Anyone with experience with bone spurs?

[Crankyshank]

DH has been having serious pain in his feet lately. He went to his GP and his chiropractor yesterday and both said they believe it is bone spurs causing his pain, but he needs an official diagnoses from a podiatrist to be sure. He will be seeing one in 2 weeks.

In the meantime, I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with bone spurs and can give me some ideas for at home things to do for some relief while we wait for him to see the Dr. DH won't take meds unless forced and foot massage doesn't seem to help him much.

**NOTE: DH is going to see the Dr in 2 weeks. I am not looking for medical opinions - just personal experience as far as what works to ease the pain***

 

[mickeyboat]

A former co-worker of mine had this problem, and it caused her a lot of pain for a long time, not only in her foot, but also in her back. She used orthotics - prescribed and made by per podiatrist, and did exercises - given to her by the podiatrist. They gave her some relief, but in the end I think she was biding her time until she could have surgery.

So my advice would be to look for some exercises (maybe on the web) which might give relief.

Denae

 

[PoohnPglet]

I had bone spurs and was treated by a podiatrist for them. I am in more pain now than I was before. Please, if you can, see an Orthopedic Surgeon.

 

[Crankyshank]

Thanks for the ortho suggestion. I'm going to keep DH's podiatrist appointment and I left a message for an ortho group to schedule an appointment.

He's going to have to lose weight and he is not going to want to hear that! I guess this means we'll be taking it very slow at Disney.

 

[lindakmonty]

my dh has really bad bone spurs. they gave him the orthotics as well. they help, but he didn't like hearing he should really lose some weight either. He also has degenerative discs in his spine and all kinds of other spinal problems...so he is miserable walking at disney hopefully your dh can get some orthotics, my dh won't leave the house w/o them!

 

[swilphil]

I had bone spurs. A combination of things helped: orthotics, NEVER going bare foot and always wearing shoes with good support, special stretches before bed.

Losing weight helped the most (if only it was that easy). One friend was told to drink lots of water. That did seem to help too.

I've heard of people who actually were worse after surgery, so I would try to stay away from that if possible.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Sorry to mention this but surgery is absolutely the last resort nowadays. The reason they have moved away from surgery is the potential for the spurs to come back. I've used orthotics and shoes with a really good cushion. Cheap shoes definitely make them hurt. Basically in order to have the pain ease I had to wear sneakers every day for 2 months, no heels at all.
I developed bone spurs when I was in the process of losing weight. My lovely orthopedic said "Well what do you expect? All that weight banging up and down walking on the treadmill. The heel is just so big!" Love the bedside manner doc! So the moral of the story was to pick an aerobic exercise that doesn't require alot of heel pressure.

Good luck to your DH. They are very painful.

 

[swilphil]

I forgot to mention that wearing those ubiquitous Crocs really helps, especially at WDW.

 

[Crankyshank]

He wears merrils most of the time, so he's got some support at least. I'll pick him up a pair of crocs. He's not at all fashion conscious so he won't care how he looks so long as it's comfy.

 

[huckster]

they cut the tendoin on the side of my foot by my heat tiny cut ,they did not remove spur said they will just grow back the cut worked , i never did find any releif from shoes or orthos in shoes, good luck

 

[themarquis]

hmm... funny you should mention this because just two days ago I was at a foot specialist and he was taking a look at an x-ray of my heel spurs!

It is my understanding, and the dr. confirmed this, that spurs themselves are generally not a problem in and of themselves. They are a symptom of an underlying problem. If you get rid of the underlying problem, the spurs will still be there (I'm not sure they ever go away), but there will be no pain. The spurs happen when a muscle or muscles are inflamed over a long period of time, causing calcification (bone growth) around the heel bone, resulting in the characteristic "spurs". But it is the *muscle inflammation* and whatever is causing muscle inflammation, not the bone growth, that is a problem.

