I can’t find how to post to a specific part of the forum like injuries . I’m able to see it but can’t seem to post within it.
Anyway I have a heel spur and get a Cortizone shot for which helped for a little bit but the pain came back. I watched and read tons of videos and articles and it seems like there’s Opposing views as to whether you should stretch your calf and plantar or not. Any opinions here based on experience ? thanks
I don’t think that there is an injuries forum.
I had spurs on the back of my heels, bi-lateral. Required surgery to cure.
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No idea but I am sorry you are hurt
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Where is your bone spur? Back of the heel (like a Haglund’s deformity)? Bottom of the heel (associated with plantar fasciitis)?
bottom of heel.
I can only share personal anecdotes. I was diagnosed with heel spurs (bottom) in combo with plantar fasciitis, courtesy of buying into all that minimal shoe craze and the resulting shift in foot strike.
I began stretching my calfs and had best results with dynamic stretching (slow heel lifts on the curb or on a step). I rolled the bottom of my feet with ice (water frozen in light pet bottle), massaged my soles with golf balls and wore Nike free runs in my free time to address the pf. I also received calf massages and had a 7 session treatment with a weird shock- or ultrasonic gun to improve blood circulation around the spur. I am not sure whether it helped, it definitely helped making my wallet lighter. Couldn’t find strong evidence showing it’s effectiveness in studies. It has been a while, I’d recommend reading up on it before blowing cash on it and make your own decision.
My gait has adapted to a significant forefoot strike, probably as an adaption to the pf. I don’t know how and when it went away, but I have been pain free for 4 years now with a yearly run volume of about 1400k and a few running PRs on the half distance and half marathon along the way. Never took time completely off, just moving to triathlon from running and the above mentioned treatments was enough.
Also fwiw I remember my sports physician telling me that the spur itself is usually not a problem. As long as the spur is not causing any problems, which they often don’t, it is nothing to be worried about. It is the condition that lead to the calcification in the first place that should be of primary concern, which is usually a mix of local overload, lack of flexibility in the calf or elsewhere and/or terrible shoes.
I can only share personal anecdotes. I was diagnosed with heel spurs (bottom) in combo with plantar fasciitis, courtesy of buying into all that minimal shoe craze and the resulting shift in foot strike.
I began stretching my calfs and had best results with dynamic stretching (slow heel lifts on the curb or on a step). I rolled the bottom of my feet with ice (water frozen in light pet bottle), massaged my soles with golf balls and wore Nike free runs in my free time to address the pf. I also received calf massages and had a 7 session treatment with a weird shock- or ultrasonic gun to improve blood circulation around the spur. I am not sure whether it helped, it definitely helped making my wallet lighter. Couldn’t find strong evidence showing it’s effectiveness in studies. It has been a while, I’d recommend reading up on it before blowing cash on it and make your own decision.
My gait has adapted to a significant forefoot strike, probably as an adaption to the pf. I don’t know how and when it went away, but I have been pain free for 4 years now with a yearly run volume of about 1400k and a few running PRs on the half distance and half marathon along the way. Never took time completely off, just moving to triathlon from running and the above mentioned treatments was enough.
Also fwiw I remember my sports physician telling me that the spur itself is usually not a problem. As long as the spur is not causing any problems, which they often don’t, it is nothing to be worried about. It is the condition that lead to the calcification in the first place that should be of primary concern, which is usually a mix of local overload, lack of flexibility in the calf or elsewhere and/or terrible shoes.
thanks a lot
Have you been given a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis? If so, my wife is dealing with this same problem. She also has a bone spur on the “bottom†of her heel bone. Unfortunately, steroid shots can be given but they rarely have good long term effect. Also, the bone spur is not what is causing the plantar fasciitis, it’s a reactive response to the process causing your plantar fasciitis (PF)
For PF, absolutely massage and stretch the calf and toes. PF is a terrible injury to have if it becomes chronic. Even simple cases can sometimes take months to improve.
Have you been given a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis? If so, my wife is dealing with this same problem. She also has a bone spur on the “bottom†of her heel bone. Unfortunately, steroid shots can be given but they rarely have good long term effect. Also, the bone spur is not what is causing the plantar fasciitis, it’s a reactive response to the process causing your plantar fasciitis (PF)
For PF, absolutely massage and stretch the calf and toes. PF is a terrible injury to have if it becomes chronic. Even simple cases can sometimes take months to improve.
i was just old i have a heel spur . i think. aren’t they one in the same?i’m going back to podiatrist monday. the bottom of my heel is KILLING me.
Have you been given a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis? If so, my wife is dealing with this same problem. She also has a bone spur on the “bottom†of her heel bone. Unfortunately, steroid shots can be given but they rarely have good long term effect. Also, the bone spur is not what is causing the plantar fasciitis, it’s a reactive response to the process causing your plantar fasciitis (PF)
For PF, absolutely massage and stretch the calf and toes. PF is a terrible injury to have if it becomes chronic. Even simple cases can sometimes take months to improve.
i was just old i have a heel spur . i think. aren’t they one in the same?i’m going back to podiatrist monday. the bottom of my heel is KILLING me.
