Heel Spurs are excess bone growth on the heel bone and is usually a secondary condition of Plantar Fasciitis. Obesity, change or increase of activity, and no arch support are contributing causes.

Heel spurs are caused by tight ligaments. Excessive athletic activities can cause stress on the feet as well as poor fitting shoes or an increase in body weight. Each of these can cause stress on the long ligament which runs along the bottom of the foot (the plantar fascia area} and can cause a pull on the heel. The plantar fascia area can become inflamed causing significant pain. At the same time, this can cause the foot to try to repair itself and a pulling activity can cause a bone spur to form in the bottom of the heel area, hence the name “heel spur”. http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/bone-spur-topic-overview

If heel spurs are not causing significant pain, the treatment may simply be adjusting the lifestyle to eliminate the cause of the spur. This may mean reducing the amount of daily activity, losing weight, or changing types of shoes worn.

For heel spurs which are painful, doctors may prescribe over-the-counter [[non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs[[ (NSAIDs) because the pain is typically from the inflammation, not from the actual spur itself.http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/bone-spurs/DS00627.html

If the pain can not be reduced or the spur continues to increase in size, surgery may be required. If surgery is required it generally is done to detaching the ligament from the heel bone. The surgery is done endoscopically with a camera inserted in the heel to allow the surgeon to control how much of the ligament is released. The surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis and the patient is placed in a cast or operative shoe before leaving the center the day of the surgery. http://www.podiatrynetwork.com/document_disorders.cfm?id=153