Resumen de The plantar calcaneal spur: a review of anatomy, histology, etiology and key associations

Joshua Kirkpatrick, Omid Yassaie, Seyed Ali Mirjalili

• The plantar calcaneal spur (PCS) is a bony outgrowth from the calcaneal tuberosity and has been studied usingvarious methods including cadavers, radiography, histology and surgery. However, there are currently a numberof discrepancies in the literature regarding the anatomical relations, histological descriptions and clinicalassociations of PCS. Historically, authors have described the intrinsic muscles of the foot and/or the plantarfascia as attaching to the PCS. In this article we review the relationship between the PCS and surrounding softtissues as well as examining the histology of the PCS. We identify a number of key associations with PCS,including age, weight, gender, arthritides, plantar fasciitis and foot position; these factors may function as riskfactors in PCS formation. The etiology of these spurs is a contentious issue and it has been explained through anumber of theories including the degenerative, inflammatory, traction, repetitive trauma, bone-formers andvertical compression theories. We review these and finish by looking clinically at the evidence that PCS causesheel pain.