Table 1

Characteristics of participants with and without calcaneal spurs.


Calcaneal spur absent
(n = 97)
Calcaneal spur present
(n = 119)

Age (years)
76.2 (7.0)
75.8 (6.2)
Female – n (%)
64 (66)
76 (64)
Obese – n (%)
9 (9)
53 (45)*
Major medical conditions – n (%)


     Osteoarthritis
57 (59)
94 (80)*
     Rheumatoid arthritis
5 (5)
2 (2)
     Diabetes mellitus
15 (16)
17 (14)
     Stroke
6 (6)
3 (3)
     Peripheral vascular disease
12 (12)
15 (13)
     Hypertension
54 (56)
76 (64)
Current or previous heel pain – n (%)
12 (12)
47 (40)*
Achilles tendon spur – n (%)
37 (38)
66 (56)*
Radiographic foot posture measures


     Calcaneal inclination angle (°)
21.2 (5.1)
20.4 (6.1)
     Calcaneal-first metatarsal angle (°)
132.5 (7.5)
133.8 (8.9)
     Navicular height (mm)
30.2 (5.2)
30.9 (6.3)

* significant difference for χ2 test, p < 0.01

Menz et al. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research 2008 1:7   doi:10.1186/1757-1146-1-7