What is a heel spur? What does pathology look like? Is it possible to cure the disease with folk remedies? Of course, these questions are of interest to many people, because diseases of the musculoskeletal system are considered one of the most common.
Spur on the heel, the symptoms and treatment of which will be described below, gives the patient great discomfort. Its occurrence is completely unrelated to age; plantar fasciitis (the scientific name of the disease) can appear both in young people and in people of retirement age. If a heel spur is diagnosed, the symptoms and treatment will depend on the negative factors that provoked the disease.
Causes of disease development
A heel spur is a spike-like bony growth at the heel bone or at the insertion of the Achilles tendon. Treatment of spurs on the heels, the causes and symptoms of the disease can be very different. Let us first consider the factors that affect the appearance of a heel spur. The main cause of the formation of the disease is considered to be a micro-rupture or inflammation of the plantar fascia (a ligament on the foot that supports its arch, when walking the entire weight of a personfalls just on it). In addition, the following factors may precede the appearance of spurs:
- foot or heel injury;
- diseases that provoke circulatory disorders;
- overweight, diabetes, metabolic disorders;
- too much stress on the foot (long-term wearing of high heels or excessive exercise);
- longitudinal flatfoot;
- arthritis, gout, osteoarthritis or other diseases of the joints and spine.
How a heel spur is formed
Since the spur on the heel (symptoms and treatment will be described below) is not an independent disease, it is the growth that does not bring any discomfort. The cause of unbearable pain is trauma to the ligaments of the foot. Moreover, damage can simultaneously form on two legs. In addition, you should be aware that there is a mucous bag on the foot, which can also become inflamed and damaged. The heel bone reacts to this in the same way as in arthrosis, that is, it begins to expand and take the form of a growth. It is almost impossible to visually detect an ailment, but it is very well visible with an x-ray.
Spurs on the heels: symptoms, photos
The main symptom of the disease is a very severe pain in the heel, which increases when relying on the heel area, especially after a long stay at rest. The pain is quite pronounced, as a result of which the patient tries to transfer all the weight on the toe when walking, protectingheel area from pressure. In some cases, people use a pole while walking to reduce pressure on the heel as much as possible.
Symptoms are most severe in the evening. It has been noticed that the size of the growth directly affects the sensations, that is, the larger the osteophyte, the more pain a person will feel. In addition, constant pressure on the growth provokes the development of inflammation, which can subsequently cause an infection, leading to suppuration of the skin and overlying tissues. On palpation of the heel, you can also feel some signs of the onset of the disease. At the same time, the foot is usually tense, when stroking in the area of osteophyte development, you can feel the callus.
Only a specialist should diagnose a disease, prescribe a medicine for heel spurs, since the symptoms of some other ailments (osteoma, foot fracture, sprain, and others) are very similar to plantar fasciitis. But we all know that a correct diagnosis is the key to successful therapy. Professional treatment of spurs on the heel, medicines, selected taking into account all the physiological characteristics of the patient, will allow you to forget about the disease and again feel all the delights of life. So, what methods are used to treat plantar fasciitis?
Drug treatment for heel spurs: medications
Before starting therapy, you should unload the diseased limb as much as possible, eliminate pressure on the foot. Depending on the complexity of the case, the doctor may prescribe:
- bed rest;
- use intapes during the day, and orthoses during the night, due to which the pressure on the foot is reduced;
- use orthopedic shoes;
- reducing the load on the foot (reducing the duration of walking, standing posture, etc.);
- use when walking crutches, sticks and other special equipment.
Drugs are used externally. To ensure analgesic and anti-inflammatory action, they are prescribed: "Piroxicam gel", "Voltaren", "Diclofenac" ointment, "Ketorol gel" and others. The selected drug is rubbed into the affected area three times a day. The full course of therapy is 2-2.5 weeks.
Dimexide
If the question of how to remove spurs on the heels has become relevant, you can purchase "Dimexide" and use it to treat the disease. In this case, the healing liquid is diluted with water (1: 5) and a gauze napkin is impregnated with the resulting solution. Then apply it in the form of a compress on the affected area, cover with polyethylene or wax paper. Then a sock is put on the affected leg. This will fix the compress and improve its effect. The duration of one procedure is about half an hour, in total it will take 8-10 sessions.
