Why heels hurt, how to treat them at home - these questions can be answered only after the correct diagnosis. If there is no visible damage (punctures, cuts), and the feeling of discomfort and pain intensifies daily, most likely you have a heel spur - bone growth in the heel. It is impossible to make out on its own. That is why it is possible to detect this modification only with the help of x-rays.
The main causes of heel spurs
There are several causes of bone overgrowth in the heel:
- Flat feet, improper distribution of weight and load on the foot.
- Overweight, power sports with heavy lifting.
- Violation of metabolic processes, blood flow.
- Foot irritation with cramped shoes.
- Infectious inflammation, chronic or past illness
Symptoms of the heel spur and causes of pain
As already mentioned, the main symptom of a spur is acute pain. It manifests itself only during a load on the foot, for example, in a standing position, while there is a feeling that the skin and muscles are damaged by a nail or needle. The most severe pains are felt in the morning (at the first exertion) and in the evening (after constant walking). During the day, pain can both disappear and periodically appear. Their main reason is inflammation of the plantar aponeurosis by irritating it with an acute spur. That's why the heel hurts.
Spur: how to treat the disease using folk remedies
Treatment of spurs in the initial stages with the use of folk recipes allows you to stop its further growth, relieve inflammation and pain. At the beginning of treatment, it is important to recognize this disease without confusing it with the plantar wart. So, you have decided on the diagnosis: you have a spur. The heel is unbearably aching and sore. What to treat and what methods to give preference to: warming up, compress, self-massage?
The first treatment method: warming up
Warming up relieves internal inflammation and swelling caused by constant bone irritation, reduces pain.
- Dietary salt (1 kg) diluted in 5 l of hot water, bring to a boil, completely dissolve the salt. Soar your feet in water (tolerable for the procedure) for 10 days. The course must be completed in full, and not stopped after the first signs of relief, which will come after the 4th-5th procedure.
- It is quite effective treatment using whey.
- For warming, alcohol or moonshine is often used. Alcohol is heated in a pan (avoid ignition), legs are lowered into it. Do not wipe the feet after the procedure. A more economical way is to use moonshine. Do not lower your feet into the liquid itself, just set it on fire and warm your feet above the flame.
The second method of treatment: compresses
If the heel hurts, how to treat it at home so that the pain subsides quickly and there are no side effects? The best option is compresses. They are of two types: night and around the clock. This procedure warms up well, relieves pain and inflammation, and prevents further growth of bone tissue.
- For compresses, garlic is often used: peel and chop the head of garlic. Put the gruel on the heel and wrap it in a bag, then put on a warm toe. To avoid burning, you can rub the skin with oil or add it to garlic. A mixture of garlic with chalk (1: 1) is also effective. These compresses apply to night, but it is better to do them in the evening for 3-4 hours.
- Our great-grandfathers also knew what to do if the heel hurts, than to treat acute pain: tar is one of the oldest and most reliable ways. It is smeared on a pile of gray (black) bread and attached to the heel for the night. Do not remove within 5-7 hours, and the course itself - at least 3 procedures.
- Not less effective and onions. For example, onion gruel, placed on the heel and wrapped in a bag and a warm cloth, can help after 3-4 times. Strengthens the healing properties of onion tar: pour a few drops of tar on the cut half of the root crop and tie it to the heel. After 3-4 procedures, the pain will decrease, the inflammation will pass.
Massage Therapies
If the compresses and warm-ups did not help, and the heel still hurts, what else to treat? In this case, self-massage using improvised means can help. For example, salt, heated and scattered on a flat surface, will not only soothe the pain, but also prevent the further growth of spurs. It is enough to “walk” on it a sick fifth daily. An old washboard will help. If you “wash” the heels twice a day for at least 15 minutes, the spurs will disappear in a few weeks. You can also massage your feet with corncob, aspen logs or potatoes.