Is there an effective alternative treatment for heel spurs? Can we rely only on home treatments? Everything depends on the stage of the pathological process and, in many respects, on the diligence of the person himself.
Even non-doctors understand that it is impossible to cure a spur in a day or two, except perhaps in an operating room. But long-term and persistent use of home treatment will definitely yield results!
Every person suffering from heel spurs should understand that:
Before talking about heel spurs, you should know what the plantar fascia is, since it is its inflammation and micro-tears that ultimately lead to the appearance of spurs. So, the plantar fascia is a ligament on the foot that supports its arch, and when walking it bears the entire weight of a person.
With injuries, or heavy weight, or too intense loads, athletes experience microscopic tears. At first, they grow together on their own, but with constant negative influence, non-infectious inflammation of the fascia begins, as well as nearby bone tissue, and it grows, forming spines. That is, a heel spur is an overgrowth of the plantar fascia due to inflammatory-degenerative processes, trauma, etc., and the disease is called plantar fasciitis.
Causes of heel spur formation:
The main symptom of a heel spur is severe, sharp pain in the heel that appears after sleep, then it weakens after some movement, and intensifies again in the evening. This pattern of pain is due to the fact that at night micro-tears in the fascia grow together with shortening (since in a supine position the foot is not at a right angle to the shin) and when a person gets up, a micro-tear occurs again, as the fascia moves, it stretches and the pain decreases , but in the evening the load increases again due to new micro-fractures.
Without physical therapy, drug treatment, special gymnastics to stretch the fascia (5 exercises in total), wearing insoles, using night orthoses (braces), due to pain and a “nail driven into the heel,” a person begins to limp, and if both feet are affected , he practically cannot walk.
The spur cannot be seen externally, but can be seen on an x-ray.
So, heel pain occurs not only from a bone growth, but also due to micro-tear of the plantar fascia and its shortening, therefore an important condition for successful treatment is the performance of special exercises, taping and the use of orthoses, as well as anti-inflammatory ointments (see NSAIDs in the form of ointments from pain), dietary supplement ointments, physiotherapy, massage, wearing special insoles (see details about these treatment methods in the article How to treat a spur on the heel).
A method that has been tested by our grandmothers. It is very useful, and not only for patients with heel spurs, to walk barefoot on fine sand, as well as on grass, especially with dew, in the early morning. Walking should be enjoyable - you need to relax and move calmly through the sand or vegetation. You should not run, jump or perform any other violent techniques. This pleasant procedure should be carried out for 40 minutes every morning, preferably during all three summer months.
Sand holds heat well, and the heat literally warms you to the bones. The ideal place for treatment is the seashore, where you can bury your feet in the hot sand and enjoy relaxation. Alternatively, you can take fine river or sea sand (or salt), heat it in the oven and immerse your sore leg there until the sand cools. The procedure is carried out at night for a long time, especially during periods of exacerbation of the disease.
Aluminum and copper have a positive effect on heel spurs. During the day, keep a piece of aluminum foil under the sore heel. If you have copper utensils (plate, basin) at home, it is recommended to heat it and place the sore heel on the widest surface, holding it until the utensil has cooled completely. There are no restrictions on the duration of such treatment. At night you can make a medicinal application with tincture of mumiyo and cinquefoil, badger fat under foil - for 1 month.
Bishofite contains many minerals and beneficial substances and is a substance of natural origin. It is very important to follow the rules for using bischofite: the sore heel should be warmed in warm water or using a heating pad for 5 minutes, then a napkin made of several layers of gauze is moistened in brine or bischofite gel and applied to the entire surface of the heel. Cover the top with cellophane or wax paper and put on a sock. The compress is left on all night, and after waking up, remove it and wash the leg with water. Compresses are applied every other day in a course of 15 procedures.
Medical bile is sold in pharmacies. Moisten a gauze napkin with bile, apply it to the heel, wrap it in parchment paper, put on a plastic bag, tie it at the top and put on socks on top. The compress is applied at night and removed in the morning for 10 days. The effect does not occur immediately, but about a week after the end of such treatment.
