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Heel spur: how to get rid of a spur on the foot? Video
We will tell you how to cure an ailment at home.
A heel spur (plantar fasciitis) is a disease caused by the formation of a bony build-up on the foot. This growth (spur) injures the surrounding tissue, resulting in pain. It can be relatively weak, causing only minor discomfort, or very strong. It is necessary to consult an orthopedic surgeon who will select the most appropriate treatment options. But folk methods can also help.
Symptoms and treatment of leg spurs at home
A simple, but quite effective non-drug method of treating heel spurs – using special orthopedic insoles, as well as orthopedic shoes, made taking into account the individual characteristics of the structure of the patient’s legs. As a result, it is possible to reduce the load on the feet, to reduce trauma to the surrounding tissues with the heel spur. And this, accordingly, leads to a decrease in pain.
Non-drug treatments also include:
foot massage
physiotherapy
ultrasound therapy
cryotherapy
mineral and mud baths
reasonable dosage of loads on the legs
In addition, if the patient is overweight, it is necessary to take measures to reduce it using diet and exercise. But avoid excessive loads, lifting heavy weights!
Such methods are effective mainly in the initial stages of the disease when the first symptoms appear. When the bony growths become so large that they cause noticeable discomfort when walking and severe pain, the patient can be helped shock wave therapy… With the help of special sound waves that are not perceived by the human ear, the heel spurs seem to be crushed into small pieces. These fragments are gradually absorbed. This procedure is painless and highly effective. In most cases, one shock wave therapy session is sufficient.
However, this procedure is categorically contraindicated for pregnant women, as well as for people with reduced blood clotting or with malignant neoplasms.
A common treatment for heel spurs is medication. It is possible to reduce pain with a heel spur using drugs belonging to the group non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs… They are taken in the form of tablets or applied to a sore spot in the form of ointments, gels.
It should be noted that such drugs are not intended for a long-term course of administration. They should be used only as directed by a doctor, strictly observing the prescribed dosage.
For severe pain, when other drugs are ineffective, the doctor may prescribe hormonal drugs – corticosteroids. They can be taken as pills or given by intramuscular injection. However, in order to avoid side effects, it is better to inject them locally, in the area of the heel bone. Typically, 0,5 milliliters of the drug is administered. Only a specialist should do this!
Unfortunately, none of the above methods of treatment gives a 100% guarantee of getting rid of this ailment.
Often there are cases when, after the initial positive dynamics, the disease begins to progress again. Then you have to resort to surgery.
Operation performed under local anesthesia. Bony outgrowths are removed. If necessary, surgeons also dissect the surrounding tissue on the foot to get rid of the source of inflammation and pain. As a rule, there is a lasting improvement after the operation.
Home treatments for heel spurs
You can use folk recipes to combat this ailment.
1. For example, every night before going to bed, do hot foot baths… It is necessary to add salt (sea or table salt) to the water at the rate of 1 full (top) tablespoons per 3 liter. The duration of the procedure is from 30 to 40 minutes. Immediately after it, wipe your feet dry and put on thick woolen socks. In them, you need to go to sleep, covered with warmth. The duration of the course of treatment is from 10 to 14 days.
2. It is also recommended to use for treatment black radish gruelrubbed together with the skin on a fine grater. This gruel should be lightly squeezed out of the juice, applied to the sore spot, covered with a plastic bag and fixed with a sock or bandage. In the morning, remove the gruel and rinse the heel with warm water. After 3-4 such procedures, there should be a noticeable improvement.
3. You can also use fresh plantain leaves… Apply them to the sore spot with the side where the veins protrude and fix with a bandage. When the sheet is dry, replace it with another one. Continue the procedure until you feel better.
4. You can also apply to the sore spot. “Grid” with iodine.
5. Make unsalted homemade lard compress… To do this, cut off a slice of fat, attach it to the affected area and fix it with a bandage, leave it overnight. The procedure should be repeated every day until it gets better.
6. Use potato starch. In the morning, pour a teaspoon of starch into the sock, do not remove the compress for at least 8 hours. Apply fresh elderberry leaves to your heel spur. It is necessary to make such compresses every day.
Expert Tips
– The effectiveness of the treatment of any disorder depends on understanding the true cause of its development. Heel spur is a disease that can provoke an incorrect, asymmetrical load on the feet. When the feet are subjected to this kind of stress, the plantar aponeurosis, the tendon that holds the arch of the foot, begins to pull harder on the bone where it is attached. Over time, spurs appear in this place – bone outgrowths. They can be of different sizes: from 3 to 12 mm.
Modern methods of treating heel spurs (surgery and shock wave therapy) do not guarantee one hundred percent getting rid of the problem. If you eliminate the root cause – correctly build the body and provide the aponeurosis with the correct load, this will reduce pain and cause the growths to gradually dissolve.