Medical bile
This remedy is also used in compresses to help treat plantar fasciitis. Produce medical bile in the form of an emulsion. To use the drug, a gauze napkin is folded into 3-4 layers and impregnated with a healing liquid. Thereafterapplied to a sore spot, covered with paper and insulated by wearing a warm sock. After 12 hours, the compress must be changed to a new one. The duration of such treatment is 1-2 months.
Cream "Pyatkaspor" and "Tiger Eye"
Recently, dietary supplements have been actively used to treat certain diseases. One of them is a cream called "Pyatkashpor". Even by the name, you can understand for what purposes it should be used. The drug relieves the symptoms of the disease, tension in the foot and improves mobility.
Cream "Tiger's eye Ortho heel spur" will soften the skin, relieve inflammation, improve blood circulation in the foot. Treatment with creams is desirable to combine with the wearing of special orthopedic insoles, which can be purchased at a pharmacy or specialized centers.
Bang De Li and Bone Spur Plaster
External patches are made on a natural basis and are used to relieve swelling, pain and improve blood circulation. Applying the tool is very simple. To do this, a patch from spurs on the heels is glued for 1-3 days on the affected area. After that, you need to take a five-day break and repeat the procedure. In total, it is recommended to make 10-15 applications.
Homemade ointments for plantar fasciitis
Together with drug treatment, it is recommended to use folk remedies. Spurs on the heels are most often treated with propolis, s alt, herbs, honey. They make various medicinalbaths, rubbing, lotions or compresses. You can also make an excellent ointment for heel spurs from ordinary home remedies.
To do this, take 1 tbsp. l. honey, mix it with 1 tsp. fine s alt and 50 ml of iodine. The resulting mass is stirred until smooth, put a little on a cotton pad and applied to the affected area. From above they cover with cellophane and insulate by putting on a woolen sock. After 15 minutes, the compress can be removed. In total, 10-15 procedures need to be done, depending on the course of the disease.
Homemade heel spur ointment can be prepared in another way. A tube of any baby cream is squeezed into the bowl, one raw egg and 10 ml of vinegar essence are added. The ingredients are thoroughly mixed and used as the previous homemade ointment.
Healing herbs
Folk treatment of spurs on the heels is often carried out with the help of medicinal herbs. For example, they take fresh young nettle leaves and pass them through a meat grinder. 2 tbsp. l. The resulting mass is spread on a burdock leaf and applied to the resulting spur. Fix the compress with a bandage. The procedure is carried out daily at night. According to traditional healers, after a couple of weeks after use, the pain will noticeably subside, and in a month the spur will resolve completely.
A glass of dried horsetail is brewed with 3 liters of hot water, insisted for a couple of hours, and then filtered. In the resulting infusion, lower the legs and hold for 15-20 minutes. After a therapeutic bath, the feet are thoroughly wiped and lubricated with Lugol's solution.
Simple folk remedies for plantar fasciitis
To prepare the next home remedy, combine 100 ml of melted lard, the same amount of vinegar and one raw egg along with the shell (ground in a coffee grinder). The resulting mixture is removed in a dark place for 3 weeks, stirring daily. After the allotted time, the mixture should become homogeneous. When the medicine is ready, it is put on a cotton pad and applied to the affected area, covered with wax paper and insulated by wearing a sock. The full course of therapy is 35 days.
A very popular way is to treat plantar fasciitis with laundry soap. At the same time, a bar of the darkest laundry soap needs to be grated on a fine grater, put in an aluminum bowl and melted in a water bath. Compresses are made from the resulting mass. To do this, the gruel is laid out on a cotton pad or gauze, folded in several layers, applied to the diseased area, covered with cellophane on top and fixed with a bandage or scarf. The procedure is done daily until complete recovery.
Half a pack of coarse table s alt is poured into a frying pan and heated in the oven or on the stove. Next, the sore heel is immersed in hot s alt and heated until the s alt cools down. Such therapy is recommended to be done daily.
In conclusion, once again it should be noted that the spur on the heel, the symptoms and treatment of which are described above, is a rather serious disease. Therefore, before engaging in home treatment, it is recommended to consult a specialist who, depending onthe course of the disease, will approve or refute the chosen method of treatment.
