Anyone ever had a heel spur

[lightpants]

This is not a blog post, I have a question:

Background:
My heel has been bothering me for a few weeks. I went to the doctor last week and they put me in an aircast, it seemed to work for about a day and I had less pain. But by day the pain was so great that I couldn't walk or put any weight on it. When I went back yesterday they took some more x-rays and the doctor gave me a shot of cortisone in my heel. (mother of god, that hurt). Today it feels much better, it is still a little sore but I am walking without crutches, a 80% improvement.

Question:
If the shot solves the problem this quickly, why did he wait a week to do it. Is there a side effect that I don't know about? Is the chance of it working low? At this point the pain of the shot was worth the relief I feel now.

I know, I know - ATOT is not a group of doctors, but I was looking for some real- world advice from people that might have gone through something like this. The DR talked to me about it and gave me a few warnings about side-effects, but I got the feeling that that was a "cover your a55" attempt, he even told me that they were very rare.

cliffs
1.heel hurt
2.got a shot
3.?????
4.profit?

edit: heal/heel

 

[allisolm]

Ouch! Hope your heel heals.

 

[911paramedic]

Had one in my shoulder (shot) waaayyyy back when, you are right it hurt like hell. He asked my to lay down on the table instead of leaning back on it like I was, when I asked why he said "because you are too big to pick up off the floor".

If it is a spur, this is only a temporary fix. Cortisone shots also have anesthetic mixed in to dull the pain, so that would explain the immediate relief you are getting.

 

[eplebnista]

According to my relative's ortho surgeon repeated steroid shots in that area can weaken the achilles tendon over time. My relative had surgery last october to remove a bony overgrowth that caused them to develop Haglund's Deformity

 

[AreaCode707]

I've had cortisone shots in my hands a bunch, and in my knee once. THEY HURT LIKE HELL. However, for me that went away pretty quickly, and they were INCREDIBLY effective. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. They were being used to treat my rheumatoid arthritis and before I couldn't use my hands barely at all, and now I can use them like normal.

[edit] It's been 4 or 5 years since my last shots, so in combination with other treatment, they've really lasted longer than I could reasonably expect.

 

[k1pp3r]

For some reason i thought this thread was about horse spurs

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: k1pp3r
For some reason i thought this thread was about horse spurs

I like the direction this thread has taken...

 

[Jimmah]

I had spurs in both my hels when I was young, they hurt a lot and I had to use a cup and pad for both heels. They went away over time, supposedly the bit of floating bone fused someplace else. Pretty much all I remember, aside from walking gimped for a few years. Hope you get better