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Ultrasound for heel spurs.

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
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A heel spur is a bony protrusion that grows out of the plantar surface of the heel bone. It causes discomfort to a person, causing severe pain in the heel, which tends to intensify and increase in area. A person experiences the most acute pain as soon as he stands up, leaning on the heel, gradually during walking the pain decreases, but this is only due to the body's adaptation to pain. This is a clinical pathology that requires treatment. One of the most common and effective methods today is the treatment of heel spurs with ultrasound.

This is a fairly effective method that has a number of advantages over other methods. A big plus is that there is no pain at all. A person experiences a feeling of light massage, quite pleasant for the body, despite the fact that the waves themselves are absolutely invisible and not even audible. Allows you to carry out the procedure quickly, spending a minimum of time, since it lasts no more than 15 minutes.

How to remove heel spurs at home?

As practice shows, it is impossible to remove a heel spur on your own. Traditional methods and homeopathic remedies, as a rule, are not only ineffective, but also aggravate the pathology. Moreover, there is a loss of precious time that could be spent on treatment with other, modern methods.

At the same time, by effectively combining the main treatment selected by the doctor with the methods that the doctor recommended for home use, it is quite possible to get rid of the spur in a relatively short time. Another reason why it is impossible to cure the spur at home is the need for diagnostics. Before starting treatment, you need to find out the cause of the inflammation, and then select the appropriate treatment that will eliminate this cause.

At home, you can eliminate all the accompanying factors that increase the pathology. This will help the treatment, speed up the recovery process. For example, at home, you can definitely normalize your weight, do moderate physical exercises, breathe correctly, do relaxing exercises that will help effectively reduce pain, eliminate further progression of the pathological process.

There is always an opportunity to consult with a physical therapy instructor who will help develop an individual set of physical exercises that will help quickly get rid of the problem and eliminate the consequences. You can choose the right, comfortable shoes.

You also need to try to unload the heel as much as possible, all painful areas. There are special methods that are used for this. They help alleviate the condition and remove the symptoms of the disease. Special heel pads with a recess and soft lining are placed under the heel. Sometimes a special recess or hole is made in the center. As a temporary measure, you can wear shoes without a back.

You can also use special exercises aimed at relaxing and unloading the damaged area. Thus, breathing exercises are actively used, which normalize metabolic processes, promote the accelerated removal of metabolic products, toxins and metabolites from the body. Psychophysiological methods of pain relief and elimination of painful sensations have proven themselves quite well. Various relaxation trainings, methods of self-regulation of the body, and meditative practices are used.

You can use the methods prescribed by your doctor to eliminate the inflammatory process. In this case, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are most often prescribed, which promote the active resorption of various structures and formations. Sometimes special chondroprotectors are prescribed, which have a similar effect and also protect joints and bones. But you need to remember that these methods only have a short-term effect, so they need to be combined with other methods. For example, at home, you can do foot baths using various medicinal and cosmetic products.

Foot baths with salt and soda have proven themselves to be effective. After them, it is recommended to lubricate your feet with cream or put on a special mask, put on warm, preferably woolen socks, lie down for 10-15 minutes, relaxing and raising your legs up the wall. This will improve blood circulation in the legs, ensure the reverse flow of venous blood. Accordingly, congestion in the veins will be eliminated.

Exercises from therapeutic gymnastics can be combined with massage, active-passive movements. In this case, it is necessary to massage the feet and shins, which will quickly normalize metabolic processes, improve blood circulation. It is necessary to provide good drainage with the help of massage, during which stagnation will be eliminated, the flow of lymph through the vessels will improve, tissue metabolism.

The massage should be performed with squeezing movements, in the direction from the toes to the foot, and then to the shin. The movements are made to the nearest lymph nodes, which are located under the kneecap. Then it is better to use squeezing movements to move the accumulated fluid to the main ones - the inguinal lymph nodes, which are located on the inner side of the femur. For massage, you can use various devices, which are widely available in pharmacies and specialized stores today.

Indications for the procedure

Treatment is carried out if a person is bothered by pain, irritation in the area of localization of the heel spur. Sometimes there are quite pronounced pains, but during examination of the heel spur itself, it is not detected. There are also cases of detection of the spur absolutely by accident, during a routine examination.

However, the patient did not feel any discomfort, much less pain. It can also be used to treat bone growths, any other neoplasms and compactions localized in the heel area. An indication may also be pain of unknown etiology, especially in older people.