Yeah a lot of people can have bone (or heel) spurs and not know it until it shows up on an X-ray.
I bet the doc will tell you it is plantar fasciitis.
So frustrated… pain on the bottom of my heel for 2 months now. After being told it was plantar fasciitis (although it never presented like plantar pain), the MRI and physical therapist all say no. MRI just showed some inflammation, and x-ray showed a bone spur on the heel.
Also annoying is that my useless podiatrist keeps telling me that is impossible for the pain to be from my bone spur, bone spurs don’t hurt. (I would agree the pain is not the bone spur itself, but clearly it is causing issue even though he seems to think this is impossible, with no other diagnosis.)
The pain has not subsided with no running. A cortizone shot after 6 weeks helped, but my first run after caused it to come back.
PT is working on my super tight calf/achilles and biomechanics to take pressure off - and I no longer ever walk barefoot, using comfy house shoes. These things help while just walking around, but any running brings it right back.
I just feel at a loss with this stupid pain. It’s at the outside edge of heel. Pretty much right where the spur is.
Seems like it has to just be the spur causing inflammation?? I am going to try to get another referral to an ortho, but wondering if anyone has other ideas?
To me, everything you describe still points to plantar fasciitis (pain on bottom of heel being the biggest clue). My wife has dealt with this for years, and the way you describe your issue sounds a lot like her foot pain (it was always located on the bottom of the heel). She also had steroid injections. They would provide temporary relief but then return. For one of her feet, she was able to make it go away with time, PT, and being very careful about her shoe choices. The other foot, the PF never went away, and she eventually required surgery. Part of the surgery involved nerve decompression. Baxter’s nerve entrapment is thought to account for up to 20% of suspected PF cases.
Also, with regards to the heel spur, most believe the heel spur to be a reaction to another injury (inflammation) rather than the culprit in causing the pain. As I mentioned earlier, many people don’t even realize they have heel spurs until an inadvertent discovery on a X-ray. I have it and I usually have to rub the area because I get an inflamed bursa nearby.
I got really bad heel pain in May last year after changing running shoes. An x-ray showed a heel spur but the radiologist said spurs are pretty common and would simply predispose me to injuries. He was surprised that this was my first heel injury. After mucking around with Physio, moon boot and orthotics from a podiatrist I finally got diagnosed with plantar fasciitis by a sports doc via an MRI.
Given my lack of response to the other treatments we went down the PRP injection route in October and that proved to be the turning point in recovery. I’m finally back running pain free and on track for Ironman in May (12 months after having to walk the IM marathon last year due to the pain).
As others have said, check out the possibility of plantar fasciitis - and if it is be super patient with recovery. There’s no quick fix.
I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. He gave me cortizone a few times and at first it was better then seemed to make it worse.
There seems to be many conflicting stances on whether or NOT to stretch the plantar. SOme say to stretch and other say stretching makes it worse. Very odd.
Thank you for all the responses. It really doesn’t seem like plantar unless it is in a super weird spot. The MRI didn’t show inflammation of the plantar fascia, but on upper part (toes) where I do have some issues with my big toe, but that is not the current pain. And inflammation on the back heel, achilles. (I have had chronic issues with Achilles and the MRI reflected that.) I can walk easily on my toes, PT said if plantar I wouldn’t be able to do that. Heel I cannot walk on at all.
The PT is definitely working on issues to not further aggravate where the bone spur is since I seem to run too much on outside of heel. Basically she’s working on my calf to keep that loose and having me strengthen the ankle area so I can have more proper running form.
And the issue isn’t achilles, it is too far down to be where the achilles attaches to the heel. (Plus it is almost on outside part of heel.) I am treating it at home almost as if it is plantar, wearing night splint, no bare feet, icing, continually trying to move the heel cup (she said it’s not everting), rolling a bit (not as much as when I first thought it was plantar.)
It just seems like a mystery pain that is not going away. I think I am doing as much as one can for it, I just wish I understood the source of the pain more. I suppose getting older doesn’t help.
Yeah, Cortisone was mentioned as an option for me but I didn’t want to go there as there is too much research showing the risk of ligament and other soft tissue damage.
I am a pedorthist and have been making custom foot orthotics for over twenty years and specialize with athletes.
Sorry for the long reply.
A diagnosed heel spur sounds worse than it is and usually isn’t the source of pain. It’s really just a way for the body to reinforce or anchor the plantar fascia at the calcaneus. What is does indicate is stress to the plantar fascia. Some people get the increase bone mass at the base of the Achilles tendon called a Haglund’s deformity. The Achilles tendon and plantar fascia are so close to each other that they are almost integral.
