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I have been suffering from heel spurs in my left foot for three months. The podiatrist made arch supports and referred me to a physiotherapist afterwards. Here I have been treated with taping and shockwave therapy but there is still pain in my heel and I still can’t walk for long, also I walk with crutches to relieve the foot. What else can I do? Tired of being so sweet, would like to get back to work completely, but that’s still not possible.
Annemarie
First of all, it is important to know what heel spurs is. At the bottom of the foot is a tendon leaf that runs over the arch of the foot and is attached to the heel bone. Pain in this tendon is usually caused by hypertraction. This hypertraction is caused during walking when the foot tilts inwards and the arch of the foot is pushed flatter (the so-called pronation). In some people this pronation movement is excessive or the tendon is too short. At that moment, the tendon is pulled too hard with every step. Then the tendon leaf can irritate and we speak of plantar fasciitis (inflammation of the tendon leaf).
Extra piece of bone
If the hypertraction continues, an extra piece of bone can form at the level of the heel bone, where the tendon attaches. This piece of bone on the underside of the heel bone is the so-called heel spur. The healing of the tendon is always very slow because a tendon is not well supplied with blood. Treatment of these complaints always consists in the first instance of reducing the hypertraction on the tendon by means of sole therapy. This ensures that the tendon experiences less traction forces while walking so that it can recover. With heel spur complaints, this works in about 80 percent of people. However, this doesn’t work for everyone. Then other, complementary therapies should be considered.
Strassburgsock
With the other therapies, just like with sole therapy, they have a beneficial effect on a large group of people with these complaints, but not on everyone. Taping and shockwave therapy are indeed two complementary therapies that are regularly used successfully for heel spurs. I understand that none of these therapies are successful with you, however. What you can still try is the so-called Strassburgsock. This is a sock that you should put on at night. This gives traction to the tendon, so that it is stretched during the night. The principle also applies here that not everyone experiences improvement in complaints. You can order the Strassburgsock online.
Back to the doctor
It is also an option to go back to the doctor with these persistent complaints. What is sometimes done is that an anti-inflammatory injection is placed in the tendon. However, not every GP is in favor of this and this is not done just like that. The injection is in fact quite intense and there are pros and cons in the medical world. This may be an option to discuss with your doctor.
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