Many times, athletes or overweight and obese people are the main ones affected by heel pain, which can often trigger heel spurs. This is a protrusion that appears as a result of traction and overload on the feet, due to the growth of the heel bone that is modified when walking and causes sharp pain.
According to the magazine Better with Health, This injury is also known as ‘Haglund’s deformity’ and produces inflammation at the point where the bones of the foot meet the tendons. In general, the calcaneal spur is usually accompanied by a series of symptoms that appear in the morning and at night. As such, the symptoms of this lesion can be detected very easily, since oppressive pain is experienced when papping the Achilles heel area or when making an effort on the tendon.
Despite the fact that athletes are the ones who suffer the most from this problem, there are other causes that cause calcaneal spurs:
- intense sports.
- Have a cavus foot or flat foot.
- Inappropriate postures.
- Use of inappropriate footwear.
- Incorrect postures when walking.
- Spend a lot of time standing or walking.
To treat this injury, it is important to see a doctor to diagnose the cause and the treatment to follow. Also, the health specialist may request an x-ray to determine what impact the injury has generated. In addition to this, there are some particular exercises that work as adjuvants to medical treatment and therefore, better with healthexplains some of them that allow you to strengthen the heels:
Exercise 1
To perform this exercise, the person must be sitting in a chair or in bed to stretch the foot forward, being in line with the leg. The fingers must be flexed downwards and then bring them up. This exercise should be repeated 10 times, as it decreases the tension and with it the pain that accompanies the injury.
Exercise 2
Usually, some people use small balls to perform this exercise to treat heel spurs. To develop it, all you have to do is take off your shoes, support the ball on the sole of your foot and exert some pressure while making circular and lateral movements.
Exercise 3
This exercise is simple, because you only need a towel to do it. By having this item, you should place the towel on the floor, fully extended and with your bare feet, take it with your toes and drag it slowly. To increase the effort, a weight can be placed on the towel, in order to generate more resistance in the movement.
Exercise 4
Specifically, this exercise is very beneficial for people who have busy days. To do this, it is only necessary to take off your shoes and place the affected foot on the contralateral calf and move it from top to bottom. The ideal is to perform this exercise every day to notice a change in the pain caused by said injury.
Exercise 5
Initially, the calves should be relaxed and to do this, you should lean over a table, placing one foot in front of the other, and then bend the front knee and stretch the rear to support the heel. The idea is to hold this position by stretching the leg muscles.
In addition to these exercises, the use of a night splint is often recommended, which allows the foot to be extended and gives better rest to the plantar fascia. Also, better with health recommends the use of this home remedy to relieve pain in the heels: