Heel spurs

If you have pain under your foot, you may suffer from heel spurs. Under the foot, in the arch, is a wide and thick tendon that provides important support. You can get pain in the tendon attachment under the heel if you overload the tendon. Sometimes a calcification of the bone forms on the underside of the heel, where the tendon attaches to the heel bone (over time a 'calcified horn' can form) and is therefore called heel spur. Heel spurs are often associated with Latin plantar fasciitis, where plantar means sole, fasci means membrane and it means inflammation.

The symptoms are usually caused by running or walking too much with bad shoes on a hard surface.

Symptoms

If you have heel spurs, it usually hurts under your foot or on the inside of your heel when you walk or stand.The pain can also be localized just under the heel and sometimes on the front of the heel bone towards the arch. It is the tendon attachment that causes the pain, not the heel spur itself.

What can be done?

First of all, make sure you have a good pair of shoes that provide stability for your foot and cushioning for your heel. To get rid of the problem, an insole can help. You should choose an insole that has good cushioning in the heel, good arch support and good heel support. A good insole distributes pressure evenly across the foot, reducing pressure on the heel. After using the insole in your shoes for a while, you will notice that the pain subsides relatively quickly (within a few days) and after a couple of weeks you can be completely pain-free in the heel. However, you should refrain from running and activities that put strain on your heel for the first few weeks. Once you feel the pain in your heel starting to subside, you can take shorter walks and increase them as the pain subsides. If you do nothing at all, your heel will heal itself over time but this can take a long time, up to a year and sometimes longer.

Treating heel spurs