Experience with Haglunds Deformity Surgery

Is this what Abby Steiner had surgery for? Anyone know? I know that she had surgery in the late summer or early fall and believe it was for Haglunds.

Curious to see how she comes back. I would think that she has a lot to overcome.

Yeah I just checked out her instagram and it looks like she had the same surgery. I feel like since she had over the summer, she should be fine to compete in the coming months but then again I don't really know too much about sprinting.

Noah Droddy had the surgery at the beginning of 2023 and was able to get an OTQ at CIM in December.

Hey man, yeah, that video sounds exactly like what I had, although it’s frustrating after the surgery, I wasn’t really given a debrief or told about what had happened.

So as far as I’m aware, they didn’t touch the Achilles, but that whole area including the Achilles is definitely still very sore.

Luckily, the incision has healed and I’m applying lotion now. I still think there is a lot of internal healing to be done.

Once I get the all clear from the physio to start work on strengthening the lower leg again, I’m going to go crazy and really bulletproof them them… I’ve definitely neglected my calfs compare to the upper legs before which maybe contributed as there’s more power going through them.

Enjoy the gym man! For me, calisthenics and the heavy battle rope while either seated or kneeling, helped to keep me sane.

that first stationary cycle back was heavenly, although make sure the seat isn’t too high and keep your feet fairly level with the pedal in the mid foot, so you don’t stress the Achilles - initially made that mistake and it hurt quite a lot

Donovan Brazier had surgery for Haglund's Deformity. Actually multiple times. There was a very good article here about a month ago. Brazier ran with the problem in 2021 and through trials 2022, rationalizing it was worth it, given a prime Olympic year and then a home world championships.

By summer 2022 he opted for Haglund's surgery but chose a partial fix to allow return to competition faster. That was apparently a mistake. He's had 2 subsequent procedures, one in early 2023 then the full fix in July 2023.

Now it's a battle against the clock. He basically lost a full year toward Paris by opting for a partial the first time.

Just read this super interesting article, but also made me concerned that my surgery didn't go 'far enough' if you get me.

Currently 7 ish weeks post surgery - I've been doing probably a bit too much recently. Physio has told me that you can cause another form of tendinitis to occur if you do too much too soon as the bone is not fully healed, so the rough bone can irritate the tendon... hoping I haven't done much damage and it's just healing pains for me!

Slowly and steadily making progress but pain definitely still there, albeit a different location to the original tendinitis, which makes me think it's just the healing site (hopefully).

How are you doing @ConsistencyIsKing?

It's been a minute since I posted in here but things have been going really well! Realized that the last proper update that I gave was 4 weeks post op so a lot has changed since then! Yesterday marked 10 weeks since the surgery and I finally got cleared to take my boot off and I can now wear normal shoes while walking around. I've been going to PT three times per week since the last update and have made great progress. We initially started doing foot strengthening activities such a marble pickups and range of motion movements in the ankle area and have now graduated into more advanced ankle mobility and general leg/calf strengthening exercises. My ROM in my ankle area was horrible when I first started but has gradually increased significantly throughout the course of the last 6 weeks of PT to the point where it is comparable to what it was before surgery. I've had a few aches and pains occasionally while doing PT but the pain doesn't last long and it feels as if I have become stronger in the weeks since starting PT.

Around week 6/7 post-op, I was able to start using the stationary bike and have gradually been able to increase the intensity and time spent on the stationary bike. I think in a few weeks, I should be able to do the elliptical then hopefully will be running in 6-7 weeks time. I might try to get some sessions on an Alter-G if I can find a place that has one for an affordable price point. There was a place near my parents that offered like 10 x 60 minute sessions on an Alter-G for $100 which is an absolute steal in my opinion.

I will update again in a few weeks once I start using the elliptical.

I spoke with my surgeon today and he explained to me that I might experience a bit of pain in the achilles area going from the boot to the shoe so hopefully it isn't too bad. I've had a bit of pain sometimes during PT but the pain doesn't last for long and I haven't had any pain while using the stationary bike.

One thing that I have noticed is that the skin on the incision area is completely numb so it is a really weird sensation when anything rubs up against it. My aunt is a nurse and explained to me that is normal.

Is the pain that you're experiencing ever go away? Or is it more constant?

Alright so I'm coming up on 15 weeks post op this week. Last month, I had a bit of discomfort going from the boot to walking in a shoe with a lift but that discomfort went away after a few days. After 2 weeks with the lift in my shoe, I was able to take it out and had a little bit of discomfort initially but it went away after a few days. ROM in my ankle has gradually improved but still limited compared to my unaffected left leg. Additionally, I have utilized the stationary bike and have biked to and from work and have not experienced any pain in the heel area.

I do have a bit of pain in my achilles but it's not located at the insertion as it was before the surgery. It's probably 2 inches above the insertion and localized to that one particular spot. No pain in the heel whatsoever. It's a bit frustrating right now after all that I've been through to still have pain in the achilles but I'm optimistic that it will get better with time and PT since it's not affecting the bone and is localized to one particular area.

Has anyone else experienced achilles pain in a different location after surgery?

I was optimistic that I'd be able to start running again in maybe 2 weeks but I just don't think I'm there yet with the recovery. I think it would be more realistic to say that I could start running in the beginning/middle of May.

Same here dude! Think my physio isn't great. All he has said to do is mainly calf raises.

Can you share with me those initial exercises / exercises you're doing now? My surgeon thinks I should be running but it's wayyy too painful for that.

Also I think I've probably slowed recovery by going crazy at the gym with squats deadlifts etc... hopefully not permanent damage.

Elliptical and bikes alll good for me though, as is swimming

In a similar boat with the calf raises...I've been doing a ton of them! I've incorporated a calf stretch on incline board which I feel like has made a massive difference in ROM and has actually decreased the amount of pain that I've felt in the scar tissue area. I've mostly been doing single leg calf raises, eccentric calf raises, calf raises with a weight on my leg while sitting + other balancing activities. In my most recent session at PT, we did side shuffles from one end of the room to the other and it felt decent except for in the one spot where I have the scar tissue. I also hopped on the leg press machine and simulated jumping. It was a bit painful in the area where I had the scar tissue when I loaded and when I jumped. I think realistically I could run in about a month.

But the one thing that I have realized is that I'm doing things now that I wouldn't have been able to do two months ago or even a month ago and I assume that in one month from now, I'll be able to do things that I can't do today.

I could barely do a single leg calf raise a month ago and now there's maybe a difference of 1.5cm in height when I do it on my left compared to my right and there was a difference of almost 3cm two weeks ago!

Where is the pain located in your achilles? Is it closer to your heel or higher up on your achilles?

Lots of "stuff" on yt, but this had a nice progressive approach to rehab exercises which most others dont seem to have. ymmv