Jerilyn Buswell

Burning Foot Pain

Preventing Posterior Calcaneal Spur

Calcaneal Spur

Overview

The heel bone is the largest bone in the foot and absorbs the most shock and pressure. A heel spur develops as an abnormal growth of the heel bone. Most commonly, calcium deposits form when the plantar fascia pulls away from the heel area, causing a bony protrusion, or heel spur to develop. While bone spurs can develop in other locations such as the rear of the heel bone, this is the most common location for development. The plantar fascia is a broad band of fibrous tissue located along the bottom surface of the foot that runs from the heel to the forefoot. Heel spurs can cause extreme pain in the rearfoot, especially while standing or walking.

Causes

Some causes of heel spurs include abnormal or lopsided walking, which places excessive stress on the heel bone, ligaments and nerves Running, jogging or jumping, especially on hard surfaces. Poorly fitted or badly worn shoes, especially those lacking appropriate arch support, excess weight and obesity.

Heel Spur

Symptoms

You may or may not experience any symptoms with your heel spurs. It is normally the irritation and inflammation felt in the tissues around your heel spur that cause discomfort. Heel pain is one of the first things you may notice, especially when pushing off the ball of your foot (stretches the plantar fascia). The pain can get worse over time and tends to be stronger in the morning, subsiding throughout the day; although it does return with increased activity. A sharp, poking pain in your heel that feels like you're stepping on a stone can often be felt while standing or walking. You will sometimes be able to feel a bump on the bottom of your heel, and occasionally bruising may appear.

Diagnosis

Your doctor will discuss your medical history and will examine your foot and heel for any deformities and inflammation (swelling, redness, heat, pain). He/she will analyze your flexibility, stability, and gait (the way you walk). Occasionally an x-ray or blood tests (to rule out diseases or infections) may be requested.

Non Surgical Treatment

Ice and use arch support . If you can localize the spur, cut a hole in a pad of felt and lay the hole over the spur. This supports the area around the spur and reduces pressure on it. Massage the spur. Start gently with your thumb and gradually increase the pressure until you?re pushing hard directly on the spur with your knuckle or another firm object. Even it if hurts, it should help. Arch support. Build up an arch support system in your shoes. Try to equalize the pressure of your body weight throughout your arch and away from the plantar area. Use a ?cobra pad? or other device that supports the arch but releases pressure on the painful area. If homemade supports do not work, see a podiatrist about custom orthotics.

Surgical Treatment

Approximately 2% of people with painful heel spurs need surgery, meaning that 98 out of 100 people do well with the non-surgical treatments previously described. However, these treatments can sometimes be rather long and drawn out, and may become considerably expensive. Surgery should be considered when conservative treatment is unable to control and prevent the pain. If the pain goes away for a while, and continues to come back off and on, despite conservative treatments, surgery should be considered. If the pain really never goes away, but reaches a plateau, beyond which it does not improve despite conservative treatments, surgery should be considered. If the pain requires three or more injections of "cortisone" into the heel within a twelve month period, surgery should be considered.