At wits end with heel spur pain! - Page 2

Big Sister · ‎05-15-2010

It is important that your arches are supported well.

shwarma · ‎03-11-2010

So painful. Purchase excellent shoes and use ice twice a day. Freeze a bottle of water and roll under your foot. I also purchased a small ice bag. When I am driving I let it rest on my foot. My left foot is my problem. I NEVER go without shoes. I purchased some nice shoes for the house and I wear tennis shoes outside. Good luck. It is a pain that I would not have believed had it not happened to me.

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

I never know if this helps others but I'll tell once again what took care of my pain and 2 of my friend's pain who did what I said to do.

Stand in the shower with very warm water coming down on the calves of your legs and your feet flat a few inches from the back wall of the shower.

Now lean in toward the wall with your arms extended until your palms touch the wall. DO NOT BOUNCE. Keep your feet flat.

You should be able to feel the stretch in the back of your calves and down to your heels. Feel the stretch. Keep feet flat.

Stand there for a few minutes (not very long).

When you get out take Motrin (that's what we all took) whatever works for you. Anti inflamatory.

Please let us know if it helps. I'm not saying it will cure it although it did for me and my two friends. It should help you though.

Mesmerized169 · ‎03-09-2010

On 6/22/2014 Capri said: Yes, it looks like a bent nail about 1/4 to 1/2 inch sticking out the back of my heel and it is irritating or tearing my Achilles' tendon.

Hi,

You say "on the back of my heel", but is your spur really on the back? or on the bottom?

The reason I ask to differentiate where the spur is, because I have/had BOTH spurs on the back AND bottom of my heels. See my x-rays below.

I had the spur on the BACK (upper one) removed on BOTH feet in different years (tendons were screwed in one of my heel bones where the spur was cut out, as you see in my xray). That back/upper spur was cutting into the back of my shoes and sneakers (not to mention the tendons inside) and were very painful. I also had spurs removed on the top of my big toes on both feet too. But I still have the spurs on the BOTTOM of my heels on both feet, as you can see in my xray.

Some years later, those bottom spurs really became painful, brought on by exercising on the treadmill, but it was really because I had also gained weight too. I felt like I was in a vicious Catch-22 cycle... I wanted to lose weight, but it was very difficult to do so when I had such pain on the bottom of my feet (one foot more painful than the other). I sought out my orthopedic surgeron again after months had passed and I still had pain.

My orthopedic surgeon told me that 99% of the time they do NOT do surgery on the BOTTOM spurs (a condition known as plantar fasciitis) because it's an extremely tricky surgery and is a long heeling process, and there is no guarantee that you will get total relief either. He said they only do it for people who have very long term excruitiating pain.

He also mentioned that they have a new laser surgery that can reduce the bone spur too, but again no guarantees it would be successful and only considered for people who have very long term pain.

He gave me a "soft boot" to wear to bed, which positioned my foot in a 90 degree angle. It was a real pain to wear at night! But I did. And I still had my hard boot from my prior surgeries that I wore during the day to work and to the gym too.

I did lay off my feet for some months, rolling the bottom of my foot over a frozen bottle of water at night, and wearing those special boots day and night. But then I went back to the gym to exercise. Instead of the treadmill, I devoted my time on the bike and eventually the elliptical. I lost a lot of weight, and it was such a HUGE relief to the bottoms of my feet too! I barely have any pain anymore there.

So if your spur is on the BACK (upper) part of your heel, definitely seek out an orthopedic surgeon (not podiatrist) for a consult about possible surgery. I don't know why I suffered for so many years with pain, as I wish I had gotten the surgeries sooner.

If your spur however is on the BOTTOM of your heel, I would still seek out an orthopedic surgeon and ask what your options are, although chances are they probably cannot do any surgery like they told me, unless you've had this pain for a very, very long time. Ask them if they know about the laser surgery though. Hope this helps!

P.S. Oh by the way, be leary about getting the cortinsone shots though. Why? Yes, I know it provides some relief, but it's only temporary. I say this with caution because I had begged my surgeon Dr to give it to me when I had pain in the back of my heel, but he said cortinsone weakens the tendons. Hmmm first time I've heard that, but he might be right because I had gotten cortisone shots in my foot years ago by another Dr (podiatrist) and that happened to be the SAME foot where you see I had to get a screw in my bone because my tendons had weakened and shredded by the spur. Makes me wonder if the cortisone shots contributed to that issue because I did not have that problem with my tendons when they did surgery on my other foot.

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Capri · ‎03-09-2010

Yes it is on the back of the heel. Hurts to wear shoes with a back. Have $120 pair of Brooks tennis shoes and I have been wearing orthoheels all day. This is my second foot Dr and both said would not shoot cortisone there. I don't think either Dr understands how painful this is. My next stop is pain management. I have been doing the stretches but haven't tried ice. Will do that ASAP. Thanks for all the input, sometimes it helps to just vent a little.

Capri · ‎03-09-2010

Will try the shower thing. One Dr. said heat. Used the heating pad. Did not help.

RainyDayGal · ‎03-09-2010

Can they not fit you for orthotics, wouldn't they help? I have bursitis and plantar faciitis. The orthotics did help some.

Capri · ‎03-09-2010

Anyone here have spurs removed from back of heel. I think they have to cut the Achilles' tendon and both Drs. said very long recovery time. I have an 11 month granddaughter I take care of when needed. Don't want to be off my feet for months at a time.

spot555 · ‎03-09-2010

I had a painful spur, & started taking organic coconut oil capsules. It eliminated both the pain & the spur SO fast. I can't remember exactly, but it was so fast I barely noticed....like about a week.

This is what I use. Organic coconut oil also has many health benefits- look them up & you'll be pleased. ${#emotions_dlg.biggrin}$ I made this supplement part of my daily routine. I take anywhere from 4-8 capsules daily. I buy it at Vitacost in the 240 ct. size.