a particular interest in heel pain and takes an investigative approach to understanding why symptoms develop, why previous treatment has not been successful and how to restore efficient movement while reducing the risk of recurrence.
