Causes and Symptoms of Heel Spur
November 3, 2009
Heel Spur
Heel spur is a hook shaped out growth of the heel bone. This out growth is made up of calcium and it causes pain and inflammation in the surrounding tissues. Heel spur is commonly seen in middle aged people and in those who have foot pain. Men and women have equal chances of getting this disease.
Causes of Heel Spur
Excessive stress and stretches on the heels may cause inflammation to your plantar fascia. Plantar fascia is a ligament that starts from the heel bone runs trough the foot’s ball to the forefoot and this tight tissue helps you to keep the arch of the foot. If the inflammation on plantar tissue is left unchecked then it may leads to the formation of hard bone like out growth from the heel bone. When this extended bone touches the soft tissues, ligaments, tendons in and around that region it may again cause inflammation and irritations. This causes pain in the bottom of the leg while standing or walking. Sometimes there may be pain at the back of the heels and this type of heel spur can be due to the Achilles tendon’s inflammation. The pain and tenderness at the back of the heel worsen while the ball of the foot moves.
Heel spur can occur due to rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, degenerative diseases or due to poor blood circulation. Over weight or pregnancy may also cause heel spur as the stress on the foot increases in both these conditions. Wearing high heeled shoes or unfitting shoes may increase your chances for getting heel spur. Athletes are more prone to get heel spur as they are exerting more pressure on their heels.
Symptoms of Heel Spur
The most common symptom of heel spur is the pain in the heels. This pain can not only due to the spur but also due to the inflammation of the plantar fascia and other soft tissues. There may be tenderness, swelling and inflammation on the heels and foot. It may also impair your mobility and you may find difficulty in walking. The symptoms aggravates during morning when you wakes up from your bed. This is because while taking rest the nerves, capillaries and soft tissues are getting rest and when you start to walk suddenly the pressure on them also increases and this causes the pain and this pain decreases on time.
If you have heel pain then you need to treat it as early as possible. Otherwise it may affect your walking style and later on you may develop pain on knee, hip and back also.
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