What Causes Bone Spurs In Feet?

You may have heard of spurs on cowboy boots, or the kind that comes in the form of a Texas basketball team, but people can develop spurs in their heels. This is a painful ailment for people.

Walking with every step throughout your day should obviously not be painful. If your steps lead to an aching pain, you may have what are called “bone spurs” on your heels. Bone spurs can either affect one or both feet. While you may not notice a difference by looking at the bottom of your feet, these spurs have irregular shapes on the end of your heels that are made of calcium, giving heel bones overall an unusual look to them. These spurs will press against the tissues of your heels, thus giving off a painful or discomforting sensation in your feet every time you take a step.

This sensation is most severe when you first awake from bed and get on your feet in the morning. It can be very irritating when you get up from after a long period of sitting, like when you exit a car or stand up from a session of work. The pain may reduce after you spend a while walking around, but it certainly isn’t going away until you get treated by a doctor for heel pain Houston.

There are a variety of different people that can be affected by heel spurs, although the most common occurrences happen at over 40 years of age when the ligaments in ones feet lose elasticity. People are at risk of bone spurs for having an uneven gaits, being heavy-set, working at a job that requires standing and lifting heavy items for long period of time, or wearing a pair of shoes that are worn or do not fit a person’s feet.

These bone spurs happen from a condition that is called Plantar Fasciitis, which occurs when the arch of the foot becomes stressed. An irregular walking gait is caused by excessive movement of the ligament that is known as plantar fascia, which is supposed to expand with each step a person takes with that foot. If that ligament stretches too much, the ligament can develop small tears and inflammation, which leads to minor or major levels of discomfort.

In summary, the body creates a build up of calcium when the plantar fascia in your foot is ruptured, but this does not mean the foot heals. Each time you take a step, the bone spur punctures the fatty tissue at the bottom of your heel. If remained untreated, bone spurs can wear out the tissue and cause life long damage to your foot.

However, with the help of doctor that treats heel pain in Houston, he or she can administer some easy procedures that do not involve surgery or medication. Surgery is required for the most severe of cases, in which the calcium buildup in the foot or feet must be surgically removed.

For most cases though, the doctor will most likely prescribe patients with orthotic shoe inserts that are designed with bone spurs in mind. These inserts go right inside of your shoes and provide padding and support for your heels, so that the bone spurs do not press down as far. Because of these inserts, your foot and tissue in your heel will be given time to heel and for the spurs in your feet to reduce in size. Other procedures along with wearing inserts include rest, icing, and foot exercises to keep your feet active and healthy.