General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Heel spur behind the Achilles Rss Feed  
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2014-03-21 10:15 AM

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Subject: Heel spur behind the Achilles
Oh boy.. Could the news not get any worse ?

The X-ray says heel spur behind my Achilles. Probably why all the PT I've been doing has been useless.
My Achilles has been rubbing against the spur and causing a "pulling" problem.

My DPM and running doc both referred me to an orthotic specialist.


Anyone else ever deal with this ?


2014-03-21 3:48 PM
in reply to: louamerica

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Subject: RE: Heel spur behind the Achilles
Sounds like a Haglunds Deformity. I've been dealing with one for years...lots of stretching seems to help.
2014-03-24 2:14 PM
in reply to: louamerica

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Subject: RE: Heel spur behind the Achilles
How can you run ? I stretch. I do yoga 3x a week and do a bunch of calf and Achilles stretches.

About a mile into any run, I have to shut it down.
2014-03-27 12:50 PM
in reply to: louamerica

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Subject: RE: Heel spur behind the Achilles
I had a similar issue. After many discussions, forum posts, DR visits etc, here is what I learned. (Don’t take it as gospel, just the conclusions and advice I got for my situation.)

1) The bone spur didn't just pop up. It’s been forming for years and if you've been pain free before whatever the specific point in time is the pain began, it's likely that the pain will go away after some rest and time off. Mine sort of just faded away with some help (rest, running form development, new shoes).

2) After x-rays and a MRI, I finally found a great doctor that noticed the bone spur was fractured (two others missed that important clue). Both the break and its new found flexibility messing with my Achilles tendon and all the inflammation was causing the pain – but what triggered it was likely bad running form and one bad step I took off a curb.

3) I could have had surgery but my Dr's recommendation was to avoid surgery on my Achilles. The recovery time is huge and it could have made it worse in the long run. Either way, my season was compromised (spend time with serious recovery or have surgery with a longer recovery and potential future complication) so I took it easy to recover properly. (that was very hard to do)

What I did for 7 weeks.
1) Focused my training on Swimming. I became a monster swimmer with a 6 day a week swim routine. My swim form and cardio significantly improved and that carried over to the other sports. HUGE improvements in my swim.
2) Secondary was to focus purely base bike training. Exclusively on my indoor trainer with a focus on cadence and low zone 1 or 2 heart rate. Watched lots of DVD's and sports. 60 to 120 minutes 3-4 days a week – if there was any pain or foot discomfort I stopped. Period.
3) Avoided all running (it was torture) – Instead I focused on core strength training 2 days a week.
4) I bought a pair of Hoka Stinson Tarmacs for when I finally started running again. I now swear by these things. I where them on almost every long run I do.
5) When I started running again I focused big time on my running form to make sure I was landing mid foot. I was able to connect with the local high school track coach who I paid for a few sessions. All at slow speed but focusing on proper gait that would avoid any heal strike. I put off any speed or tempo work for another three weeks.
6) And of course – a good post workout flexibility routine and foam rolling sessions. Plus, 1x per week I got a therapeutic massage to help loosen things up.

Knock on wood, I still have the bone spur but no pain for over a year.

Good luck.
Cheers,
Dave
2014-04-01 5:32 PM
in reply to: louamerica

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Subject: RE: Heel spur behind the Achilles
I can't tell you how many people I have met with a heel spur but not all of them have pain. It can be symptomatic or not but usually inflammation or irritation to the retrocalcaneal bursa can give a lot of runners pain around the insertion of the achilles and just deep to it. Normally it can be seen very easily on a MSK (Musculoskeletal) Ultrasound.... I would highly suggest it. Xrays will not show it in detail and MRI is not a movement based test for the ankle on the off chance it is not the bursa... maybe the tibialis posterior tendon. Either way for half the price of an MRI I would suggest the MSK to get the job done and start off the right recovery with a correct diagnosis. Here's some more info on MSK http://www.p2sportscare.com/2014/02/20/musculoskeletal-ultrasound-i...
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