Study of calcaneal spur and its correlation with the talar articular facets of calcanei

Background & aims: A spur is bony outgrowth at the site of attachment of a ligament or tendon into bone. The aim of this study is to analyse the incidence of calcaneal spur in relation to morphological variations of talar articular facets of calcaneus. Material & Method: Study comprised of 350 dry adult calcanei of unknown age and sex from Department of Anatomy, B. J. Medical College, Ahmedabad. Calcanei were classified according to its talar articular facets and compare its relation with the calcaneal spur. Result: Out of the 350 calcanei 128 presented with spurs among them planter spur in 21.4%; dorsal spur in 10.2% and both spurs in 4.8%. Maximum incidence of calcaneal spurs were found in Type 1 calcanei 75% followed by 17.96% in Type 2, 7% in Type 3 and 0.7% in type 4. Conclusion: Calcaneal spurs are related to type of calcanei with the highest frequency in Type 1 and least in Type 4. Anatomical knowledge of the correlation between calcaneal spur and type of calcaneus may be of significant clinical interest to foot and ankle surgeons in clinical practice. Keywords: Dorsal spur, plantar spur, talar articular facets.