I am a 14 year old girl and was excited to do cross country as a freshman this year after having success in middle school cross country. Last Spring I had shin splints, took some time off, and went to PT. I slowly eased back into running and towards the end of the summer I felt ready to add some speed work into my training. This was when I started feeling pain in my heel. At the time I didn't know the extent of my injury, took a day off, and resumed my training. I went for three more runs with no pain when one day after an easy run I had significant pain in my heel when walking. This pain continued the next few days and especially hurt in the morning. At this point I had completely stopped running and went to see an orthopedist. I learned that I had Haglund's Deformity with Achilles tendinitis and bursitis (primarily in my left foot). The doctor thought it should quiet down within 2 weeks and gave me a night brace. I went for PT, had dexamethasone applied topically through ultrasound, and tried putting heel lifts in my shoes. About a week into therapy, when standing still, I suddenly got a sharp pain behind my knee, which now bothers me when I walk for awhile. Also, my right foot was progressively getting worse (although my left still hurt more). I went back to the doctor this morning who said he was concerned that my heels seemed to have gotten worse and that I should get an MRI of my heel and knee. He also said that if my pain didn't clear up in a timely manner, I might consider surgery to remove the excess calcaneus (heel bone). This afternoon, I went to PT, and told my therapist what my doctor had said. He was quite frustrated that a doctor would even suggest surgery for someone my age and said surgery should be the very last resort. I would like to be running again ASAP, and am a little confused about proper treatment. While avoiding surgery would be ideal, I'm not sure how helpful and drawn out therapy would be. My heel growth plate is closed, so surgery wouldn't be a problem in that respect. Thanks!