The formation of the heel spur on the foot -A common disease that causes severe pain and trouble when walking. The doctors' recommendations converge on a surgical solution to the problem, but wearing a heel pad with a heel spur will improve the well-being and ease the pain syndrome.
Heel spur: what is it and how to treat it?
This unpleasant disease in medicine is calledplantar fasciitis, the cause of it is the growth of the calcaneus from the sole side near the hillock or in the area of the beginning of the Achilles tendon. A spine is called a wedge-shaped spine on the heel, which becomes inflamed and causes unpleasant pain when walking.
Fascite is a common pathologythe musculoskeletal system, which affects 10% of the population, and most often - women after 40 years. However, with certain negative factors, such a disease is possible at any age. Because of constant pain while walking, the quality of life of a sick person decreases, which can even lead to his disability.
For correct diagnosis in the presence of complaints andafter the examination the doctor sends the patient to the X-ray to see the size of the formed heel spike and specify its location. After the examination, he gives recommendations on alleviating the pain syndrome and the necessary treatment methods. Most often, to reduce pain, it is recommended to wear silicone heel pads in shoes, which will reduce the load on the spike.
From what appears the spur?
Pain in fasciitis appears due tomicrofractures of the plantar fascia - an elastic tissue that connects the phalanges of the toes and the calcaneus. Due to heavy loads on the lower extremities, the fascia stretches, breaks occur, and during the rest period at night they coalesce. With frequent repetition of microfractures, noninfectious inflammation begins, accompanied by severe pain.
The causes of the appearance of the calcaneal spur:
- trauma to the heel or foot: stretching, bruises, fractures, etc .;
- diseases that cause impairment of blood circulation and metabolic processes in the body;
- diabetes mellitus and large weight of the patient;
- heavy loads in sports, which cause sprains and other injuries;
- uncomfortable shoes without insoles on high heels, from which there is a strong tension of the tendons and their trauma;
- diseases of the spine or joints: arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, etc .;
- connective tissue diseases: rheumatoid arthritis, Bekhterev's disease;
- age changes at which thinning of the fat layer occurs in the heel zone.
Symptoms of the calcaneal spur
Disease fasciitis is accompanied by unpleasant symptoms, which can not be noticed:
- The first sign is periodicallyarising pains during movement, which gradually increase, delivering the patient suffering with any support on the heel. They are associated, as a rule, with the pressure of the spine on soft tissues and depend on the proximity of the spur to the nerve endings.
- Attacks of severe pain while resting on the foot afternight sleep, which during the day are reduced, but by evening can again intensify. This is due to the fact that during a long rest microfractures on the fascia manage to grow together, and when standing on the foot, a repeated injury occurs.
- Over time, scar tissue forms in the tissuearound the spur, as well as the accumulation of calcium compounds, and pain intensifies even in a calm state. This means that calcification of the spur provokes the growth of osteophytes.
- The patient changes his gait because of the desire to step less on the aching leg and heel, as a result of which there may be a transverse flatfoot.
- With a calcaneal spur, external changes on the foot are absent, occasionally one can observe a small swelling and the appearance of calluses.
Feeling such unpleasant symptoms, any patient will understand that it is heel spur, and how to treat it to him, the expert will advise after an accurate diagnosis of the disease.
Methods of treatment of heel spurs
Treatment of fasciitis can be carried out as medical,and people's methods. The first step to alleviating pain will be to reduce the load on the foot and heel during walking, which can be done in several ways:
- to reduce daily walking time during the day, to stand less and not to rest on a sick limb;
- it is recommended to purchase orthopedic insoles or heel pads: silicone, gel, etc .;
- The use of orthoses for night rest, which keep the foot perpendicular to the leg.
Medical methods of treatment:
- medicinal injections into the spur zone;
- ultrasound and laser treatment;
- the use of shock wave therapy;
- surgical operation to remove thorns and outgrowths;
- cryodestruction.
Orthopedic insoles
Liners for everyday shoes are one of theways that help reduce pain and relieve inflammation with a calcaneal spur. These include special insole and half-wool, performing a fixing role to maintain physiologically comfortable position of the foot when walking.
Such adaptations are made from naturaland synthetic materials: leather, silicone, gel, felt, etc. They are sold in shoe stores and specialized shops, pharmacies or through Internet sites. The size of the orthopedic insole is selected according to the length of the foot and its anatomical structure, also depends on the body weight. The most comfortable are the liners made in the workshop by individual measures.
The insole must fully comply with the formfoot, an important part of it is the arch support, which supports the heel bone in an elevated position. The soft insert around the heel is made of cushioning material, it helps reduce pressure on the tissues and pain when walking. The design of insoles and heel pads on the calcaneal spur helps support the arch of the foot, contributing to the healing of the plantar aponeurosis.
Pidiopyatniki and their types
A variety of orthopedic insoles areheels, they are smaller in size and are designed only for a small area of the foot. The material for their production is very diverse: cork, natural and synthetic leather, silicone, gel, media.