It has an anti-inflammatory, analgesic effect, prevents the growth of spurs, and has a resolving effect. To do this, soften a piece of propolis in a water bath, form it into a cake, which must be applied to the heel with the spur. Propolis is fixed on top of dry tissue. The procedure can be done every day, leaving propolis overnight. One piece of propolis is enough for 3-4 applications.
“Zorka” is a veterinary drug that has amazing anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, and regenerating properties. There is no need to fear that it is veterinary, it contains floralizin - a natural, natural complex of biologically active compounds, it improves metabolism and tissue trophism, blood microcirculation, is used to treat all skin diseases, burns, joint pain, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, as well as heel spurs. You should lubricate your feet and wear socks at night. Cream Strength of the Forest is similar in composition, but costs an order of magnitude more expensive (Zorka 60 rubles, Strength of the Forest 500 rubles).
The magnet should be large, about the size of a heel. In order not to buy a magnet on purpose, you can remove it from an old radio or other broken equipment. The procedure is best performed at night, simply placing the sore heel on a magnet for 1-1.5 hours. The duration of treatment is at least a month.
A small piece of laundry soap should be grated and melted over a fire. Apply the slightly cooled mass to the heel as a compress, tying it with cellophane on top, and leave overnight. Such procedures need to be done every day, for 2-3 months in a row.
To treat heel spurs with folk remedies, you can use medical alcohol - disinfection, reduction of inflammation. For this procedure, medical alcohol must be carefully heated to 40-45 C. Then dip the sore heel in warm alcohol and hold until the liquid cools (about 15 minutes). After the procedure, you do not need to wipe your foot, but let it dry. Course – 10-15 procedures every other day.
It is recommended to roll a regular kitchen rolling pin across the floor every evening with your sore heel. The procedure should not cause discomfort or pain. A 10-15 minute massage is enough. After the massage, it is good to put a compress on the heel and leave it overnight.
Regular baby cream is squeezed into a container, 1 egg is added, then mixed thoroughly, 1 tbsp is added. spoon of vinegar essence (not a full spoon), mix well again. The resulting ointment is transferred to a jar. In the evening, after a salty foot bath, not hot, but at a comfortable temperature, completely rub the heel with this ointment in a thick layer, put on a plastic bag and a sock on top, in the morning remove the bag and wash your feet. After only 3 procedures, the pain subsides; the entire jar should be used.
For heel spurs, traditional methods of treatment with onions and garlic are effective - relieving pain and inflammation, preventing infection:
- Grate a head of garlic (or 3-4 large cloves) on a fine grater, tie the resulting pulp to the sore heel for 3-4 hours. If the procedure is well tolerated and there is no burning sensation, repeat after two to three days.
— Cut the head of onion (bitter) in half and drop 1 drop of tar onto the cut surface. Tie half an onion to the sore heel for several hours. Repeat the procedure 2-3 times a week.
Horseradish leaves or roots need to be boiled for 5 minutes (100 grams of raw material per liter of water). Then cool the broth slightly and dip the painful part of the leg into it until the water becomes cool. The procedure is repeated twice a week.
A fresh leaf of any of the listed plants is tied to the sore heel overnight. Apply several times a week.
This drink can be used instead of tea. For 1 liter of boiling water, 2 tbsp is enough. dry leaves. The infusion is consumed daily, dividing the indicated volume into 2-3 doses.
Fill a liter jar 3/4 full with fresh berries of the plant, add medical alcohol to the top and leave the mixture for 1 week. Moisten a gauze cloth in the resulting infusion and apply it to the sore heel as a compress at night. Apply once or twice a week.
Place a proportionate piece of kombucha on the pre-steamed heel and secure it on top with wax paper. The compress is left overnight. Repeat the procedure 1-2 times a week.
Before using, potatoes should be placed in a sunny place for a day or two so that they turn green. Then grate it together with the skin on a fine grater and apply it to the sore heel as a compress. The procedure is carried out at night, the compress is removed in the morning. Course – 10 procedures with daily use.
