[filz]

Hi everyone,
I've been following UKB for some time and this is my first post.

A friend of mine has been experiencing heel pain for a few months, whenever he wears climbing shoes  .
He has had some laser therapy, NSAID, but they didn't help much.

Now he has been diagnosed with Haglund syndrome.

Anyone has had any experience with the treatment of this syndrome? Is surgery a good option?

[Stevie]

Hi,
I'm not a doctor, physio or anything like that so don't take this as fact but as far as I'm aware the Haglund's Deformity is a boney spur/growth on the rear of the calcaneus. It's really quite common in individuals who wear ill fitting footwear (climbing shoes, ballet shoes, high heels etc). I work in a  running shop in Sheffield and see a fair number of climbers come runners with the deformity, it doesn't affect the majority and most don't even know they have it but a few have issues (myself being one). The discomfort is generally induced though friction and pressure on the heel i.e wearing shoes with an aggressive heel. I have a number of shoes, running and climbing with the heel cut out to relieve the pressure.

I've met 2 people who've had operations on their Haglund's, one was a great success the other couldn't walk for months!

Do you know if their pain is only when wearing climbing shoes or everyday footwear also?
Might seem like an odd thing to ask but it could be worth looking at the range of motion they have in their legs (foot dorsiflexion, hip extension) inadequate ranges of motion can result in a premature heel lift or chronic tightness leading to more irritation of the deformity.

I believe the discomfort is brought on by the friction between the boney growth and achilles (I don't have a book to hand so could be wrong on where exactly the bone rubs) so anyway of reducing the tension can help alleviate discomfort. If it's in their everyday shoes wearing a shoe with a heel lift can be of some help.

As it's a boney growth I'm not aware of any other permanent treatment except the operation to remove the bone but again could be wrong.

More than happy to try and answer any more questions should you have any.

Steve

[filz]

Do you know if their pain is only when wearing climbing shoes or everyday footwear also?
Might seem like an odd thing to ask but it could be worth looking at the range of motion they have in their legs (foot dorsiflexion, hip extension) inadequate ranges of motion can result in a premature heel lift or chronic tightness leading to more irritation of the deformity.

Hi Steve, thanks for the information.

The pain at the moment is only when wearing climbing shoes. It started during a multipitch route, in the following days he had pain also with everyday shoes, then after some time he got better.

I guess some stretching might help to improve the range of motion.
 
How did you cut your climbing shoes? Vertical cut?

Filippo

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[duncan]

I have this mildly in my right heel. I'm also a Physio., though not an specialist in sporting injuries. I saw a surgeon who said I'd probably had the bone growth for decades and recommended no operation. Steve's advice is good.

I tried cutting the heel on an old pair of shoes but it didn't really help, I think I was too worried about wrecking the shoes and wasn't brave enough to do sufficiently radical surgery. Others have reported good results through drilling a hole in heel or grinding away the rubber over the tender spot  Llanberis resoles website shows a pair of 5.10 Whites with half the slingshot rand removed.

What helped me:

Wearing comfy shoes as much as possible. I do all my indoor training in a pair of Mocassyms that fit like carpet slippers. I reserve more aggressive shoes for the real thing. Obvious I know but different shoes fit very differently around the heel, try different styles. It's a good excuse to buy more shoes which is always to be encouraged. Make sure your everyday shoes don't contribute either and go barefoot or wear flip-flops when you can.

Stretching the calf muscles. Gastrocnemius and soleus need different stretches, there are numerous videos online on how to do this.

Corn plaster. A donut-shaped felt pad stuck to the heel that takes pressure off the tender spot. I don't use this now, but it helped when the heel was most sore.

I'm not pain-free but I can do long routes (sometimes very long) without being unduely troubled.

[sidewinder]

Have this on both heels.  For me the problem is caused by rubbing of the shoe on the deformity, rather than tightness.  Avoiding this has been key for me.  I find climbing shoes fine (when it hasn't flared up) as mine are sufficiently tight and fit my heel sufficiently well that they don't move/rub.  I actually like the anasazi heel as its shape fits round the bulge of my deformity quite well.

Normal shoes are a bigger problem, I wear backless shoes as much as possible and am slowly acquiring a collection of soft backed shoes, Sanuks for casual wear and some vivo barefoot leather shoes as a passable smart shoe (anyone who knows of other passable soft backed smart shoes let me know), though I also have a pair of office crocs.

When running/for approach shoes I favour barefoot/race style shoes as the minimal cushioning stops my heel moving up and down so much and again with as soft a back as possible.  Conversely I also find mid/high top shoes/walking boots quite good as again they don't seem to rub so badly.  I have also experimented with mixed success in modifying shoes with low friction foam glued around the heel.

With these approaches I am now rarely bothered by it, though buying a new pair of shoes is a bit of a lottery.  When I get a flare up backless shoes as much as possible is the key for me to let the swelling/associated bursa disappear.  No input on the stretching front, though I am in generally tight in the legs/hips, something I am working on with yoga, though not prompted by my heels.

[mctrials23]

I have this pretty badly on both heels but luckily it doesn't cause any pain for me. I sit on my bum all day though so perhaps I don't aggravate it enough to have problems.

Do any of you find it hard to get shoes that fit well without the heel peeling off on any heel hook that requires you to pull towards yourself?

[Nibile]

Hi Filz. Tenio si spara.

[filz]

Hi Filz. Tenio si spara.

  or maybe he'll start bouldering 

Thanks for the great feedback guys! I'll pass your suggestions to my friend.