In my case, the inflammation is being caused by plantar fascitis -- a muscle that runs from the top to the bottom of the foot has been chronically inflamed. That in turn has probably been caused by walking incorrectly for years, as well as wearing shoes that don't support the arch. My arch is dropping because of that. The dr. wants me to get "motion control" shoes (these can be purchased at a specialty athletic/runner's shoe store for about 100 dollars), a splint to wear at night, and also a specially made orthotic insert for the shoes. Then there are also exercises, and I can use ice and motrin. He thinks that after 6 months or so of exercises, and special shoes and all that, the pain should be completely gone, but I might have to wear the shoes for the rest of my life to prevent it from coming back. We'll see how it goes.

The dr. did not mention surgery,and I have heard they don't usually operate on spurs anymore, since they realize they are the sign of a problem, not a problem themselves. There may still be situations where they like to operate -- I don't know.

I have not started w/ the shoes and therapy yet, so I can't tell you if it is working, but I'll say that if I were you I would stay the heck away from an operation, unless it were the last resort. Too many things to get messed up in there!

 

[Kae]

I would go to a podiatrist for this over an Ortho. I had much better luck with my podiatrist, than the Ortho.

First as it was said no going barefoot, period. I use Crocs as slippers, I bought the RX ones. Flex his foot before getting out of bed & even after sitting for more than 20 mins. Rolling a frozen water bottle under his foot followed by some heat repeat a couples time at 10 min intervils. When I am doing really bad I do this about 3-4 times a day.

I swithced to Acsics for walking shoes, Dansko are good shoes but I do not know about for men. Noats, Maphitsos(sp?) & Birks are good choices also.

Kae

 

[JenM]

I just found Dr. Scholl's heel orthotics especially for people with heel spurs and plantar fasciitis, and they seem to help.

I have heel spurs and plantar fasciitis in both feet, and my left foot is especially painful. I've had 2 cortisone shots and I've been through a few months of physical therapy. I also have orthotics, and splint to wear at night.

The orthotics were a big help--but when I tried to put them in a new pair of shoes, I wound up straining my left foot so badly I could barely walk on it for a few days, so it's hard to find new shoes.

The best thing to do is doing lots of stretches for your calf muscle--especially before bed, and before you get out of bed in the morning to get it loose. Wear shoes with a good arch, and make sure you keep up with the podiatrist if you're still having pain.

 

[swilphil]

I just found Dr. Scholl's heel orthotics especially for people with heel spurs and plantar fasciitis, and they seem to help.

Where do you get the Dr. Scholl's orthotics?

 

[Micca]

I dealt with this a long time ago. I went to my regular doc (an internist) and he gave me some anti-inflammatory meds(I think they are off the market now). It got much better, but when I had a flare-up, I would take the meds. For some reason, over the a period of about six months, the pain stopped, and I have never had the problem again. Good luck to your DH.

 

[RNMOM]

I agree about the orthopedic surgeon. I had them and wore orthotics which I believe gave me spurs in my other foot. I finally went to an ortho doctor who injected them and they both cleared up. I asked him what kind of shoes to wear and he said the most comfortable ones I could find. He suggested an athletic type of shoe at that time (15 yrs ago) as that was what was available. It worked for me. I have since stuck with that rule. I love crocs and most athletic shoes are good. They make good gel inserts and insoles for shoes.

The problem with spurs is the tendons tighten up at night and when you get up the first few minutes are very painful. There are exercises you can do to stretch the tendons before you walk that can help.

 

[JenM]

Where do you get the Dr. Scholl's orthotics?

I found them at Shop Rite. Couldn't believe it...it was the first time I'd seen inserts that were specifically for plantar fasciitis and heel spurs.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

Where do you get the Dr. Scholl's orthotics?

I got mine at Wal-Mart.

 

[bevtoy]

I have bone spurs and plantar faciatius.
I use heel inserts and it helps relieve the pain, a tremendous help.

 

[aprilgail2]

I have had them for years-the onoly thing that works are anti inflamatory meds and custom made (not the crap you buy in the store off the shelves) orthotics. I can never go barefoot or wear flip flops-also check with your Dr because mine says NO WAY to crocs because he says they do more harm than good to your feet. My podiatrist and ortho surgeon say only New Balance walking sneakers are what you should be wearing so I wear those with orthodics and I am fine. Prior to orthodics I could not make it past walking one full day at Disney or it would feel like someone was shoving a red hot poker into my heel. One time it was late and night and I had to struggle from the back of the park to my car becuase I was in so much pain.