I did crutches for 2 weeks and a boot for another 2 weeks after that. My PT then gave me exercises to help with strength and reduce scar tissue and I should have kept with it. Women get this deformity from wearing high heels. Not sure how I got it. Maybe I sleep walk in heels?
i used crutches for the first two days then walked in the boot. i did need pain killers the first few days to sleep because i had a lot of swelling (toes looked like ball park franks). it depends how much surface area is shaved down and how much bleeding you get. once i got the stitches out, i was able to ride the stationary bike and get in the pool.
the first surgery (w/ torn AT) i had a cast to my knee and was on crutches for three weeks before a crutch/boot combo.
[quote]Rob S wrote:
In fact, I was gingerly walking later on in the same day on which I had the surgery.
I am the reference at the very beginning of this email. I have a few questions of some of you. The dr here says that I will be in a cast for 6-8 weeks on crutches and then progress to a walking book, etc. Some of you make it sound much shorter than that and I am curious if your docs made it sound as long as mine. Also, The curious thing is that i have been cross training (bike and swim) for five months. Yet, when I got the mri, something like a stress reacion showed up farther down on my calcaneus. Also, I have a swollen bursa sac right where the deformity is. So, we don't know whether the stress reaction is the problem, or the bursa sac. Plus, according to my surgeon, the stress reaction is probably a result of the deformity. But, I want to try to lose the stress reaction to rule out the possiblity that it is a simple stress fracture. We are thinking of doing bone growth stim. Does anybody have experience with this? Thanks for all the advice.
6-8 weeks is about the time frame I was given. I was in a cast for 2 weeks and a walking boot for about 4 weeks. I was on crutches for about 4 or 5 weeks. I think the amount of time depends on whether or not the doctor has to detach the achilles tendon and re-attach it with a pin. Obviously the achilles tendon bears a lot of weight when you walk so you don't want walk to soon and blow out the pin.
Good luck.
been shaved twice:
you mentioned how the doctor thought you had a stress reaction also, that's interesting.
What bone in the foot?
Do you think the Doctor confused the stress reaction with something else?
my first go around i had a stress reaction in one of my metatarsals caused most likely from trying to run differently so my achilles did not hurt as much. the second time i had a stress reaction in my calcaneus. the doctor didn't think much of it because that wasn't causing the pain. i did have inflamed bursa because of all the friction between the achilles and this extra piece of bone. when my achilles first got sore (second time) i went to see a therapist (mark plaatjes) and he worked on the bursa and it helped but only temporarily. next step was MRI. i think stress reactions are just a cloudy area on an MRI and not a hot spot like a stress fracture. we were more concerned at looking right at the spot where the pain was and both times, right above the insertion.i'm not buying this doctor saying 6 to 8 weeks in a cast. both doctors (first one in raleigh, second one in boulder), and one was more agressive that the other, wanted me moving and bearing weight as soon as possible. with the AT tear, the cast came off as soon as the stitches came out and he wanted me walking in the boot as soon as i could to get it moving. i also got on a stationary bike the day the stitches came out to get blood moving and so my leg did not turn to jello. i didn't have any pins like mentioned in a previous post. my AT just had the torn shreds cleaned out (looked like poly-o-string cheese) and sewed up and my doctor said i could not tear what he fixed. when i had just the bone shaved i didn't even have a cast, i went right into a boot. a couple weeks later i was walking at night around the house without the boot, then flip flops and shoes without hard heels (i wore the free). i was jogging in 8 weeks. the second surgery was a simple shaving of the bone and that's it.doctors are going to vary in recovery plans. first doctor, careful first two weeks then agressive. second doctor, very agressive at first, then careful. both doctors understood that i wanted to get running asap. my first doctor i've known for 12 years so he knows my body (has cut me before). the second doctor said i healed well quickly but made me wait a week or two more to start running because he knew i was chomping to get going and was worried i would over do it (and was probably correct) because he's cut up a lot of runners.hope this helps.
CSUEIU wrote:
been shaved twice:
you mentioned how the doctor thought you had a stress reaction also, that's interesting.
What bone in the foot?
Do you think the Doctor confused the stress reaction with something else?
have been reading a few message board threads on Haglund's over the last year or two since my heels flared up again. I have some 10 years experience of managing my heels with varying success. There is a lot of varying information out there and some of it, IMHO, of varying accuracy and up-to-datedness. undoubtedly there is a tendency for those with the most stubborn cases to spend more time online writing about it rather than being out running which i think gives an unduly pessimistic slant on the condition. If you want to have a look at some of the peer-reviewed published papers on the subject go to
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
and search with 'haglund' and 'achilles' at the same time as subjects (not Haglunds or Haglund's). I believe that surgery is generally pretty successful and that regrowth of spurs long term is uncommon.
Having said that, with the benefit of hindsight, in the earlier stages it's all about the shoes. I wish I had been much more proactive earlier in the course of my problem. from 18 to 40 years of age i was wearing uk size 9 or 10 shoes. for years i cut chunks out of the heels to avoid rubbing on my haglund spur. this never worked very well for me. belatedly, i found that i could run and play football perfectly well in size 12s with a gel pad behind the heel. you can order sheets of suitable fabric-backed gel from podiatrist websites. i found best set up is a gel pad under a piece of tubi-gauze ove the heel and then a sock on top.
also, on flat ground i can run in open backed sandals (after experimenting with a few brands). I've done several triathlons in them now. saves tying laces too.it takes a slight style adjustment when running. lean forward and shorten stride. on rough ground or around the house if you wear open backed sandals a lot then evetually you will smack you heel on something hard and make it a lot worse. been there!
secondly, it's possble to cut the viciously sharp heel counter out of most running shoes -go in through the back cutting along the top edge of the external 'leather' piece and then peel apart the inner lining and heel piece to get at the plastic counter -with a bit of a struggle you can cut it out along the base. it's vital to get it right down to the base -any sharp projections are a recipe for chewed-up heel disaster.
don't expect everything to resolve overnight. my left heel took about 6 months to settle after stopping wearng any hard heels. if you stop the rubbing any bursitis between achilles and skin will eventually resolve in my experience.
the problem that eventually drove me to surgery on one heel was recurrent retrocalcaneal bursitis (in front of achilles -between tendon and spur). in my experience, once your spur reaches a decent size, then retrocalcaneal bursitis and impingement of spur on achilles is likely to limit your mileage. i know my surgeon personally and i believe him when he says that removing spur and bursa without totally detaching the achilles isgenerally successful in 90% of patients and serious complications are uncommon. return to full athletic function is likely to take 4-6 months tho.
good luck all!