Heel Spurs

What are Heel Spurs?

Heel spurs are a condition of the foot where a bony growth (calcium deposit) extends between your heel bone and arch. They are typically so small that they are not always visible to the naked eye. This condition usually begins at the front of your heel and eventually spreads to other parts of your foot.

Due to a heel spur being so tiny, normally about a quarter of an inch, they are hard to identify. Although they are typically painless, they can cause heel pain.

Causes of Heel Spurs

Heel spurs are caused by muscle and ligament strain, typically from long-term. As time goes by, excessive stretching of the soft tissue wears the heel down.

It’s common for this condition to be associated with the condition, plantar fasciitis.  Repetitive stress from running, walking, or jumping on hard surfaces is a common cause of heel spurs, which is why this is more common in athletes.

Additional causes of a heel spur are as follows:

• arthritis
• walking gait issues
• wearing flip-flops too often
• worn-out shoes
• excess body weight
• bruising of the heel
• poorly fitted shoes

Heel Spurs Symptoms

It’s typical for a heel spur to have no symptoms. Although, they can be associated with pain while jogging, walking or running if inflammation occurs at the point of the spur. Normally, the cause of the pain is not the heel spur itself but the soft-tissue injury associated with it.

Treatment of Heel Spurs

It’s typical for your physician to start off treatment conservatively such as resting and ice. If the pain persists for longer than a month your doctor might recommend the following:

• Stretching exercises
• Physical therapy
• Shoe recommendations
• Shoe inserts or orthotic devices
• Taping or strapping to rest stressed muscles and tendons
• Night Splints
• Corticosteroid injections

Surgical options:

Surgical procedures with heels spurs are not typical, usually, 90 percent of people heel without the need for surgical intervention. However, if conservative treatments fail over a course of 9-12 months, surgery might be the only option. These options include:

• Release of the plantar fascia
• Removal of a spur

If you’re experiencing painful heel spurs, contact us today for a specialist in the South Florida are at 954-906-9272