Left Total Elbow Bone Removal

The case

A heel spur, or calcaneal spur, is a small hook of extra bone that grows from the heel bone (the calcaneus), most often on its underside where the thick band along the sole of the foot, the plantar fascia, attaches. It usually goes along with long-term strain of that band (plantar fasciitis). The pain is under the heel, worst with the first steps in the morning or after sitting, and it eases after a few steps.

About half of people with this kind of heel pain have a spur on x-ray, and the size of the spur does not match how much it hurts, so the spur itself is not always the cause. More than nine out of ten people with heel pain get better without surgery, using stretching, inserts, night splints, medicine, injections or shock wave therapy. Surgery is considered only when pain has lasted many months despite all of these. The surgeon makes a small cut over the heel, frees the tissue from the spur, cuts the spur off and smooths the bone. Some surgeons also release part of the plantar fascia or a pinched nerve at the same time.

The operation is often done with local anesthetic and takes about an hour. Weight is usually kept off the foot for about two weeks, then the stitches come out and walking is built up gradually, with stretching of the heel cord. Not everyone's pain goes away completely, so expectations are discussed before surgery.