“Can heel spurs be treated?”

See a podiatrist and ask about stretching exercises and maybe an orthotic.

The initial treatment is relative rest such as not playing tennis for a week or two and doing exercises with a bicycle. Anti-inflammatory medications such as Advil is helpful. Both ice and heat can help. You should do heel cord stretching and to get guidance in doing it properly look it up on YouTube. Also a heal pad which you can obtain in any pharmacy will be helpful.

A heel spur is the result of chronic tendinitis, caused by the plantar fascia being too tight. The “spur” is not the cause of pain.
Treatment is stretching the plantar fascia.

Yes. The pain is usually not from the spur but from plantar fasciitis which is easily treated.

Daily stretching before getting out of bed and at night. Along with heel cups and, if bad enough, then heel injections. Physical therapy can help as well.

You have a condition called plantar fasciitis. The cause is due to tension traction of this ligament against the heel bone. Although you have an enthesopathy called a heel sour, this is a result of the traction pull on the heel bone from the plantar fascia. Heel spur is not the cause of your pain, but a reflection of what is going on biomechanically. Most patients do not require surgery to address this condition. Stretching exercises for the Achilles’ tendon/Plantar fascia will help address your condition by allowing less traction! Cortisone injections are frequently done. A good pair of inserts or custom orthotics. Physical therapy. Oral anti-inflammatory medications. These conservative treatments are usually effective to treat plantar fasciitis. If your condition persists after 6 months of conscientious conservative treatments, then surgery may be required to be your next course.  

Hope this helps.  
 


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First, get an X-ray to see if there are spurs, change your shoes every three days, wear heel cups with a hole in the center, take anti-inflammatories, maybe get a cortisone injection, and, lastly, surgery to remove the spur.

Pain in this area could be from a variety of causes. A heel spur is a possibility, but it would need to be confirmed with a proper evaluation.

Given the rather acute, sudden onset of your heel pain after playing tennis, I suspect you sustained partial plantar fascia ruptures. The plantar fascia is a ligament on the bottom (sole) of feet that helps support the arch. It runs from the base of the toes to the heel bone (called the calcaneus) where it is quite thick. Most ruptures, which are rarely complete occur on the plantar (sole) and medial (inside) aspect of the heel. In its more chronic form, it is known as plantar fasciitis. “Heel spurs” are rarely the cause of pain in this aspect of the heel unless they are broken (fractured) or are unusually large. “Heel spurs” are where muscles on the bottom or sole (plantar) of the foot attach to the heel bone (calcaneus). X-rays of the foot taken for another reason besides heel pain, often reveal “heel spurs” and X-rays taken for heel pain often fail to reveal “heel spurs”. Initial treatment is temporary avoidance of the activity or sport that precipitated it and conversion to one that is not of a repetitive impact loading nature. For example, swimming, walking (versus running), bicycling, etc. Over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), such as Aspirin, Advil, Alleve, etc. are often helpful. However, these should be avoided if you are allergic to them, are taking a blood thinning (anti-coagulant) medication, including Aspirin, and/or have a history of gastrointestinal reflux or stomach ulcers. As tolerated, heel cord (Achilles tendon) stretching actively and/or passively in the form of night splinting is helpful. For more recalcitrant, chronic heel pain (plantar fasciitis), steroid injections, physical therapy, and arch supports are may be beneficial. Finally, as a last resort treatment, a surgical partial plantar fascia release can be done. For reasons previously described, the “heel spur” is usually not resected.

Heel spurs are rarely symptomatic. It is more likely that you have plantar fasciitis which can be treated with theraputic exercises and NSAIDs. To receive treatment, I recommended visiting your Primary Care Physician or Orthopaedic doctor.

You should see an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in Foot and Ankle problems to get the correct diagnosis, which will then lead you to the treatment that works best for you.

Heel pain can be due to many different things, including heel spurs. Foot X-rays and an evaluation by a foot and ankle specialist should be considered if the pain persists.

Yes, of course heel pain can be treated. First things first. What's the diagnosis?? Is it heel spurs? Achilles tendonitis? or maybe something else. That's what you need to find out first.

However, as a general rule, most "inflammations" that come on after activity are treated with RICE - Rest, ice, compression and elevation. Also take advil - 3 tabs 3 times a day with food. Stretching can help - but only the correct stretching. Get a heel cushion - you can get one at Walmart. If it doesn't get better in a week, see an Orthopaedic surgeon to make sure you're treating the right thing.

Dr. Bose

Stretching and ice to start, then over the counter anti-inflammatories prior to seeing your regular doctor if the symptoms don't resolve is usually the appropriate first step.

I don’t know how old are you and if the origin of pain is sole of your heel or back of it and your weight is also important. Anyway, stretching of Achilles’ tendon and plantar fascia has an important role in treatment.