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Preparation

The procedure does not require any preliminary preparation. It is carried out quite quickly, taking no more than 15 minutes. The patient needs to come for the examination, sit or lie down, taking a comfortable position. Shoes and socks are removed. The essence of the treatment is the treatment of all painful areas with ultrasound, which results in an increase in local temperature and restoration of damaged tissue. It is used to treat any forms and stages of heel spurs.

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Who to contact?

Technique ultrasonic heel spur removal

Ultrasound treatment is a conservative method of treatment, therefore, there are no surgical interventions. A current generator is used to perform the manipulation. The procedure takes place in several stages.

At the first stage, the damage zone is determined. Any available methods and techniques are used for this. The easiest way to determine this is by palpation of the heel. If necessary, ultrasound and X-ray examination are prescribed.

The second stage involves the procedure itself, which involves heating the spur. The procedure is usually painless, but in rare cases, pain may occur. In such exceptional cases, local anesthesia may be prescribed. The mechanism for the procedure is quite simple: the handle is applied directly to the heel. The course of therapy consists of 8 procedures, which are carried out at intervals of 4 days.

It is important to consider that when performing this type of procedure, the patient may experience a feeling of pain that is constantly increasing. This requires a suspension of the procedures until the pain begins to subside.

Treatment of heel spurs with ultrasound and hydrocortisone

The area of the heel where the spur is located, as well as all painful areas, are treated by bringing the skin to a certain temperature. This promotes accelerated regeneration of damaged tissues, accelerates metabolic processes, eliminates spasms and resolves all neoplasms, seals, hematomas. Microcirculation of blood and lymphatic exchange are significantly improved. In addition, ultrasound can reduce painful sensations, eliminate the inflammatory process, which is achieved due to the ability to work at low frequencies.

The method is simple, absolutely harmless, the trauma of the method is minimal. The main effect is achieved by eliminating the inflammatory process in the heel area. When treating a skin area with ultrasound, it is actively absorbed by bone tissue. At the same time, it should be noted that tissue destruction does not occur. There is also no reason to worry about healthy tissue: it is not destroyed. There is an intensive crushing of bone deposits, which are gradually removed from the body along with the bloodstream. It helps to reduce the amount of calcium salts, significantly improves blood circulation and microcirculation. To achieve a positive and accelerated effect, non-steroidal gel or ointment preparations are additionally used. This is explained by the fact that under the influence of ultrasound and drugs, permeability improves and drugs are better administered.

To enhance the effect, hydrocortisone may be additionally prescribed, which is an anti-inflammatory agent. It is used to eliminate heel spurs. Sometimes it is used in combination with an anesthetic, which allows you to eliminate the pathology in a short time. The procedure can only be performed once a month.

Contraindications to the procedure

The procedure is contraindicated in pregnancy, low blood pressure, heart rhythm disturbances, acute infections and intoxication processes. The procedure is also contraindicated in the presence of pacemakers and other electronic implants, prostheses, artificial joints, bones, muscles.

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Consequences after the procedure

There is currently no information about the presence of side effects and consequences. The procedure is very well tolerated by patients of all ages, does not cause discomfort, is safe and painless. It does not cause addiction, since it is not associated with the use of drugs. It has been successfully used in various fields of medicine for over 60 years. In most cases, the patient manages to get rid of the spur once and for all, and forget about it forever.

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Complications after the procedure

Ultrasound therapy is one of the few forms of treatment that does not cause any side effects. The exception is individual cases in which excessive pain develops during the procedure and persists for a long time after it. In such a case, the procedure should be stopped.

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Care after the procedure

After treatment, it is necessary to observe the recovery period: do not overload the foot for several months. If there is excess weight, it is necessary to reduce it, if there is a lack, it is better to gain it. It is necessary to conduct regular foot massage and special gymnastics. It is also recommended to walk barefoot on grass or fine sand.

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Reviews

If you analyze the reviews, you can see that most people suffering from heel spurs have tried many different treatment methods before trying ultrasound therapy. For many patients, it has become a real salvation. Patients note the effectiveness and painlessness of the procedure. A big plus is that it is carried out quickly and does not require special preparation. The pain is significantly reduced after the first procedure. A full course of treatment is enough to forget about this problem forever.

No side effects are noted. There are complaints that folk and other methods are ineffective. For example, one woman, after such self-treatment, almost completely peeled off the skin on her heel. She had to see a doctor. Medications and UHF therapy were prescribed. But it only got worse: the skin began to peel off all over the foot. In the end, the doctor used ultrasound treatment for the heel spur, after which relief came. The pain went away immediately, after about the second session. Gradually, new, young skin began to form. Thus, by the end of the course of treatment, the skin was completely restored. Additionally, many are prescribed orthopedic insoles.

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