Two phrases keep landing on the same heel pain paperwork: "plantar fasciitis" and "heel spur." For Itasca readers it is easy to take them as one diagnosis written two ways, so the exact wording is worth reading before anyone agrees to a plan.
Cause and result are not the same line
No, the spur is not what causes plantar fasciitis. AAOS OrthoInfo states that heel bone spurs are not the cause of plantar fasciitis, so plantar fasciitis pain can be treated without removing the spur.
Which one comes first
The sequence matters when you read a report. Cleveland Clinic lists heel spurs as a possible result, saying chronic plantar fasciitis can cause a bony growth, called a heel spur, to form on the heel bone.
So the two words describe different things in a different order: the spur is the possible result, and plantar fasciitis is the condition named as the cause of the pain. A report line that names only the spur leaves the question of treatment open.
What to read before you agree to treatment
Published research on plantar fasciitis treatment includes an open label randomized trial of focused shock wave therapy, a systematic review of physiotherapy options, a meta-analysis of shock wave trials in chronic cases and a long term study in amateur runners. Read the titles closely, since each one studies a specific treatment in a specific group.
What to confirm, and with whom
Ask your treating podiatrist or foot and ankle surgeon which diagnosis is written on your chart: plantar fasciitis, heel spur or both. Then ask which one the plan is aimed at, and whether the plan involves the spur at all.
The clause people skip
Check whether a proposed procedure is described as treating the pain or removing the spur. Those are two different goals, and only the first is the complaint you walked in with.