Haglund's Deformity surgery anyone?

hey guys, saw the doctor again...this is the first time i've met him since my surgery. since the srugery i've done everything he's asked. i was in bed with my foot up the whole time. i never put my foot down at all, unless i was going to the bathroom. anyways, my cast came off today and i was actually pleased with how little swelling and bruising there was. i was also surprised that they used staples to keep the flesh together. anyways, my foot felt good, and looked good aswell...my strength didnt seem too off either as i was able to perform an excercise he wanted me to accomplish quite easily (simple excercise where he wanted me to push on his hand with my foot/forefoot). he put another cast on but this time put my foot in a more neutral position, after the surgery it felt like my foot was put into a cast in a relaxed position. i see him again in 6 weeks, he wants me to stay away from putting any weight on my foot for the first three weeks and maybe apply a little bit of weight from weeks 4-6. overall, i'm really happy with the way it looked and felt so far. right now my foot is a little tight because it's been in that relaxed position for the last two weeks and now it's in a neutral position.

That's awesome man - good to hear! I'll take that as a quick recovery thus far. Keep on healing and I hope you're running again soon.

Because of the different ideas and shoe modifications, I've realized that all they did was tweak the muscles in my feet causing plantar fasciitis and other strange problems. Now I've got to go to the doc and find out what else is going on here.

The good news: running isn't painful, just awkward - we'll see where it goes from here...

i'll take awkward over the pain i was having when i had that bump on my heel...the push off motion while i ran was brutal...

My question is how do you locate a doctor that understands running and this problem that we need fixed?

I have been running with this bump for 6 years. I have been running competitively for the last 30 years. I don't want to have the surgery unless it will allow me to compete again. I currently run 30-50 mpw, but very hard to do any intensity. I can walk although it hurts. But, I would rather continue this way with pain, than have unsuccessful surgery that won't allow me to be a fitness runner or a competitor. I'm 47 and either want to compete again (after surgery) or hang up the racing flats and be a fitness runner (without surgery).

Any suggestions?? Will surgery allow me to compete w/o pain and what are the success/failure rates when messing with the achilles?

Try one of the many sports podiatry websites that will locate a podiatrists that work with runners. Here's one http://www.aapsm.org/about.html. Also I would look at their websites and profiles. I'm lucky in that I work at Fleet Feet and we work closely with a podiatrist who is also an avid runner. Maybe even go to your local running store, like Fleet Feet, and ask the manager/owner who they recommend.

here's a question for you guys...what shoes do you feel are best suited to prevent and help alleviate haglund's deformity issues?

I'd probably say Mizuno or Adidas. Mizuno has a lower heel cup than say Saucony or Nike, which avoids friction or rubbing altogether. Adidas (especially the newest models) have a very forgiving heel cup which is very soft and padded. Of course the Nike Free's are an option as well... I was wearing Montrail's Continental Divide when this issue presented itself.

Hey CO-Runner, what shoes are you wearing?

My heal does not hurt from any rubbing. My pain is generated from pushing off my toes or forefoot, and then the pounding of landing on each stride. The lump(bone spur) is supersensitive if I accidentally bump it, but my pain seems to be from the aggravation of bursitis within the ankle. I do wear heal cups or pads to raise the heal and soften the pounding.

yeah, i had the same pain whenever i pushed off...i was a forefoot striker so the push off was killer. i couldnt walk after the run and the next few days later...

hey stock, what about asics...i've sworn by asics for the last 8-9 years or so, i wear the thousand series, 1110, 1120 etc. could that be part of the problem?

Yeah I don't see any issues with Asics. Just make sure whatever shoes you get have a heel backing that doesn't curve back into the achilles. Try to get something that is a bit more vertical rather than curved.

Currently I wear the Nike Marathoner ... the heel counter is not very hard / stiff.

Also, I have had very good luck with the Nike Streak XC - a very minimal shoe. It has only a token cloth / mesh heel counter which is great bulbous heels. The XCs aren't for everyone though ... and despite not having any real problems to speak of, I switched over to the Marathoners for a bit more cushioning ... also, rocks tend to poke up through the thin XCs, which is tolerable in a race, but annoying day to day.

For whatever reason, I found that the Nike Frees tended to "rub me the wrong way" specifically in the heel area.

...

Other info ... I still tend to wear out the cloth material in and around the heel counters of my shoes. The Nike XCs - despite appearing to be flimsy, tended to give a bit more and didn't rub so much.

Interestingly, I first noticed that I didn't have much / any heel pain (from bursitis and rubbing - post surgery) when I was walking / running barefooted at the track.

grain trader,

Pressure on my heel seems to be the issue that I've been having, but now that it's been mentioned, I guess pushing off does seem to be difficult as well.

If it is becoming an issue of pain while walking, then from what Co-Runner an Robsica have said (past posts in this forum), surgery may be a relief for you. They have both continued to run post surgery and so have others. It's just a long recovery from what I've learned.

Thanks for the discussion and responses. I do fear the recovery and possible damage to the achilles if surgery is unsuccessful. I think after 4-5 years of dealing with the pain, I will probably try and get it taken care of in the fall or winter months when I have a better excuse to be inactive with weather and short days.

I'm sure every case is different. I haven't had lasik because there is still a 2% chance of permanent damage. If I knew the surgery would be 100% successful on the haglund deformity, I would have already done it. It has been very good to hear the success stories and a few that weren't so good. Quality of life is important and running is and has been very important to me. I could adjust and live without it, but I don't want to. Any more success or failures would be good to hear, as it helps in formulating questions to ask the specialist.

I had the surgery in December of '04. I took the conservative approach first. I did PT and got custom orthotic devices which worked great and allowed me to run with little to no pain. After awhile though nothing seemed to work so I had the surgery done. I was in a cast for 2 weeks and a boot for about 6-8 weeks after that. I was on crutches for about a month. I had my achilles detached during the procedure and a screw was used to re-attach it. I could feel relief almost immediately (after the drugs wore off of course). I took it slow and was running again by March. I have been running pain free ever since.

Any luck in your quest to find a doctor? Hope my suggestions helped.

Yeah, I checked the web site. I plan on trying to get the ball rolling this fall for a winter removal if things still feel the same at that time. I will keep researching doctors in my area through other referrals. Thanks for all the replies. I'll keep watching for other opinions.

I had a good run on Saturday, but Sunday could barely walk. Today, the heel is bearable, but it seems to be causing other imbalances in my hip, as I overcompensate when walking when painful.

Hey grain trader,

Are you in the Chicago area? If so let me know and I will give you the name of my doc. I am also 47 and my pain was like yours -- not from rubbing but from pushing off etc. Like you I hope to compete again and while I have a way to go to get my fitness back I feel like the surgery did the job.

I'm in Kansas. Let me know how your recovery goes. Did you have the achilles detached or just pushed aside to remove the spur? What kind of recovery are you looking at?

My bump is on the outside of my right heel. If my feet are pointing toward 12:00, then my bump is at 5:00 on the outside of my heel. I've been using an Ibuprofin patch that dispenses through the skin directly on the spur. It seems to help relieve some pain on the spur and also wrapped around on the inside of the ankle for the bursitis. Also, taking Ibuprofin orally helps.

Is there a chance to do more damage, or does it just get more painful? From what I have understood, if you can withstand the pain, keep running. It won't cause any further damage such as tearing the achilles tendon??

Living in Redneck land, I just figured a bottle of Jack Daniels (in honor of his distance knowledge) and a grinder would remove the bone spur just fine some Saturday evening!!!