A common disease of the foot is the so-called heel spur (calcaneus spur). It affects 10 percent of adults. The most frequent occurrence (prevalence) of the disease is found in women between 40 and 60 years of age.
Men are affected less frequently. Heel spurs are non-physiological bone attachments in the area of the calcaneus. They are caused by irritation of the tendon plates of the sole of the foot.
A heel spur is caused by pressure and traction, which trigger increased bone growth at the corresponding site. Often no or only harmless complaints occur. However, a calcaneal spur (heel spur) can trigger inflammation in the area of the sole of the foot and thus cause severe pain.
There are two typical characteristics of a heel spur. The upper heel spur (Haglund’s heel) is located at the Achilles tendon insertion. The lower heel spur develops under the heel.
The Haglund’s heel is congenital, the lower calcaneal spur is caused by long lasting one-sided overloading. Often the cause is shoes that are too tight, overloading due to obesity or prolonged standing. In athletically active people, excessive training loads, shortening of the calf and foot muscles or running shoes that are too tight in the forefoot area are usually the triggers.
1. mobilization with the hedgehog ball Roll your feet over a hedgehog ball lying on the floor. Vary by rolling back and forth, circular movements or rolling sideways over the ball. This exercise strengthens the small foot muscles and can also be used to mobilize fascial tissue.
If the exercise is performed while standing, it also improves the sense of balance. 2. grasp with the foot Move into a sitting position. Place a cloth on the floor in front of your feet.
Now grab the cloth with your toes, hold it firmly, lift it from the floor and let it fall again. Repeat the exercise depending on your condition. 3. walking in all variations Walk barefoot in a circle.
First on tiptoe, then on the outer edge of the foot and finally on the inner edge of the foot. For variation, take very small steps, very large steps and lunges. For more exercises read the article
- Mobilization Exercises
- Achilles tendon pain – exercises that help
- Physiotherapy for heel spurs
1. stretching at the wallPosition yourself barefoot about one foot away in front of a wall.
The feet stand flat on the floor and the heel is always in contact with the floor. Now let them slowly tilt forward towards the wall. As soon as you feel a pull in the calf, hold the position to stretch the calf muscles and the Achilles tendon.
2. stretching with the towelPlace yourself in the long seat on the floor. Take a towel and pull your foot towards your body. Hold the position as soon as you feel a pull in the calf area.
Repeat the exercise as needed. You can find more stretching exercises in the articles Stretching exercises Achilles tendon and exercises against pain in the forefoot. 1. stand on your tiptoes barefoot in front of a wall about one foot away.
The arms are supported on the wall. Stand on tiptoe for about 10 seconds. Let go for 5 seconds and then start again on tiptoe.
Increase the exercise by lifting one leg slightly and walking with the supporting leg on tiptoe. 2. strengthen the foot extensors Move into the long seat on the floor. Attach a theraband to your foot and to a wall.
Now pull the foot towards the body against the resistance of the theraband, hold the position briefly and then slowly let go against the resistance of the theraband. 3. partner exercise in long seat You and a partner sit opposite each other in a long seat. Your legs are completely extended and the sole of your feet is touching the sole of your partner’s feet.
Now, against the partner’s resistance, they stretch their foot in his direction. Then the partner stretches his foot in your direction against the resistance of you. If you have Thera bands, you can use them to connect your feet and also train the pulling of the foot with resistance.
You can find more exercises in the articles
- Exercises ankle joint
- Achilles tendon pain – exercises that help
1. painting with your feet Put a sheet of paper on the floor. Sit in a chair and take a pen (preferably a felt-tip pen) between your big toe and the second toe. Now try to write your first name on the sheet of paper with your foot.You can also try simple geometric patterns like circles, squares or crosses.
2. walking on a newspaper Take a page of a daily newspaper, stand barefoot on the newspaper. Now, without tearing the newspaper, try to cross a room with small pushing steps. In the next few attempts, increase the speed without tearing the newspaper.
3. one leg stand on the roll Take a big towel and roll it up. Stand with both feet on the rolled up towel. Now try to keep your balance in the one-legged stand on the towel.
Change legs. This exercise trains especially the small foot muscles, the sense of balance and coordination. Further exercises can be found in the article Coordination and balance exercises.
1. achilles tendonPlace yourself in the seat and beat one leg over the other in the half tailor seat. With thumb and index finger you massage now circularly and laterally the Achilles tendon. Now walk back in a circle towards the heel.
2. massage the underfoot lengthwisePlace yourself in the seat and beat one leg over the other in the half-cutter seat. With both thumbs start at the inner lower edge of the heel and push lengthwise with light pressure towards the front ball of the foot. 3.
Massage the front balls of your feetPlace yourself in the seat and beat one leg over the other in the half tailor’s seat. Press between the two front balls of your feet with your thumb. Now slowly circle with your thumb on this spot.
4. massage the underfoot crosswiseMassage from the middle of the underfoot with all fingers of both hands (except the thumbs) from inside to outside. Self-massage can also be done with a fascial roller. You can find exercises for this in the article Fascia Roll.
Fascial techniques have also proven to be effective for treating heel spurs, as they lead to increased blood circulation and better resistance of the plantar fascia (longitudinal arch of the foot). Even the use of a hedgehog ball can have positive effects on the fascial tissue. Acupuncture is also used in this context.
If the pain also occurs at rest, painkillers with anti-inflammatory function (anti-inflammatory drugs) can be taken. Cold therapy (cryotherapy) has also proven to be effective, as the cold relieves the inflammatory symptoms and the subsequent increased blood circulation (hyperperfusion) of the foot leads to faster healing. A further measure for heel spur symptoms is the injection of anaesthetics or cortisone at the appropriate site.
The anesthetic relieves the pain and the cortisone leads to an inhibition of the inflammatory reactions. The treatment of a heel spur can also be done with tapes. In this case the skin and connective tissue are moved against each other by the pulling of the tapes.
This also leads to increased blood circulation and positive effects on pain receptors in the foot. In many cases, shock wave therapy is used for heel spurs. Short, high-energy mechanical-acoustic waves are generated to destroy the calcium deposits (claw under the heel).
Although the therapy is painful, it promises success. Since joggers in particular often suffer from heel spurs, there are some helpful measures to prevent prophylactically. Often the cause is wrong footwear or exaggerated training sessions, which lead to significant overstrain.
Get intensive advice when buying running shoes. If there is a particular foot position (overpronation or supination malposition), the shoe must be adjusted accordingly using insoles or other measures. Vary your training program by not always running on the same surface (e.g. road).
Do not run daily, but allow your feet to take breaks. Integrate stretching and strengthening exercises for the feet into your exercises and massage your feet. Walk barefoot as much as possible and change your shoes often to prevent one-sided strain.
If necessary, reduce your jogging training and look for sportive alternatives. For example, cycling or aqua jogging can be used to stay in training without overloading the feet in the appropriate place. If the knee joint is malaligned, a leg axis training is appropriate.
