Heel spurs.

[Daggy]

Just wondering if anyone has had experience with the painful problem of heel spurs (the calcium growth not the ones the cowboys wear).
I have been suffering for about three weeks now and can't find anyone who has had them that hasn't had surgery. I avoid doctors like the plaque but I'm probably going to bite the bullet next week if I can't get some relief.
I can't afford to take time off work but I'm not going to be able to work if this keeps up.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Darren

 

[Mackka]

Go and see the Dr. mate stop stuffing around and get some decent advice. Just sayin.
Mackka

 

[silver]

My brother suffered with one Daggy, had the opp on it n never had another problem with it. For the small inconvenience of getting it done there is a very large payoff to collect on afterwards, and it's not like it's major surgery on your heart, lungs, or brain ,.... just get your shopping done, and yourself in order so you can put your feet up and relax while it gets itself ready to walk on properly
here's some info.
1
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/mobileart.asp?articlekey=380
2
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2015/02/6-reasons-you-shouldnt-assume-foot-pain-is-a-heel-spur/
3
http://www.footlogics.com.au/heel-spurs-relief-treatment.html
4
https://draxe.com/heel-spur/
You may be able to still go it on your own !

 

[Smoky bandit]

My Doctor said mine were the worst he had ever seen..every morning getting out of bed and walking was excruciating ...Dr gave me a rubber thing to bite on and gave me a needle in both heals...Hurt like hell...but not as bad as i was expecting...Took about 2 weeks to numb the pain..all up it can take a few months to heal properly..or up to 18 months without the injections...But they will heal naturally over time..good luck it sucks :Y:

 

[MikeB05]

G'day Daggy,

I feel your pain...literally. Below is a photo of my heel spur xray. If you look closely you can see the small growth that comes out from the base of the heel bone. It applies pressure on the fascia tendon and hurts like hell. This photo needs to be rotated clockwise.

My doc has advised NOT to have surgery as the tendon between your heel and ball of foot needs to be cut and if you are my age (60'ish) it may not heal properly - leading to more problems.

Short term fix for me was purchase 2 heel gel pads and put them inside shoes...it relieves the pressure plus pretty strong anti-inflammatory meds.

Others I have spoken to tell me the intense pain goes away after a while...but I've had my pain for 3 1/2 months and jack of it.

Keen to know how you get on but in any event I agree with Mackka..go see a doctor.
cheers
Mike

 

[Daggy]

Wow that was fast, thanks for the replies fellas.
I was talking to a bloke who drives one of the local school buses and has just had his operated on, he is now off work for FOUR MONTHS! that's what worries me.
Mike, I have read similar things and being a 49yo diabetic worries me about surgery.
Smoky, this is what I was hoping to hear but, is the rubber thing clean and out of a fresh packet ?
I have to go to the doctor next week anyway to get a new script anyway Mackka so I'll try to pick his brains a bit about it, just hard to understand what they are saying as we only have one Aussie doctor in Bundaberg!

Thanks
Darren

 

[Daggy]

My brother suffered with one Daggy, had the opp on it n never had another problem with it. For the small inconvenience of getting it done there is a very large payoff to collect on afterwards, and it's not like it's major surgery on your heart, lungs, or brain ,.... just get your shopping done, and yourself in order so you can put your feet up and relax while it gets itself ready to walk on properly
here's some info.
1
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/mobileart.asp?articlekey=380
2
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2015/02/6-reasons-you-shouldnt-assume-foot-pain-is-a-heel-spur/
3
http://www.footlogics.com.au/heel-spurs-relief-treatment.html
4
https://draxe.com/heel-spur/
You may be able to still go it on your own !

Thanks Silver

Just finished reading the links you posted, I like the last one. The others scare me a bit.
I'll let everyone know which way I go.

Daggy

 

[Smoky bandit]

Wow that was fast, thanks for the replies fellas.
I was talking to a bloke who drives one of the local school buses and has just had his operated on, he is now off work for FOUR MONTHS! that's what worries me.
Mike, I have read similar things and being a 49yo diabetic worries me about surgery.
Smoky, this is what I was hoping to hear but, is the rubber thing clean and out of a fresh packet ?
I have to go to the doctor next week anyway to get a new script anyway Mackka so I'll try to pick his brains a bit about it, just hard to understand what they are saying as we only have one Aussie doctor in Bundaberg!

