Do you have a dull ache in one or both of your heels? Are you experiencing some soreness or pulsing discomfort every time you put pressure on your heel? If so, you may be dealing with the formation of a heel spur in your foot. But why do these heel spurs develop, and more importantly, how can a foot specialist help you overcome the condition? In today’s blog, we explore the causes and treatment options for heel spurs.
Causes Of Heel Spurs
Heel spurs are the result of a bony formation on the underside of your heel bone. Stress and pressure on the heel area are the greatest risk factors for their onset. That’s because excessive pressure on the heel and the nearby plantar fascia leads to repeated tearing and damage to the protective covering of the heel bone. As a result of the body’s natural repair process, excess bone can be produced, which can end up accumulating on the underside of the heel. Oftentimes these formations are quite small and asymptomatic, but if these bony deposits continue to develop, they can end up growing in size and irritating nearby soft tissue.
When you consider that stress and pressure on the heel are the two most common contributing factors to heel spur onset, it’s easy to see why certain activities can increase your risk of developing heel spurs. Those activities and factors include:
- High-impact exercise or athletics
- Poorly-fitting shoes
- Gait patterns or abnormalities that put extra strain on your heel
- Being overweight or obese
- Significant increase in stress on the heel area in a short amount of time
If you’re dealing with pain, sensitivity, tenderness or general discomfort in your heel area, especially if symptoms worsen with activity, consider consulting with a foot and ankle specialist like Dr. Silverman.
Treating Heel Spurs
If you are experiencing the symptoms we discussed above, take action before symptoms continue to get worse. Your heel spur won’t get better without active treatment, so the sooner you take action, the faster you can get back to walking without pain.
Specific treatment will be dictated on an individual basis, but for most patients treatment is two-fold. The first part of treatment focuses on protecting the heel area to allow healing to run its course. Limiting stress on the area or finding ways to protect the area with the help of something like a heel pad or walking boot can provide an enhanced environment for inflammation resolution. The second arm of treatment focuses on resolving the underlying issue that is putting extra strain on the heel area. Depending on your root cause, treatment could look like the following:
- Switching to a more protective and supportive shoe
- Wearing orthotic inserts or custom orthotics
- Losing weight to take stress off your feet
- Shifting athletics or exercise programs to give feet time off between high-impact activities
- Working with a specialist or physical therapist to treat walking abnormalities