We have found that the main stress to the plantar fascia is lack normal pronation (land on outside portion of shoe then moving across the foot to the inner most tip of the shoe). Lack of dorsiflexion at the ankle (tight posterior leg muscles and psoas) and or lack of big toe dorsiflexion as the foot pushes off causes a tug of war. After a while an injury to the fascia, inflammation, angry nerves and muscle spasm sets in. During this phase running through it doesn’t work. Re-evaluating footwear, rest, stretching, ice, heat, not sleeping with toes pointed, ankle/foot ROM exercises usually help the most. Cortisone can really help but may be short lived if cause isn’t fixed. Multiple injections and even one for some people may break down tissue causing potential structural failure. If ice doesn’t help at all then maybe pass on the cortisone.
Big toe dorsiflexion is really important! Some people have a structurally stiff big toe and most of us have a functional stiff big toe. This means the toe moves upwards unweighted but the ground and foot compression causes the stiffness and doesn’t bend at toe off. It’s like a long stick. You can usually tell if this is happening if you have a big dent at the tip of the big toe when you take out the shoe’s insole, have a callus along the inside of your big toe, developing a bunion, and abduct or adduct when walking or running.
A few things you might try to help take the stress off the big toe is a running shoe with a good balance of cushion, neutral support and a very rockered forefoot. This will allow the foot to move from heel to toe unhindered. A gentle over the counter arch support may also help.
I really like to suggest Currex insoles as they come in three different arch heights and don’t restrict the arch, the new Asics Nimbus 25 is outstanding and Oofos recovery sandals for around the house. Thicker Hoka, carbon plated and other inflexible shoes can help some people but can hinder others as the forefoot is supposed to move three dimensionally. Unless you have a rigid big toe or arthritis try to get shoes that move with your feet.
Lastly the plantar fascia fans out from the heel to ball of your foot so an injury can happen in a number of places. Also if you have medial heel pain, foam roll your medial calf as it flexes your toes. If you have lateral foot pain, foam roll your lateral calf as is supports the outside of your foot (peroneal tendon).
If nothing seems to help consider seeing a chiropractor who is good with feet or get a nerve test for tarsal tunnel syndrome.
I’ve had it myself and it really sucks! Just try to make sure nothing is working against how your lower extremity is functioning when moving forward and be patient. One day it just goes away : )
Thank you so so much for the in depth response! You’ve actually diagnosed everything my PT did, without even seeing me! First, I had a haglunds deformity removed on the other foot 13 yrs ago, I’ve had chronic achilles issues my whole life, off and on. The current situation started with a super tight calf. After the heel pain developed an X-ray actually showed moderate degeneration of the big toe, and made me realize it likely has been hurting a bit. PT thinks to counter this I am keeping extra pressure on the outside. (You should’ve seen the wear and tear on my old Hokas right where the pain is.) She said my heel does not go into eversion. So she’s working hard on the calf/achilles- and having me work on strengthening ankle area for a proper run form.
I’m just frustrated because I took 6 weeks off with no relief. The Cortizone 100% helped, the first run 100% brought it back. So I feel like I wasted the shot.
Our concern is how my toe will hold up, so I will buy the ASICS today. (I have been in Hokas for years because my feet like the extra cushion.) and I am in pretty good custom orthotics, the PT built it up on the outside a little more to try and force my foot to roll in because it refuses to do that . (Probably using wrong terms.)
Anyway, even longer way of saying thank you- appreciate the insight. Being patient is hard.
Inflexibility in the big toe, excessive rear foot eversion and or the wrong shoe will often cause the foot to push off in an inverted position. The final 25-50% of foot strike is the most important phase to normalize.
Most “over pronators” have a stiff 5th metatarsal which forces the foot into eversion too quickly on a flat-hard surface which causes the first metatarsal (medial arch) to compress. The first metatarsal actually needs to plantar flex ) move downwards) in order for the big toe to dorsiflex (bend). The stiff 5th metatarsal acts like a rock stuck to the outside of your shoe. Adding a lateral wedge may be a good thing if the foot is structurally inverted (supinated) or if you have peroneal tendonitis or medial knee OA. Otherwise forcing the foot into an everted position too quickly may cause further 1st metatarsal compression and stiff big toe. An arch support that is also too rigid and too far forward at the front arch can also cause a stiff big toe. The arch support should have a bit of a gap under the front arch when standing, especially if it is rigid like Super Feet, Powerstep or most rigid podiatric orthotics. When I mold a patients foot for an orthotic I always bend the big toe upwards a few times. This will allow the first metatarsal and 1st mtpj to move normally. It turns the mold from a static to dynamic view of the foot.
To test if a stiff 5th metatarsal is your situation, see if your one foot balance is a lot better on a soft mat rather than the hard floor. Feet that have a stiff 5th metatarsal will have to balance on the outside of their foot on a hard surface to keep balance. The mat will accommodate the stiff metatarsal and will allow the foot to be more evenly balanced. A callus on the 5th mtpj or cuboid is also a good sign of stiffness.
I hope the shoes and some of this information helps!!!