Heel spurs are bone growths in the form of a spike or beak on the sole of the heel bone or at the site of attachment of the Achilles tendon. Treatment of heel spurs is a long process. Excess weight, diseases of the spine and large joints of the lower extremities, flat feet - all this can provoke the appearance of heel spurs.
Boil 6-8 potatoes in their jackets, drain the water, crush and dilute with kerosene to a thick, tender puree. Place your heels in this hot puree. Keep it until it cools down (15-20 minutes). Then wipe your feet with a warm, damp cloth, put on woolen socks and go to bed. For some, 3-4 procedures are enough. The largest number of procedures is 12.
For treatment you will need 10 teaspoons of honey, 10 teaspoons of oatmeal and a little patience. We do the procedure at night. Take 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 teaspoon of oatmeal, mix, you get a small cake. We first steam our feet, wipe them dry and apply them to the sore heel. We secure the cake with a bandage, polyethylene and put on socks. We do this 10 times. After the full course the pain will go away.
Wet compresses should be applied to the spur. To prepare a compress, you first need to obtain aloe juice. A plant that is 5 years old is suitable for this purpose. Cut the leaves from the aloe and pass them through a meat grinder.
Squeeze the resulting mass through a nylon stocking. For a dose of medicine you need 500 g of this juice. Pour half a liter of pure alcohol into the juice, 5 bottles of valerian infusion (sold at the pharmacy), 10 tablets of analgin and aspirin (tablets should be 0.5 g each, for a different weight, calculate a different dosage) and 2 tablespoons of ground red pepper.
Crush the tablets first, otherwise it will be difficult to dissolve them. Mix everything, pour into a 2-liter jar and close the lid tightly. Place the jar in a dark place and let it stand for exactly 2 weeks. When the infusion is ready, apply wet compresses to the spur area at night. Soak the gauze well in the infusion and apply it to the spur, put cellophane on top and secure everything with a bandage, put a sock on top.
With regular use of this remedy, the spur will soon resolve.
To get rid of growths, bumps, etc., crush 6 aspirin tablets into powder, dilute them in 50 mg of 5 percent iodine, and apply to sore areas morning and evening. The course of treatment is one month. In order for bumps, growths and spurs to completely resolve, you need to drink silicon-activated water. Use it for cooking, tea, etc. The salts will gradually begin to disappear and your legs will stop bothering you. Also apply lotions to sore areas with a gauze bandage soaked in flint water.
To get rid of growths on your big toes, use the following recipe. Spread the cone first with camphor oil and then with iodine (in no case vice versa!). This should be done after steaming and drying your feet. If you carry out this procedure regularly, the bumps will disappear after a while.
First, steam and dry your feet. Then you can make an iodine net on the cones. Then you need to start making compresses from fresh chicken bile; in extreme cases, you can buy medical chicken bile at the pharmacy. Apply compresses every night, moisten the cotton wool and apply to a large area. Wrap it in cellophane, and then with a warm rag, and in a sock. In 1.5-2 months the cones will completely disappear.
In the morning, make a mixture of eggs and honey. Take the yolk of a chicken egg (preferably from a domestic chicken), add 1 tbsp. l. natural honey, grind everything well. Place this mixture in the refrigerator. In the evening, steam your feet, then wipe them dry, make a compress on your heels from this mixture and wrap your feet warmly until the morning. In the morning, remove everything and continue the procedure until the spur resolves. Before applying, warm the mixture slightly in a water bath.
550 mg distilled water. 0.75 g of salicylic acid, 50 grated baby soap, 500 g of purified turpentine, 100 g of alcohol (96%). The solution is prepared as follows. Distilled water in a container is brought to a boil. Then pour salicylic acid into it, stirring, add 50 g of crushed soap and stir until it is completely dissolved.
The hot solution is poured into a bowl with turpentine and then alcohol is added. Mix everything thoroughly. Store the contents in a glass container with a tightly closed lid out of the reach of children. When preparing the solution and using it, avoid contact with the eyes and mucous membranes.
