I had laser surgery mid Oct. for Wart Removal on the side of my left foot. Prior to surgery, it was quite painful & I was limping when walking. Now, nearly 2 months later, the pain still presists & the Dr says it's cuz I am favoring it too much, & to go take some Advil. A 2nd Opinion resulted in Dr. saying perhaps I had a Bone Spur & to go get an X-ray which I just had & a tiny bone spur is visible under neather the healing Wart scar. Are these 2 things related?? What exactly is a bone spur? Is this what has been causing the pain all along & how do I get rid of it??
Thanks!

Dear Cindy,
A heel spur and a wart are two completely different entities...A wart as you probably know is caused by the human papilloma virus. Differentiating between a wart and a callus is by removing the dead tissue...warts reveal pin point bleeding beneath tissue. Warts are communicable and considered a virus and in the short can be quite painful especially in weight bearing areas such as the heel.

There are a few theories on heel spurs, let me share a couple with you....Heel spurs may be the result of the plantar fascia pulling at its origin from the calcaneus and causing microtears. The traction of the fascia against the bone may cause the bone to become hypertrophic and thus develop a heel spur (Wolff's Law). Heel spurs may also result from any arthritic process. However keep in mind that heel pain is only 50% of the time associated with heel spurs. There are definately people with heel pain and no trace of a heel spur. What the second Dr. may have found is an incidental finding. To relieve the symptoms of heel pain associated with heel spurs or inflammation of the plantar fascia, I would recommend stretching, icing and anti-inflammatory medication. If no relief of symptoms get re-evaluated.

Good-luck,
SBarlizo