Brief overview
- Treatment: Shoe insoles, cold therapy, physiotherapy, shock wave therapy, radiation, anti-inflammatory drugs, surgery
- Symptoms: Sharp pain in the rear arch of the foot when standing and walking.
- Diagnosis: On the basis of the symptoms, possibly X-ray examination
- Causes and risk factors: Overuse (for example, through sports), foot deformities, obesity, shortened tendons.
- Prevention: warm-up before exercise; avoid overloading; good, comfortable and suitable footwear; reduce body weight if necessary.
What is a heel spur?
A heel spur (calcaneal spur, plantar fasciitis) is a thorn-like bone outgrowth on the heel. The much more common form forms starting from the lower, front edge of the heel bone along the bottom of the foot toward the toes (plantar heel spur). The rarer, dorsal heel spur develops at the base of the Achilles tendon.
How is a heel spur treated?
Heel spur treatment aims to relieve acute pain and prevent future complaints. Patients need a lot of patience for the therapy: because it often takes several weeks or even months before the complaints disappear completely. However, surgery is only necessary in rare cases.
Relief
How is a heel spur treated?
Heel spur treatment aims to relieve acute pain and prevent future complaints. Patients need a lot of patience for the therapy: because it often takes several weeks or even months before the complaints disappear completely. However, surgery is only necessary in rare cases.
Relief
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy involves stretching the large tendon plate of the sole of the foot (plantar fascia), the calf muscles and the Achilles tendon. As a side effect, the activation improves blood flow to the tissues, which further promotes healing. The patient learns special exercises during treatment that can be further applied at home.
Infiltration therapy
Heel spur insoles
Those who are prone to heel spurs should always wear comfortable shoes. In addition, the shoes can be cleverly padded. This relieves the foot and prevents renewed complaints.
- With flat feet, bent feet or hollow feet, there is a higher risk of developing a heel spur. However, these foot malpositions can be compensated well with orthopedic insoles. In this way, it is often possible to prevent a heel spur from developing in the first place.
- For posterior heel spurs (at the Achilles tendon), a heel cushion, felt pieces or heel wedges can be glued into the back of the shoe for cushioning.
Shock wave therapy
In shock wave therapy, the practitioner directs strong pressure waves at the heel spur using a special device. They are designed to irritate the tissue and stimulate blood flow and cell metabolism. As a result, the inflammation heals more quickly and the pain is reduced.
Radiotherapy
Heel spur surgery
Heel spur surgeries are performed very rarely. They are the last measure when all other therapeutic measures have failed. Moreover, surgery is only possible in the case of a heel spur under the sole of the foot. In this case, the surgeon notches the short foot muscles and detaches the tendon plate under the sole of the foot from the heel bone. This is to relieve the tendon under the foot.
Alternative forms of treatment
Heel spur taping: Some patients rely on so-called tapes to treat a heel spur. This is an elastic adhesive tape. The skin and connective tissue are moved against each other through the use of the tape. This is to improve the blood supply to the tissue.
Alternative medical methods complement conventional medical treatment at best, but do not replace it. Talk to your doctor about how you yourself can best support the therapy.
Heel spur homeopathy: The remedy Hekla lava D4 is used for homeopathic treatment of heel spurs.
Schuessler salts: Schuessler salts such as Calcium Fluoratum D12, Calcium phosphoricum D6 and Silicea D12 are said to be good for bones and tendons.
What can you do yourself against heel spurs?
Anyone who has complaints due to a heel spur often improves them with various exercises or prevents them from recurring. These involve correcting foot malpositions, strengthening the foot and stretching the tendons and ligaments.
Foot muscle training
Stretching exercises for heel spur
The plantar tendon under the foot can be stretched through various exercises. To do this, place a tennis ball under the sole of your foot and roll back and forth with firm pressure.
Another heel spur exercise is to stand on a stair step with only the balls of your feet, then let your heels sink down until you feel a slight stretching pain in the bottom of your foot.
In principle, it is advisable to consult a doctor if the pain in the heel or sole of the foot is persistent or severe. The inflammation may become chronic and lead to permanent pain if the affected foot is loaded for a longer period of time.
Home remedies
Various home remedies are used against heel spur:
- Foot massage: Stimulating blood circulation may relieve the pain.
- Apple cider vinegar foot bath: A foot bath in warm water for five to ten minutes, to which half a cup of apple cider vinegar is added, is said to help inhibit inflammation. Alternative is a poultice with a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar.
- Groundhog fat: Groundhog ointment from the pharmacy is said to have anti-inflammatory properties and can help with joint and muscle discomfort.
Home remedies have their limits. If the symptoms persist for a long period of time, do not improve or even get worse, you should always consult a doctor.
Symptoms
Even if a heel spur can be seen in an X-ray, it does not necessarily cause discomfort. Conversely, pain sometimes occurs even if no changes are seen in the X-ray.
However, heel spur symptoms are often even more pronounced after a period of rest, for example in the morning when getting up. Often, pain can also be triggered by pressing on the corresponding spot on the heel.
A plantar (lower) heel spur causes pain at the inner front edge of the heel sole. In the case of a dorsal heel spur, the pressure point is in the area of the rear shoe cap or at the slightly higher Achilles tendon insertion (Achillodynia).
The calcaneal spur is caused by overloading of the foot. This leads to small injuries and tears in the areas where the plantar tendon or the Achilles tendon are fused with the heel bone.
The micro-injuries sometimes call for inflammation, which attracts special cells of the immune system. They repair the tissue by remodeling it. This results in small calcifications and eventually a heel spur.
- If you are overweight, the heel is subjected to greater stress with every step.
- Professions in which you have to walk or stand a lot
- Foot deformities such as flat feet or fallen arches
- Disposition
- Insufficient warm-up before sports: calf muscles, tendons and ligaments are then more tense and exert greater force on the tendon attachment at the heel.
If a heel spur is already present, it will be aggravated by any further stress. If the symptoms persist for a longer period of time, it is recommended to have the heel spur treated in any case.
Examinations and diagnosis
To confirm the diagnosis, the doctor often x-rays the side of the foot. In most cases, the ossification can already be clearly seen on the X-ray. A large calcaneal spur does not necessarily cause more severe symptoms than a small one.
Course of the disease and prognosis
A heel spur does not regress on its own. This is not a problem in itself, because the discomfort is caused by the inflammatory reaction and not by the bone outgrowth itself.
If the symptoms are more severe, there are other treatment options. Surgery for heel spurs is very rarely necessary.
Prevention
Some measures may be appropriate to prevent foot problems such as a heel spur. These include warming up well before exercise, which helps reduce stress on the tendons.
