Heel spurs are a rather uncomfortable condition where bony growths form on the back of the heel. These growths occur on the calcaneus bone, causing major heel pain. To manage the symptoms of a heel spur with home treatments like cold packs, stretching, and shoe inserts, you can resolve it but if you’re wondering how to eliminate a heel spur without surgery, there are some things you can do about it. If you want to learn how to get rid of heel spurs, this article will cover you. Keep scrolling for more!
Home Treatments for Heel Spurs
Heels spurs and plantar fasciitis are often found together. A bone spur has grown down and tears the fibrous tissue of the foot arch. The result is inflammation. There are a few conservative options to relieve your pain and bring down the swelling. These options include:
Cold Compresses
When you suffer from heel pain caused by plantar fasciitis, one of the easiest things to do is to use cold packs. It can be incredibly easy to apply this type of cold therapy on your feet, and it only takes a few minutes out of your day.
Cold packs are an effective method of easing discomfort caused by inflammation and injury. To reduce swelling, place a cold therapy pack against the affected area and limit your movement. By reducing blood flow to the area, cold temperatures inhibit pain receptors from transmitting pain signals. Try using ice packs for twenty to 30 minutes at a time - be sure to move them around often enough so as not to cause frostbite. Avoid placing directly against the skin to avoid irritation or frostbite.
Proper Footwear
When it comes to running, or even wearing shoes during our busy and active day-to-day lives, one of the most overlooked things is how important it can be to consider the shape and material of our footwear. Inactive lifestyles are not uncommon nowadays, which means that we've become increasingly reliant upon our feet to carry out many activities without thinking about how stressfully we may be treating them. One example of such a problem is heel spurs, which are caused by any chronic injury, as a result of an overuse syndrome, which most likely contributes to your increased risk of developing medical problems as annoying and painful as bunions. The key here is prevention - knowing when you should take care of a problem before it becomes too serious.
Orthotic Insoles or Inserts
Not everybody is a runner. A lot of us are too busy and active with our day-to-day lives to bother with running. But even if we're not running, we often forget about the active lifestyles we live in pretty much every aspect of our lives that could very well be hurting our feet. If you work in an office job with long hours and can't seem to find something comfortable enough to wear, you need to make sure that they're not squeezing your toes or heels so tightly to help prevent things from getting worse. One way to do it is by using certain insoles, for example, and consulting a professional when necessary.
Stretching Exercises
Incorporating stretching and exercises to help manage heel spurs is one of the best things that you can do for yourself. Stretching your calves and plantar fascia ligaments can take a lot of pressure off, especially in the morning when muscles are naturally at their loosest. A good time to stretch these muscles is in the morning before you start your day, when they're relaxed and will respond best to these stretches.
Massage
Massage will help with the pain that you may be feeling. Start by using a cold compress before your massage. Your massage therapist will rub gently, and slowly start to rub harder up and down your calf, over the top of the foot, ankle, and heel to get the blood flowing.
Night Splints
Night splints are designed to keep your feet from pointing either straight or down during sleep, which prevents the symptoms associated with plantar fasciitis. Because this condition is best treated at night, night splints allow you to enjoy pain-free mornings!
Pain Medications
Many medications exist to help relieve the pain associated with an injury or a medical condition. Anti-inflammatory medication is just one example of these types of drugs. When someone is hurting, they may be prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug to assist in the battle against their pain and inflammation. These medications must always be taken as prescribed. They can have side effects if not handled properly, which usually depends on the reason for using them, to begin with. Not taking care of possible side effects could lead to more complications.
Medical Treatments for Heel Spurs
One of the first steps that should be taken to begin treating heel spurs is consulting your podiatrist. The advice given by this trained professional can help you determine whether it's best to pursue a home remedy or opt for medical treatment. Either way, it's important to remember that your long-term health and well-being are worth taking care of to prevent future problems from arising!
Physical Therapy
People seeking medical help for heel spurs will want to make sure they’re choosing the right professional. By turning to their trusted doctor, or even a physical therapist, they can be sure they receive the best possible support and guidance. When faced with the uncertainty of an ailment like heel spurs, it’s natural to feel inadequate. It’s important not to feel that way because a skilled healthcare professional will provide all the information necessary for you to discern what treatments are safe for your unique condition! So, don’t hesitate to reach out as soon as possible!
Cortisone Injection
Many people have never heard of the word cortisone before. It's not at all a very common word, but it's important to know what this medication is and what it's used for! For example, cortisone is a strong steroid medication that can be directly injected into your plantar fascia to reduce the pain and inflammation that might otherwise persist, especially if you suffer from heel spurs. The one downside to cortisone injections is that they may not last long term and cannot be done multiple times. Talk to your doctor about whether these shots will work for you or not before jumping to conclusions just yet.
Surgery
If nonsurgical treatments haven't provided you with the relief you need, then it may be time to consider surgery. Your surgeon will probably have you complete an initial series of tests with x-rays or other diagnostic imaging techniques to get a better visualization of any actual damage that's been done and begin tackling the problem right away!
Two different surgeries can be performed when it comes down to heel spurs. The first is to just remove the spur, but here you risk destroying the bone underneath. To avoid this, one can have an option of releasing the plantar fascia to relieve some pressure off your foot whenever they walk or otherwise put weight on it so as not to repeat the injury cycle. Both procedures may involve a little bit more recovery time than expected, so make sure you follow all post-op treatments and do not rush back into anything if you notice any swelling or other signs of infections, which could prolong recovery even further.
Getting Rid of Heel Spurs
Heel spurs are a debilitating condition that causes pain, inflammation, and discomfort. It’s important to deal with them quickly because they can become quite serious pretty fast if left untreated. Fortunately, most heel spurs respond well to at-home remedies like ice packs, special stretching exercises, and body splints. But only treat it yourself if the pain doesn’t go away after two weeks of following these steps; then you should see a doctor get yourself diagnosed by an expert in your area. Once you have your diagnosis from an expert, talk to them about the best way for you to get back on your feet so that you can start enjoying all the exciting things life has in store for you!