The formation of a heel spur on the foot is a common disease that causes severe pain and trouble walking to the patient. The recommendations of doctors agree on a surgical solution to the problem, however, wearing a heel pad with a heel spur will improve well-being and relieve pain.
Heel spur: what is it and how to treat it?
This unpleasant disease in medicine is called plantar fasciitis, its cause is the growth of the calcaneus from the side of the sole near the tubercle or in the area of the beginning of the Achilles tendon. A spur is a wedge-shaped spike on the heel that becomes inflamed and causes unpleasant pain when walking.
Fascites is one of the common pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, which affects 10% of the population, and most often - women after 40 years. However, under certain negativefactors such a disease is possible at any age. Due to constant pain when walking, the quality of life of a sick person decreases, which can even lead to disability.
For a correct diagnosis, in the presence of complaints and after examination, the doctor directs the patient to an x-ray to see the size of the formed heel spike and clarify its location. After the examination, he gives recommendations on alleviating the pain syndrome and the necessary methods of treatment. The most common recommendation for pain relief is to wear silicone heel pads in shoes to reduce stress on the cleat.
What causes a spur?
Pain in fasciitis appears due to micro-ruptures of the plantar fascia - the elastic tissue that connects the phalanges of the toes and the calcaneus. Due to heavy loads on the lower limbs, the fascia is stretched, tears occur, and during the rest period at night they grow together. With frequent repetition of micro-ruptures, non-infectious inflammation begins, accompanied by severe pain.
Causes of heel spurs:
- heel or foot injuries: sprains, bruises, fractures, etc.;
- diseases that cause impaired blood circulation and metabolic processes in the body;
- diabetes mellitus and high patient weight;
- heavy loads during sports that cause sprains and other injuries;
- uncomfortable shoes without high-heeled insoles, resulting in a strong tension of the tendons and their injury;
- diseases of the spine or joints: arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, etc.;
- connective tissue diseases: rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis;
- age-related changes in which there is a thinning of the fat layer in the heel area.
Symptoms of a heel spur
Fascite disease is accompanied by unpleasant symptoms that are impossible to notice:
- The first sign is recurrent pain during movement, which gradually intensifies, causing the patient suffering with any support on the heel. They are associated, as a rule, with the pressure of the spike on the soft tissues and depend on the proximity of the spur to the nerve endings.
- Attacks of severe pain when resting on the leg after a night's sleep, which decrease during the day, but may increase again in the evening. This is due to the fact that during a long rest, microtears on the fascia have time to grow together, and when standing on the foot, a repeated injury occurs.
- Over time, scarring occurs in the tissue around the spur, as well as the accumulation of calcium compounds, and the pain intensifies even in a calm state. This means that calcification of the spur provokes the growth of osteophytes.
- The patient's gait changes due to the desire to step on the sore leg and heel less, as a result, transverse flat feet may occur.
- With a heel spur, there are no external changes on the foot, occasionally you can observe a slight swelling and the appearance of calluses.
Feeling such unpleasant symptoms, any patient will understand that this is a heel spur, and how to treat ither, the specialist will advise after an accurate diagnosis of the disease.
Methods of treating heel spurs
Treatment of fasciitis can be carried out by both medical and folk methods. The first step to relieve pain is to reduce the load on the foot and heel while walking, which can be done in several ways:
- reduce daily walking time during the day, stand less and do not lean on the diseased limb;
- recommended to purchase orthopedic insoles or heel pads: silicone, gel, etc.;
- Using overnight orthoses that keep the foot perpendicular to the leg.
Medical treatments:
- drug injections into the spur area;
- ultrasound and laser treatment;
- using shock wave therapy;
- surgery to remove thorns and growths;
- cryolysis.
Orthopedic insoles
Local shoe inserts are one way to help reduce the pain and inflammation of a heel spur. These include special insoles and semi-insoles that perform a fixing role to maintain a physiologically comfortable position of the foot when walking.
Such devices are made from natural and synthetic materials: leather, silicone, gel, felt, etc. They are sold in shoe and specialized stores, pharmacies or through Internet sites. The size of the orthopedic insole is selected according to the length of the foot and itsanatomical structure, also depends on body weight. The most comfortable are custom-made liners made in the workshop.
The insole should fully correspond to the shape of the foot, its important part is the arch support, which supports the calcaneus in an elevated position. The heel pad is made of shock-absorbing material, which helps to reduce tissue pressure and pain when walking. The design of the insoles and heel pads for heel spurs helps support the arch of the foot, promoting healing of the plantar aponeurosis.
Heel pads and their types
A variety of orthopedic insoles are heel pads, they are smaller in size and designed only for a small area of the foot. The material for their manufacture is very diverse: cork wood, natural and synthetic leather, silicone, gel, media foam.
Depending on the purpose of use, heel pads for heel spurs are divided into the following types:
- Shock-absorbing - has the shape of a rounded wedge, a dense frame and is used in the complex treatment of certain diseases: arthrosis, calcaneus injuries and spurs. Inside there is a hard liner that massages the soft tissues while walking and helps to soften the inflamed bone growth on the heel.