For foot baths, place a basin filled with water in the bath 37
39°C, sometimes up to 40°C, add to it, after shaking well, the emulsion at the rate of 1 ml per 1 liter of water, if tolerated, adjust to 3-4 ml per 1 liter. Baths are done daily for 15 minutes, 12-15 procedures per course. If there are ulcers, abrasions, or irritation on the skin, baths are contraindicated. The use of baths relieves the inflammatory process, and along with it the pain goes away.
If you have spurs on your feet, try a very simple remedy: in the evenings, after steaming your feet, trample them on a bunch of stinging nettles thrown on the floor for 30 minutes. 5 sessions are enough.
Pour vinegar essence (70%) into a dark glass bottle halfway. Place 6 dark blades there, broken in half. Wait 1-1.5 months. During this time, the liquid in a tightly closed bottle will turn brown. Moisten a cotton swab with the solution and lubricate the spurs and spines several times a day. Do this until it disappears completely.
Heel spurs can be resolved by adding a pinch of red pepper to the sock, under the heel. Walk with him all day. Relief will soon come.
First, steam your feet in hot water with a small amount of soda added, then apply a small piece of mushroom or simply gauze soaked in kombucha. After 3-4 hours, the gauze dries out and needs to be moistened again. In 10 days you will completely get rid of the spur.
Collect pine shoots with pollen and cones, young spruce cones and forest heather. Dry, chop everything and mix in equal parts. 1 tbsp. pour 1 liter of water into the mixture, bring to a boil and keep on low heat for 10 minutes. Pour hot water into a large basin, add the broth and steam your feet for 20-30 minutes, adding hot water as necessary. Do this at night every other day, take about 10-15 procedures and get rid of heel spurs.
Beef meat will help with heel spurs.
Beat the pulp with a hammer and apply to the problem area overnight. On top there is polyethylene and a bandage. For everything to go away, 3 procedures are often enough.
For heel spurs, compresses are made from lilac tincture. Dried lilac flowers are poured with vodka in a ratio of 1:10. Infuse for 8-10 days in a tightly closed container.
Do the procedure at night. Buy 6 sachets of magnesia at the pharmacy and dissolve in 1 liter of water. Heat the magnesia solution (to about 60°C), pour it into a basin and place your heels in it, steam for about 10 minutes. Then, after wiping your heels dry, apply a compress from the liquid valerian solution to them. Insulate thoroughly (wear warm socks) and do so for the whole night, remove the compress in the morning. 3a 10 procedures you will forget about heel pain, heel spurs will leave you
According to statistics, leg diseases occur in 93% of adults. One of the most common is heel spurs. A heel spur is a bony growth on the bottom of the heel, calcaneus, or
What is a heel spur
attachments of the heel Achilles tendons usually have the shape of a hook or spike.
If you have a spur on your heel, symptoms will not take long to appear. With a heel spur, a person is bothered by a burning, sharp pain when placing weight on the heel, which can develop gradually or occur suddenly. The pain is strongest in the morning, when getting out of bed. Also, sharp pain can bother you after sitting for a long time. Heel spur sufferers compare the discomfort to a nail in the heel. The pain can be either local or spreading throughout the heel and sole. If, when examining your foot, pressing on the sole of the heel or on the sides causes pain, you most likely have a heel spur. More precisely, the spur on the heels is determined by x-ray examination and looks like a growth from calcium salts. It causes pain and injury to the surrounding tissues of the foot. The size of such a growth can be very different, but the pain sensations will not change. One way or another, a heel spur causes a lot of inconvenience and discomfort.
The main risk group is women over 40 years old. In general, this disease can be characterized as a result of anatomical changes in the foot in older people.
Uncomfortable shoes that cause curvature of the foot, uneven load, all this accelerates the development of heel spurs. Also among the causes are longitudinal flat feet, leg and foot injuries, vascular diseases, rheumatism, excessive loads on the surface of the foot, and joint diseases. Even a simple stoop, along with weakening muscles and excess weight, can cause spurs on the heels.
