Middle-aged and elderly people often experience heel pain, and people with high uric acid will mistake it for gout, but in fact, calcaneal bone spurs often cause heel pain, and it is very common in middle-aged and elderly people. Let's take a look today to see what is going on with calcaneal bone spurs, how to treat and prevent it!
Have you ever experienced heel pain?
(1) What is calcaneal bone spur? What are the symptoms and harms?
Bone spurs, also called osteophytes, are products of bone growth. Osteogenesis is often linked to osteoarthritis, when the articular cartilage is deformed and damaged, the joint balance is broken, and the body will compensate for the proliferation of osteophytes around the articular surface to help restore joint balance, and osteogenesis is a common pathological manifestation of osteoarthritis.
The calcaneal spur is different, and is usually caused by underlying plantar fasciitis or Achilles tendonitis.
Root bone spurs are often caused by Achilles tendonitis or plantar fasciitis
The calcaneus is connected to two major soft tissue structures, the Achilles tendon and the plantar fascia. When we stand, walk, or run, the Achilles tendon and plantar fascia stretch, stretching on the attachment point of the calcaneus. If the traction is repeated over a long period of time, it can cause injury and inflammation, which can lead to heel spurs.
Risk factors for calcaneal spurs include:
- (1) Standing and walking for a long time - when standing and walking for a long time, it will lead to Achilles tendon or plantar fascia strain, which may induce calcaneal bone spurs;
- (2) Sports injuries - excessive exercise, such as running, leads to plantar fascia strain, etc., which can lead to bone hyperplasia and the formation of bone spurs during the repair process;
- (3) Excessive weight - the greater the weight, the greater the pressure on the foot, the more likely it is to degenerate and damage, and increase the risk of bone spurs;
- (4) Structural abnormalities of the foot - when there are congenital structural abnormalities of the foot, such as flat feet, high arches, etc., it will increase the risk of foot compression and injury, and promote the production of calcaneal bone spurs.
What are the symptoms and hazards caused by calcaneal bone spurs?
Calcaneal spurs can cause heel pain, burning and swelling of the soles of the feet, and pain that worsens after walking or running, some of which are similar to but different from plantar fasciitis. The calcaneal spur is more likely to be heel pain, especially in the morning when the first step is to get out of bed and get off the ground, and it is relieved after a period of walking. There is a noticeable tenderness when pressing on the heel with your hand, and when the pain is severe, it can cause discomfort when walking, running, or even putting on shoes, and the pain is worse when you exercise too much.
Heel pain is the most common symptom of bone spurs in the root bone
Heel bone spurs are similar to aging diseases, the condition is gradually aggravated, if early intervention, bone spurs will not increase indefinitely, do not produce compression, do not cause pain and discomfort, if not intervened, bone spurs become severe, it can lead to repeated pain, greatly disturb life, and even go to surgery.
(2) How to prevent and treat calcaneal bone spurs?
Don't think about surgical removal as soon as you see bone spurs, bone hyperplasia is a pathological manifestation of many diseases, but it cannot be counted as a disease in itself, but is a self-help behavior of the body. For bone spurs, the cause of the bone spur should be found first and treated according to the cause, and the bone spur itself does not need special treatment as long as it does not increase in size and does not compress the surrounding tissues. In fact, there are more bone spurs in our body than we think, but most of them do not cause symptoms or pain.
For calcaneal spurs, prevention and conservative treatment are the mainstay!
Patients with severe bone spur compression may require surgical removal of bone spurs, and most patients with calcaneal bone spurs are treated conservatively
01 / Life Management
- (1) Avoid standing for a long time, walking for a long time, and running excessively;
- (2) Reduce barefoot walking and choose shoes with good shock absorption;
- (3) Reasonable diet and exercise to maintain a healthy weight;
- (4) During the non-painful period, you can insist on soaking your feet in hot water;
- (5) Do stretching exercises for the heel and plantar fascia.
- (6) Patients in need can customize arch insoles or foot orthoses;
- (7) Pay attention to whether the posture is correct when walking or running.
Improper running posture also increases the risk of bone spurs in the root bone
02 / Physiotherapy
- (1) Carry out stretching exercises on the soles and calves to relieve the pressure on the heel and plantar fascia, such as standing calf raises, ankle pumps, etc.;
- (2) Physiotherapy such as ultrasound therapy and low-frequency electrotherapy can be accepted;
- (3) Accept manual therapy, acupuncture and other traditional Chinese medicine physiotherapy;
- (4) Hot compresses and hot water soaks for feet in the non-inflammatory period.
Physical therapy or TCM physiotherapy can help relieve heel pain
03 / Medication
- (1) First of all, it is recommended to use topical drugs for pain relief, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Voltarin), traditional Chinese medicine plasters, etc.;
- (2) The effect of external drugs is not good, and oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are taken under the guidance of doctors (pay attention to the prevention of adverse reactions of stomach, kidney and heart);
- (3) Patients with severe symptoms and poor effect of oral medication can be considered to receive occlusive injection (injection of glucocorticoids) under the guidance of a doctor.
In general, calcaneal spurs do not require surgical treatment, but there are special cases that are more than. Patients with severe foot deformities may actively consider corrective surgery to avoid accelerated degeneration of weight-bearing joints such as ankles, knees, and hips caused by foot deformities, which may lead to more joint health problems. People with tears in the Achilles tendon or plantar fascia are treated with repair surgery. As with the calcaneal spur itself, surgical intervention should be considered when the spur is large and severely compresses the surrounding tissue, causing pain that is difficult to relieve.