Depending on the purpose of use, heel pads with heel spurs are divided into the following types:
- Cushioning - has the shape of a rounded wedge,dense frame and is used in the complex treatment of certain diseases: arthrosis, calcaneus injuries and spurs. Inside there is a hard liner, which during walking makes soft tissue massage and helps soften the inflamed bone build-up on the heel.
- Gel podpjatochnik - differs presenceand is made of special silicone, there is a spring insert inside. Such a soft material perfectly retains its shape, while treating fasciitis, it allows to give the correct position of the foot, reduces the load on the joints, makes massage of the diseased zone to improve blood circulation. The advantage of them is that female gel heel pads with a heel spur can be worn in shoes with high heels.
Tips for choosing a heel cap
The use of heels allows patients,having a spur on the foot, to return to normal life, to gain the ability to walk and move freely and without pain, and also helps to relieve inflammation and take the first step to recovery.
Which podpjatochnik is better at a heel spurchoose, is important for improving the condition of the disease. The optimal option for doctors is the manufacture of such orthopedic adjusting devices according to individual standards and order in a special workshop.
When selecting an insole or heel pad (silicone or other material) in the pharmacy, it is recommended to pay attention to the following aspects:
- it is necessary to try on before buying the product;
- the shock absorption when walking with such a device should be optimal;
- at selection it is necessary to measure an insert with that footwear (it is better daily) on which it will be put;
- pay attention to the convenience and physiological parameters of this product: how much weight is calculated, the level of pathology, etc.
Traditional methods of treatment
There are many recipes for compresses and mixtures that help reduce pain and inflammation. Folk treatment of the heel spur at home offers the following methods:
- The application of the iodine grid to the spur zone helpsearly stages of the disease. It is also recommended to make a mixture of 50 g iodine, 1 tsp. honey and salt, mix all the ingredients and apply 4 layers of gauze overnight in the form of a compress, which is wound with a bandage. The mass can be stored in the refrigerator. Before the procedure, it is better to soften the foot in water with a temperature of 45-55 ° C. In the morning it is necessary to walk for 15-20 minutes without removing the bandages, stretch your legs, then wash the foot with warm water. Course - 5 days.
- Garlic compress is done weekly.For him, several cloves of garlic are taken, rubbed to the gruel and applied to the pain zone with a circumference of up to 3 cm, polyethylene is put on top, then the foot should be fixed with a bandage perpendicular to the foot, the exposure time is from 4 to 6 hours, preferably at night, after removing the compress it should be washed leg clean with warm water. During the action with unpleasant sensations (burning or burning), compress it better to avoid burns.
- Dymexide lotions, in which the drugit is necessary to dilute in water in a proportion of 1: 5, soak the solution with a napkin, attach waxen paper to the heel, top waxed paper, and put on a woolen sock. The duration of the compress is 30 minutes daily for 10-14 days, then after a break for a week the course can be repeated.
- Compress with medical bile is put on the day for a gauze dressing, the course is up to 2 months. When changing bandages, the foot should be washed and well dried, so that there is no intertrigo.
- The folk ointment prescription for spur treatment, consisting offrom 1 egg (shell dissolve in vinegar or essences for 3 days), 200 g of melted butter. The received means are imposed in the form of a compress on a sore spot for the whole night. As a rule, positive results will be noticeable in a few days.
Medicinal methods of treatment
When conservative and folk methods of treatment are nothelp, then one of the effective ways that help to quickly remove pain, is the drug blockade of the spur in the heel zone. This procedure is performed by an orthopedic surgeon, making an injection in the area of the inflamed fascia.
Preparations for blockage of calcaneal spur("Hydrocortisone", "Diprospan", "Kenalog", "Flosteron") help to stop inflammation in connective tissues and almost completely relieve pain. Often, injections with novocaine are also added, which eliminate pain during the procedure.
Disadvantages of the procedure:
- pain can come back, and you need to do 2-3 more injections;
- because of the mistakes complications are possible: infection and inflammation, osteoporosis, tissue necrosis, trauma and destruction of the plantar fascia.
Other methods of treatment
In addition to medicinal methods and the use of insoles or heel pad, the following procedures are often prescribed for a calcaneal spur:
- massage of the foot and heel zone, which can be done either by a specialist or at home;
- hot baths with paraffin, mud, radon, etc .;
- exercise therapy for stretching the ligament apparatus and strengthening the fascia (using balls or cylindrical objects);
- the application of special patches10-12 procedures that are sold in the pharmacy, their composition includes antiseptic and analgesic medicines, herbal extracts that help to relieve inflammation: root of aconite, gentian, angelica or Chinese angelica, Indian camphor, etc .;
- the treatment of the painful area by the apparatus "Vitafon", etc.
Patient Reviews
To facilitate the process of recovery and to removeunpleasant sensations in the heel spur can only be through the use of an integrated approach to solving the problem. Doctors recommend simultaneous treatment by domestic methods, medical and physiotherapy. It is very important during the period of treatment to reduce the burden on the patient's feet, which helps to make the application of heel pads on the heel spur. The feedback of patients who have coped with such a painful problem is evidence of alleviating symptoms and improving the quality of life after using home procedures and devices to relieve the load on the heels.
