Overview
What is a heel spur?
A heel spur or bone spur is a bony growth that pokes out from the bottom of your heel, where your heel bone connects to the ligament running between your heel and the ball of your foot (the plantar fascia). Heel spurs affect about 15% of people.
Heel spurs develop over time. Most people don’t realize they have a heel spur until they seek help for heel pain. While heel spurs can be removed with surgery, healthcare providers recommend non-surgical treatments to ease symptoms associated with heel spurs.
Are heel spurs the same thing as plantar fasciitis?
Heel spurs and plantar fasciitis are related conditions but they’re not the same. Here’s how the two conditions intersect:
• Plantar fasciitis happens when overuse stretches or tears your plantar fascia – the ligament that runs between your heel and the ball of your foot. If you have plantar fasciitis, you’ll probably feel intense stabbing heel pain that comes and goes throughout your day. The pain eases once you walk for a bit but comes back if you sit and then get up to walk some more.
• Heel spurs can happen as a reaction to stress and inflammation caused by plantar fasciitis. Over time your body responds to the stress by building extra bone tissue. This extra tissue becomes a heel spur. Most people don’t feel pain from their heel spur, but when they do, the pain is like plantar fasciitis pain.
Symptoms and Causes
What causes heel spurs?
Heel spurs are your body’s response to stress and strain placed on your foot ligaments and tendons. For example, when you develop plantar fasciitis, your body responds to the stress by creating a heel spur.
You can also develop heel spurs by repeatedly tearing the covering that lines your heel bone or if you have a gait disorder. (A gait disorder is when an illness or condition affects your balance and coordination so you can’t walk as you usually do.)
Diagnosis and Tests
How do healthcare providers diagnose heel spurs?
Healthcare providers typically examine your foot and ask about physical activity that might have caused your heel pain. Ultimately, X-rays are one of the most common tests that healthcare providers use to diagnose heel spurs.
Management and Treatment
What’s the treatment for heel spurs?
Healthcare providers treat heel spurs the same way they treat plantar fasciitis. That’s because heel pain blamed on heel spurs is actually caused by plantar fasciitis. Treating the symptoms of plantar fasciitis can ease pain associated with heel spurs. Typical treatment includes:
• Resting your heel. If you run or jog, taking a break will help your heel pain.
• Taking oral anti-inflammatory medicine.
• Wearing footwear or shoe inserts that support your arches and protect your plantar fascia by cushioning the bottom of your foot.
Will I need surgery for my heel spur?
Your heel spur might be removed as part of plantar fasciitis surgery, but healthcare providers rarely perform surgery to remove heel spurs.
Do heel spurs go away without surgery?
Once formed, heel spurs are permanent. Surgery is the only way to remove a heel spur. Since heel spurs usually don’t hurt, treating the condition that caused your heel spur should help ease your heel pain.
Prevention
What are risk factors for heel spurs?
Several factors increase your risk of developing heel spurs. Some factors are things you can change right away or change over time. Others you cannot change.
Changes you can make right now
• If you jog or run, choose soft surfaces like grass and tracks over hard surfaces like sidewalks and pavement.
• Wear shoes that fit and support your arches.
• Wear slippers or shoes if you walk on hardwood or tile floors.
• Adjust the way you walk so there’s less pressure on your heels.
Changes you can make over time
• Lose weight so you put less pressure on your foot.
• Change your daily routine so you aren’t on your feet as much.
Things you can’t change
• As you age, your plantar fascia becomes less flexible, more prone to damage, and more likely to develop plantar fasciitis.
• You gradually lose the natural fat pad cushions on the bottom of your feet.
• You have fat feet or high arches.