To protect yourself from the appearance of heel spurs, you must, first of all, not put excessive stress on your feet. This means you need to give up high heels and uncomfortable narrow shoes, monitor correct posture and keep your weight under control. If you experience heel discomfort or minor pain, it is better to immediately have these symptoms diagnosed by a doctor in order to stop the development of the disease. If you really have spurs on your heels, you can find out how to treat them in your particular case immediately after diagnosis in the hospital.
It is this unpleasant disease that makes up a tenth of all diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, many means have been invented for its effective treatment. It's not only
Heel spur treatment
traditional medicines, but also traditional medicine. All of them are designed to eliminate inflammation in the spur, but the treatment process itself, depending on the stage, can be quite lengthy.
To eliminate the symptoms of spur disease and relieve pain, depending on the stage, blocking painkillers and anti-inflammatory drug complexes are prescribed, both for local use and internally. Treatments for local treatment of spurs include therapeutic massages, cryoprocedures, and ultrasound therapy with hydrocortisone. Local ointments and gels (Indomethacin, Hydrocortisone, Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, etc.) have a good effect.
There are many folk recipes for treating spurs. Mostly these are various ointments and creams, here are some of them:
The resulting mixture is intensively rubbed onto the sore spot.
A spur on the heel is a fairly common phenomenon that brings considerable problems to a person suffering from this disease. What is this disease? What symptoms are characteristic of it, and what reasons lead to its development?
A spur is a bone growth, most often having a wedge-shaped or spiky shape, which is a consequence of a large load on the tendons and leads to a violation of the physiological position of the bone.
Even in the last century, spurs on the heels were quite rare, and most often the main reason for their appearance was considered to be injuries.
Nowadays, the disease is common, and women are at risk. They account for 80% of all diseases.
The disease is more often observed in urban residents; it can appear on only one leg or on both. It can appear at any age. In adulthood, as a rule, it is a consequence of changes in the aging body. At a young age, the occurrence of heel spurs is most often a consequence of excessive load on the feet, overload when playing sports, or wearing uncomfortable shoes. The reasons for the development in women are primarily the use of high-heeled shoes with a physiologically incorrect last.
Most often it can occur at a young age when playing sports, overexertion, or overwork. That is why, when playing sports: running or jumping, it is very important to follow the regime.
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A clinical examination, during which the doctor determines the location and nature of the pain by palpation. Next, an X-ray examination is prescribed to confirm the diagnosis. Evidence of the presence of spurs on the heels will be a growth on the plantar side of the heel bone. At an early stage of the development of the disease, an X-ray examination will not give any results, since the growth will not be clearly expressed and will not be noticeable in the image. The pain in this case is explained by the inflammatory process.
Symptoms characteristic of spurs on the heel can also occur with other pathologies.
That is why it is important to make a correct diagnosis in order to prescribe adequate treatment.
Pain in the heel area is also characteristic of a fracture of the calcaneus; an x-ray will help differentiate these two pathologies. And a prescribed biochemical blood test will help differentiate a heel spur from rheumatic diseases, which can cause similar pain in the foot area.
Location of the heel spur on the bone
To prevent the appearance of spurs on the heel, you need to monitor excess weight, lead a healthy active lifestyle, but do not overwork your feet. If you have joint diseases or diseases of the spine, timely treatment is necessary, since complications can be represented by spurs on the heels. For flat feet, it is recommended to use orthopedic insoles and wear only comfortable shoes. When the first signs of heel spurs appear, physiotherapeutic methods of prevention can help.
Shock wave therapy is a fairly new treatment method; it is based on the action of ultrasonic waves on the problem area. It is noted that after the first procedures, patients feel noticeable relief. The disadvantage of this method is the large number of contraindications, as a result of which this treatment cannot be applied to all patients with this pathology.