Thanks
Darren

Yer mate it was clean..but to be honest you wont need it..they inject quarterzone..it is painfull but helps you heal quicker :Y: SOOOOOOOglad i had it done..i had mine for about 8months before i got it done..And a few weeks later it was much better :Y:

 

[Daggy]

Thanks Smoky I feel better now.

Daggy

 

[wiley coyote]

I've had them for 40 years. Went to a specialist with xrays. he thanked me for bringing them as the spurs were the longest he'd ever seen. He said he could operate on them,which entailed grinding the spurs off, stretching the tendons back and reattaching them to the heel.he said your toes will be clenched like a fist as the tendons were now so short,and they may never unclench properly,and i'de be in a wheelchair for at least 6 months.I asked him what the odds were on the op being a sucsess He said ,there's a 60% chance it won't work. I said at those odds I'de rather hobble around with the pain.To cut a long story short.lol.Itook my xrays to a podiatrist who took moulds of my feet and made inserts to put in my boots. Magic. Iwas able to detect 9 hours a day.they some times play up a bit,but nothing like they were.Before, i could hardly stand having bed sheets on my feet after a days detecting, and just driving home with my foot on the accelerator was painful.I went to a podiatrist a few years back to get some new inserts and she gave me a new exercise to do. Before you get out of bed each morning, use both feet at the same time to write the alphabet with your toes, with the letters as big as you can get them.It sounds weird, but it really works.There's bit of pain at first until the muscles in the area build up,but you'll soon notice the difference.the inserts cost about $200 and they're worth every cent. Don't buy any of the over the counter inserts as they,re just crap,and some make it worse. Hope all this is some help to you. wiley coyote

 

[Daggy]

Thanks Wiley
I will try the stretching exercise for sure, it makes sense as the sharp pain goes away after I move around a bit.

Daggy

 

[Daggy]

Wiley
I've got some relief already from doing the exercises, so much so that I feel I could go for a swing today.

Thanks
Daggy

 

[wiley coyote]

G'day Daggy. glad to hear the exercises are helping. I never knew there were so many muscles etc in my feet til i started do them. they really tensed up and hurt, but it was worth it. No pain no gain! maybe you could try DR.scholes inserts that have a gel bladder in them where the spur is. My daughter said they're not bad.I tried gel inserts when they first came out years ago when they were more liquid than gel, but little bits of quartz, etc, got into my boots and punctured them,so i ended up with sore feet and soggy socks!bummer! wiley coyote

!.

 

[Daggy]

Thanks Wiley.

 

[Greenhornet_au]

Daggy, just saw this thread.

Questions -

Have you just gotten new shoes ?

Have you been wearing the same shoes for a week or two ?

Is there heal cushioning in your most used pair of shoes ? Is it damaged or worn ?

I was going along fine and then suffered heal pain, turned out to be my work boots, a daily worn item - had damaged heal materials and my heals were suffering from that,
could hardly walk on the floor bare footed.

An arch problem was caused by my summer sandals which had a 'special' shape for arch support in the soles, again long term use caused that, very painful.

AND now I have some heal pain from long term use of some Nike gym shoes, love the shoes but they are designed to have your heal weighted slightly back for appropriate
foot position doing gym work, this places a little more weight on the heals.
Fine for a few hours use a day, but I tend to live in a shoe that is comfortable and I like.
I found out the problem after I started to get sore heals, I could not even stand up out of bed without severe pain.

All the above in the last 9 months.

So I am not surprised if the issues are based upon footwear and how much time you spend in the same shoe.
Not surprised if exercising the foot muscles is helping.

And lastly not surprised if it clears up over the next 6-8 weeks.

I once had micro stress cracks in the heal bone from A LOT of Ice Skating, and it took about that 6-8 week time to mend, all these problems have taken about that time to resolve.

Hopefully yours will also.

 

[Daggy]

G'day GH

I've hardly ever worn shoes. I wore gumboots in the meatworks but only at work, steelcaps when doing mechanical work and motocross boots when riding.
At any other time I'm in thongs or bear feet, don't even have any shoes to go out in. Old thongs for around the farm and new ones for going out in lol. Double plugged for safety of course.
About two years ago I trod on a "Thomas the tank engine" getting out of the shower with my right foot and it has never recovered. Stopped wearing the steelcaps because of that (lucky I work for myself) and have been strictly in thongs for work ever since.
It's my left foot that is giving me pain, maybe caused by favoring the right!

Thanks
Daggy