The heel spur is a bone growth on the lower surface of the heel, just at the place where the heel rests against the plane when walking. Usually this outgrowth has a wide base and a sharp protrusion that penetrates into the soft tissues, causing severe pain. The reasons why this disease develops can be very diverse. But most often, heel spur occurs with flat feet, when the load is unevenly distributed over the foot, as a result, tendons are overtightened and bone tissue is inflamed beneath them. Also, the causes of heel spurs may be impaired circulation, chronic joint diseases (arthritis, polyarthritis), as well as diseases associated with metabolic disorders.
Identified symptoms and treatment of heel spurs are what will help get rid of the disease as soon as possible. The fact is that in some cases the symptoms of the heel spur do not make themselves felt at all, a person can not even know about the existence of the disease. The disease itself can be detected only with the help of an X-ray examination. And yet, in most cases, the spur makes itself felt: a person in the area of the heel begins to feel severe pains, while they only appear when walking. Since a person is constantly in motion, the pain creates real discomfort. Some even use a cane when walking, which reduces the load on the heel. Nevertheless, one must remember that the heel spur itself will not pass, it must be treated. Alas, many still don’t know how to do it right. Accurately determine the symptoms and treatment of heel spurs is possible only after contacting a doctor. In this case, it will be a surgeon or an orthopedist.
It is worth noting that the removal of the heel spur occurs only when other methods of treatment did not bring a lasting result. Usually, it is not her who is being treated, but the inflammatory process and the reason for the development of such a defect.
Symptoms and treatment of heel spurs are closely interconnected, as soon as the first one was established, the second can be started. Thus, if you repeatedly feel pain in the heel when walking, you need to see a doctor to establish an accurate diagnosis and begin treatment. What can help?
As such, a universal remedy for heel spurs has not yet been invented. Sometimes you have to try a variety of methods, including resorting to surgical removal.
The treatment itself consists of physiotherapeutic procedures (UV, magnetotherapy, ultrasound, laser therapy, electrophoresis), therapeutic exercises, massage, wearing orthopedic insoles. This is the simplest thing that can be used to treat heel spurs. If the symptoms cannot be removed in any way, and the treatment of calcaneal spur described above did not bring results, more complex methods are used. Such is retgenotherapy and shock wave therapy. The latter is a relatively new method, the use of which is not assigned to all patients. Medicinal blockade is another way to get rid of pain. Special drugs that have anti-inflammatory effects are injected into the affected area, but only a qualified specialist should do this. It is important not only to choose the appropriate drug, but also to choose the right amount and depth of administration. And this is difficult enough for someone who does not know the essence of the disease itself.
Many patients after the above treatment methods for a long time or even forever forget about what the heel spur. Often this disease returns again, and the treatment has to be repeated again. But what to do to those who have never managed to get rid of the spur. There remains the last way out: surgical removal of the heel spur. The only problem is that the operation does not eliminate the cause of the formation of the spur, but its entire consequence. But if nothing helps, then it is surgical intervention that can save.