- Gel heel pad - is distinguished by the presence of bumpers and is made of special silicone, there is a springy insert inside. Such a soft material perfectly retains its shape, within the treatment of fasciitis, it allows you to give the correct position to the foot, reduces the load on the joints, massages the affected area to improve blood circulation. Their advantage is that women's gel heel pads with a heel spur can also be worn in high-heeled shoes.
Tips for choosing a heel pad
The use of heel pads allows patients with foot spurs to return to normal life, gain the ability to walk and move freely and without pain, and also helps to reduce inflammation and take the first step towards recovery.
Which heel pad is best for a heel spur to choose is important to improve the condition of the disease. Doctors consider the best option to be the manufacture of such orthopedic corrective devices according to individual measurements and to order in a special workshop.
When choosing an insole or heel pad (silicone or other material) in a pharmacy, it is recommended to pay attention to the following aspects:
- required fitting before purchasing the product;
- shock absorption when walking with such a device should be optimal;
- when choosing, it is necessary to measure the insert with exactly the shoes (preferably casual) on which it will be placed;
- pay attention to the convenience and physiological parameters of this product: what weight is it designed for, the level of pathology, etc.
Folk treatments
There are manyrecipes for compresses and mixtures that help reduce pain and inflammation. Alternative treatment of heel spurs at home offers the following methods:
- Applying an iodine mesh to the spur zone helps in the early stages of the disease. It is also recommended to make a mixture of 50 g of iodine, 1 tsp. honey and s alt, mix all the components and apply through 4 layers of gauze overnight in the form of a compress, which is wrapped with a bandage. The mass can be stored in the refrigerator. Before the procedure, it is better to soften the foot in water with a temperature of 45-55ºС. In the morning you need to walk for 15-20 minutes without removing the bandage, stretch your legs, then wash your foot with warm water. Course - 5 days.
- Garlic compress is done weekly. For him, several cloves of garlic are taken, rubbed to a gruel and applied to the painful area with a circumference of up to 3 cm, polyethylene is placed on top, then the foot must be fixed with a bandage perpendicular to the leg, the exposure time is from 4 to 6 hours, preferably at night, after removing the compress should be washed leg with clean warm water. During the action, with unpleasant sensations (burning or burning), it is better to remove the compress in order to avoid burns.
- Lotions with dimexide, in which the medicine must be diluted in water in a ratio of 1:5, wet a napkin with a solution, attach to the heel, wax paper on top, put on a woolen sock. The duration of the compress is 30 minutes daily for 10-14 days, then after a break for a week, the course can be repeated.
- A compress with medical bile is put on a gauze bandage for a day, the course is up to 2 months. When changing bandages, the foot must be washed.and dry well so that there is no diaper rash.
- Folk recipe for ointment for the treatment of spurs, consisting of 1 egg (the shell is dissolved in vinegar or essence for 3 days), 200 g of melted butter. The resulting remedy is applied in the form of a compress to the sore spot for the whole night. As a rule, positive results will be noticeable after a few days.
Medicinal treatments
When conservative and alternative methods of treatment do not help, then one of the effective ways to help quickly relieve pain is a drug blockade of the spur in the heel area. This procedure is performed by an orthopedic surgeon, making an injection in the area of the inflamed fascia.
Drugs for the blockade of the heel spur ("Hydrocortisone", "Diprospan", "Kenalog", "Flosteron") help to stop inflammation in the connective tissues and almost completely relieve pain. Often, novocaine injections are also added, which eliminate pain during the procedure.
Disadvantages of the procedure:
- pain may return and require 2-3 more injections;
- Mistakes can lead to complications: infection and inflammation, osteoporosis, tissue necrosis, trauma and destruction of the plantar fascia.
Other treatments
In addition to medicinal methods and the use of insoles or heel pads, the following procedures are often prescribed for heel spurs:
- massage of the foot and heel area, which can be done either by a specialist oralone at home;
- hot baths with paraffin, mud, radon, etc.;
- therapeutic exercise to stretch the ligaments and strengthen the fascia (using balls or cylindrical objects);
- applying special plasters in a course of 10-12 procedures that are sold in a pharmacy, they include antiseptic and analgesic drugs, plant extracts that help relieve inflammation: aconite root, gentian, angelica or Chinese angelica, Indian camphor, etc..;
- treatment of the painful area with the apparatus "Vitafon", etc.
Patient testimonials
Facilitate the healing process and relieve discomfort from a heel spur only by using an integrated approach to solving the problem. Doctors recommend simultaneous treatment with home methods, medical and physiotherapy. It is very important during the treatment period to reduce the load on sore feet, which helps to make the use of heel pads for heel spurs. Testimonials from patients who have coped with such a painful problem show symptom relief and improved quality of life after using home treatments and heel relief devices.
