The Best Ways to Get Rid of Your Heel Spur

Jogging and jumping may be great for your heart, but they are not so good for your heels. Constant pounding on hard surfaces can lead to heel spur, a small bony protrusion on the bottom of the heel bone that can be painful. If you are experiencing inflammation or periodic or persistent pain in your heel, don’t waste time seeking medical attention. Consult Dr. Velimir Petkov for accurate diagnosis and successful treatment of your heel spurs. He works with you to find out the causes behind your pain and comes up with effective ways to get rid of the spur and ease your heel pain.

For some people, heel spurs are painless. They are more of an oddity than a condition needing treatment, but for some, they can cause frequent or consistent pain due to inflammation in the soft tissue surrounding the protrusion.

What Is a Heel Spur?

A heel spur is a bony growth that pokes out from the bottom of the heel, at the plantar area of the foot, under the foot sole. This condition is related to the build-up of calcium deposits between the arch of the foot and the heel. It may even extend from the underside of the heel toward the arch, creating pointy, shelf-like, or hooked growths.

Also known as osteophytes or calcaneal spurs, heel spurs happen when there is stress on your foot ligaments. Heel spurs develop with time. Most people do not realize they have a heel spur until they seek help for heel pain. There are surgical as well as non-surgical treatment options to ease heel pain and other symptoms symptoms associated with heel spurs.

What Causes Heel Spurs?

Heel spurs are the body’s response to strain and stress on the foot ligaments and tendons.

Heel spurs occur due to the following:

• Foot muscles and ligaments strain
• Plantar fasciitis – when the fibrous tissue along the bottom of your foot that connects the heel to the toes is stretched
• Tearing of the membranes that cover the heel bone

Repeated pounding of the foot, common among professional athletes, can lead to the building up of calcium deposits on the bottom of the heel bone, which can cause protrusion and inflammation. However, you don’t have to be a professional athlete to develop heel spurs.

Heel spurs can also develop due to:

• Gait abnormalities or conditions that affect your balance and coordination, affect your walk, and stress the feet
• Jogging or running on hard surfaces
• Wearing poorly fitting shoes
• Excessive weight or obesity
• Standing a lot on your feet
• Having high arches or flat feet
• Advancing age
• Diabetic foot

Are Heel Spurs the Same Thing as Plantar Fasciitis?

No. Heel spurs and plantar fasciitis are related conditions and often go hand in hand, but they are not the same and can occur independently. Plantar fasciitis happens when overuse stretches or tears your plantar fascia, the ligament that runs between your heel and the ball of the foot. If you have plantar fasciitis, you will feel intense, stabbing heel pain that comes and goes throughout the day. The pain may ease once you walk for a bit but comes back if you sit and then get up to walk some more.

On the other hand, heel spurs can happen as a reaction to stress and inflammation caused by plantar fasciitis. Over time, your body responds to the stress by building extra bone tissue. This extra tissue becomes a heel spur. Most people do not feel pain from their heel spur, but when they do, the pain is similar to that of plantar fasciitis pain.

Symptoms of Heel Spur

Heel spurs generally have no symptoms, but you may experience intermittent or chronic pain, especially when walking, jogging, or running, if the inflammation develops at the point of the spur formation. The soft-tissue injury associated with the heel spur can cause pain.

Heel spurs become a problem when they cause pain. Most patients complain they feel the pain as if a pin or a knife is sticking to the bottom of their feet when they stand each morning. The pain subsides into a dull ache as the day goes on, but this pain does not go away entirely.

The sharp pain can return if you stand after prolonged sitting.

Heel Spur Treatment

The heel pain associated with heel spur may not respond well to rest. When you wake up after a night’s sleep, the pain may worsen as the muscles stretch.

Your doctor may recommend the following to relieve pain:

• Cold packs or ice after walking and exercise to relieve inflamed tissues
• Oral anti-inflammatory medications to prevent further damage
• Injections of anti-inflammatory medications for reducing pain and swelling in the affected area
• Stretching exercises, especially before going to bed to relax the muscles
• Physical therapy
• Resting your feet
• Orthotic shoe inserts that provide arch support and spread pressure evenly
• Comfortable, well-fitting, cushioned shoes that provide extra heel support

Heel Surgery

Surgical intervention may be necessary in case of chronically inflamed heel spurs and when all other options fail to offer relief. Your doctor may recommend heel spur surgery to remove the heel spur and release the plantar fascia muscle. The idea is to get rid of the spur, reduce pain, and help you move easily without discomfort.

Piercing pain in your heels can be debilitating and affect your quality of life and movement. Call Premier Podiatry center today to set up an appointment with an experienced and trained podiatrist to find out what could be causing your pain and how to get rid of it. Dr. Petkov has been practicing as a podiatrist for more than three decades and understands how foot pain can restrict your movement. He works with you to come up with treatment plans that improve foot mobility and relieve pain in the shortest possible time.