{"id":624,"date":"2025-07-06T09:59:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T09:59:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T11:29:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T11:29:41","slug":"akantha-pternas","status":"publish","type":"pathology","link":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/","title":{"rendered":"Heel spur"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A heel spur<\/strong> is a bony outgrowth on the underside of the heel, which may cause significant pain and discomfort. It is commonly associated with plantar fasciitis and is caused by chronic strain on the plantar fascia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Causes and Risk Factors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A heel spur develops due to repetitive traction at the insertion of the plantar fascia and\/or inflammation, which leads to calcium deposition at the base of the heel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Excessive strain on the plantar fascia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Continuous stress at the insertion of the plantar fascia on the heel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Microtrauma leading to calcium deposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Factors that increase the risk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Prolonged standing or intense physical activity (runners, athletes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Flat feet or high arches, which alter weight distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Excess body weight, which increases pressure on the heel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Inappropriate footwear (hard soles, high heels, flat shoes without support).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Age: Over time, tissues lose their elasticity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Arthritic conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Heel pain, especially in the morning or after prolonged inactivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 A sensation like a \u201cnail\u201d or \u201cneedle\u201d in the underside of the heel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Worsening pain after walking or prolonged standing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 In some cases, absence of symptoms, as the heel spur itself may be painless and the pain may be mainly due to inflammation of the plantar fascia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diagnosis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diagnosis is made through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Clinical examination by a podiatrist or orthopaedic specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 X-ray, which may reveal the bony outgrowth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Ultrasound or MRI, if extensive inflammation is suspected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Management and Treatment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Conservative treatments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Rest and avoidance of overuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Cryotherapy: Ice for 10\u201315 minutes, 3\u20134 times a day, to reduce inflammation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Anti-inflammatory medication (ibuprofen, naproxen) for pain relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Orthotic insoles to offload the heel and support the arch of the foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Physiotherapy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Stretching exercises for the plantar fascia and the Achilles tendon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Strengthening of the plantar muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Avoidance of hard or thin soles that do not absorb shock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Minimally invasive treatments (if the pain persists)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Cortisone injections to reduce inflammation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Shockwave Therapy to accelerate healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Laser therapy to reduce inflammation and pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prevention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Proper footwear with good shock absorption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Weight management to reduce loading on the heel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Regular stretching of the plantar fascia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Avoidance of sudden increases in physical activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When to Visit the Podiatrist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 If the pain persists for more than 2\u20133 weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 If there is difficulty walking or carrying out daily activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 If the pain continues despite conservative treatment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A heel spur<\/strong> is often the result of chronic strain and can be managed with proper footwear, physiotherapy, and orthotic insoles. If the pain persists, more advanced treatment options may help support recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A heel spur is a bony outgrowth on the underside of the heel, which may cause significant pain and discomfort. It is commonly associated with plantar fasciitis and is caused by chronic strain on the plantar fascia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":928,"parent":0,"menu_order":55,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true},"category":[34],"class_list":["post-624","pathology","type-pathology","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","pathology_category-myoskeletikes-pathiseis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHeel spur - podcare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heel spur - podcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A heel spur is a bony outgrowth on the underside of the heel, which may cause significant pain and discomfort. It is commonly associated with plantar fasciitis and is caused by chronic strain on the plantar fascia.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"podcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-23T11:29:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/pathology\\\/akantha-pternas\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/pathology\\\/akantha-pternas\\\/\",\"name\":\"Heel spur - podcare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/pathology\\\/akantha-pternas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/pathology\\\/akantha-pternas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-06T09:59:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-23T11:29:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/pathology\\\/akantha-pternas\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/pathology\\\/akantha-pternas\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/pathology\\\/akantha-pternas\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/3.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1024},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/pathology\\\/akantha-pternas\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u0391\u03c1\u03c7\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/home\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pathologies\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/pathology\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Heel spur\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"podcare\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/podcare.gr\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Heel spur - podcare","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Heel spur - podcare","og_description":"A heel spur is a bony outgrowth on the underside of the heel, which may cause significant pain and discomfort. It is commonly associated with plantar fasciitis and is caused by chronic strain on the plantar fascia.","og_url":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/","og_site_name":"podcare","article_modified_time":"2026-04-23T11:29:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":1024,"url":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/","url":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/","name":"Heel spur - podcare","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-06T09:59:51+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-23T11:29:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3.jpg","width":1024,"height":1024},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/akantha-pternas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u0391\u03c1\u03c7\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae","item":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pathologies","item":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/pathology\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Heel spur"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/","name":"podcare","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pathology\/624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pathology"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/pathology"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pathology_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/podcare.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category?post=624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}