Laser therapy is based on the impact of a laser beam on the tissue surrounding the spur. The laser acts only on soft tissues, helps relieve the inflammatory process and, as a result, eliminate pain. The spur on the heel itself does not decrease in size and does not disappear anywhere, so a course of laser therapy should be taken regularly. Quite high efficiency is observed, the treatment has minimal contraindications.
Radiation therapy is based on the impact of dosed x-rays on the pathological area. The spur also does not decrease in size, only the pain symptom is blocked. The method is considered highly effective.
All physiotherapeutic methods are aimed mainly at reducing pain and eliminating discomfort.
The method is based on surgical removal of the growth.
As one might understand, a spur on the heel is a condition that is very difficult to deal with. Treatments used today do not completely eliminate the problem. Most of them only help block pain and reduce unpleasant symptoms of the disease. That is why the main task is to prevent the development of the disease, to take preventive measures, in particular: wearing comfortable shoes, a rational regime of physical activity, combating obesity and metabolic diseases, as well as the use of orthopedic devices for flat feet. Preventing the development of the disease in this case is a much more feasible task than treating it!
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With a heel spur, the soft tissues that surround the heel tubercle become inflamed. A heel spur may appear due to infection, acute or chronic injury, rheumatism, longitudinal flat feet, or vascular disorders. Over time, the above phenomena turn into bone growth, similar in shape to a spike. Let's take a closer look at how to treat heel spurs using traditional methods, as well as using traditional medicine at home.
Before you begin to treat the disease, it is important to understand the main factors that provoke the development of heel spurs, as well as what symptoms they are accompanied by.
A heel spur can develop due to excess weight, flat feet, heel injury, impaired blood flow in the legs, metabolic disorders in the body, complications of various diseases. If a specialist has a good understanding of the reasons for the development of heel spurs, they can be easily and quickly eliminated.
Most often, heel disease develops due to inflammatory processes, and not due to anatomical changes in the feet.
You can read more about the symptoms in the article located at the link: “Symptoms of spurs on the heels and methods of their treatment.”
Once the doctor has made the correct diagnosis, it is important to immediately begin treating the disease. A universal remedy against spurs has not yet been invented, therefore, when treating the disease, all efforts are aimed at eliminating pain and inflammation.
Heel spurs can be treated with the following methods:
In addition to the methods described above, it is important to wear shoes with special orthopedic insoles and heel pads. Thanks to such accessories, the load on the feet will be distributed evenly, which will relieve pain.
After consulting with a doctor, choose a more suitable method for treating heel spurs using traditional medicine. At home, spurs can be removed using:
It is necessary to treat a spur on the heel in a comprehensive manner, that is, after a compress, do a massage or vice versa.
At home, you can do the following warming procedures:
You can treat heel spurs with the following compresses:
You can treat spurs at home by massaging your feet. There are the following types of home massage:
You can read about hardware massage in the article “Vitafon in the treatment of heel spurs.”
Recipes for remedies that will also help cure heel spurs:
You can find out even more recipes in the article: “Ointment for heel spurs.”
In order for all treatment methods for spurs to be beneficial, it is important to follow the rules of a special diet. Proper nutrition will reduce inflammation and enhance the removal of accumulated salts. It is important not to eat salty foods, smoked foods, sweets, and add as little salt to dishes as possible. You also need to forget about coffee, tea and store-bought juices for a while.
It is recommended to drink at least two liters of various liquids per day. It is healthy to enjoy watermelons and fresh cucumbers.
To avoid the appearance of spurs in the heels, it is important to take care of the osteoarticular system. To this end, try to follow the following preventive recommendations:
At the first symptoms of a heel spur, it is important to immediately consult a doctor for advice. An experienced specialist will conduct an examination and tell you how to treat the disease.
With the help of traditional medicine, heel spurs can be easily cured. This is evidenced by the following reviews from people who have experienced the disease:
Now you know what a heel spur is and how it is treated using traditional and traditional medicine. By the way, if you didn’t find all the answers in this article, look additionally at this one: “How to remove spurs on your heels.”
An important rule is that if you experience pain in your heels, you should immediately consult a doctor in order to begin treatment for the disease in a timely manner.