The pain can be mild or debilitating. It can last a few months or become permanent. The heel may hurt or the condition may become worse from the heel striking the ground, but plantar fasciitis is not caused by the heel striking the ground. The heel spurs to which this web site refers are on the front and bottom of the heel, not the back of the heel, but many of the ideas presented here may be helpful for dealing with other types of heel spurs and heel pain. Heel spurs are deposits of bone in the plantar fascia near its attachment to the heel that result from repetitive stresses and inflammation in the plantar fascia.
Heel spurs are the body's response to injury and inflammation.
Pain probably does not result from heel spurs poking into tissue. Many people have heel spurs and they do not have any pain. It is often difficult and usually unnecessary to distinguish between plantar fasciitis and heel spur syndrome. These conditions are usually caused by a change or increase in activities, no arch support in the shoe, lack of flexibility in the calf muscles, being overweight, a sudden injury, using shoes with little cushion on hard floors or ground, using shoes that do not easily bend under the ball of the foot, or spending too much time on the feet. The cause is often unknown and mysterious to the patient.