Apr 26 2012
Going Under the Knife
Hello bloggers. This is my first blogging experience, as well as my first surgical intervention. I hope to share my experiences with you in the coming months as I muster through the operation and post-operative challenges. Let me briefly describe myself, my activity style, and the events the leading to my choice in the surgical alternative.
About 2 years ago, I was a very avid runner. I was putting in about 50-60 miles per week in addition to hitting the weights. Strangely, I had never had any indication of major injury or complications, aside from the normal soreness that is typical in distance running. I would occasionally have some tight calves, knee soreness, and some minor iliotibial band discomfort during hard long runs, but I had never had problems with my feet before. My last quality run (2 years ago) consisted of some trail/terrain miles in the rain. Due to the ground being wet and unpredictable, the run turned out to be very technical. I completed the run (10 miles) without much discomfort aside from my left heel being a bit sore. I thought nothing of it, took a shower, consumed some calories, and retired to bed. The next day, I found that my heel was stiff, and a bit swollen. Only in the morning did it give my some problems. I did some minor stretching and figured I’d take a day off to give my heel some rest. Most of the day was pretty uneventful, but I started to have more lingering soreness towards late afternoon. Again, I thought nothing of it and went to bed that night thinking I’d be ready to go out for another run the following day. Unfortunately, the following morning was much worse. I had increased pain around my left heel and I had developed a limp. At this point, I thought about seeing my general practitioner, just as a precaution. I scheduled an appointment for the following day. It was all downhill from here. The next morning my heel become extremely painful and swollen, to the point where I could barely even walk. I ended up limping like a cripple into my general practitioners office and he gave my the diagnosis. Retrocalcaneal bursitis.
For the next year, I spent copious amounts of time and money trying to alleviate the problem. I saw 3 different doctors, all of which misdiagnosed the root of the problem, and instead insisted on inflammatory patches and cortisone shots (the later of which I rejected due to the increased chance of tendon rupture). After some useless physical therapy, that did nothing but put a dent on my wallet, I took matters into my own hands and spent hours doing internet research on the topic. I reviewed all the causes of retrocalcaneal bursistis, along with patient and doctor testimonies. I devised a series of stretches and exercises that proved to be mildly effective at relieving some of the pain and discomfort. I was about 3 months until I could walk and stand, albeit painfully for periods of time. I took about 4 months before I was able to crosstrain painfully on a stationary bicycle. Some of the swelling did subside, but much of the bursitis remained, resulting in an ugly looking bulge between my Achilles tendon and the heel bone.
Heel view from the outside:
Heel view from the inside:
A little over a year after my heel flared up, I picked up running again. This was a very painful experience, and although I was able to get up to about 30 miles per week, most of my downtime was spent nursing my heel and barely being able to walk the day following a hard run. As a last straw, I tried ultrasound and electric shockwave therapy to help with the pain and discomfort. The ultrasound did nothing. The electric shockwave therapy helped for maybe 2 months.
I finally made an appointment with a reputable orthopedic surgeon who specializes in athletes and runners. We did some X-rays and devised a surgical plan to address the problems I’m having with my heel. The plan will be a lateral incision to remove any bony growth (Haglund’s deformity) and to rescind as much of the bursitis as possible without violating the Achilles tendon. This surgical approach is supposed to have a much quicker recovery time than one that involves tendon removal or debridement.
I’m due for surgery in a couple days (May 1). I’m hoping for the best, and I will blog periodic updates during my recovery.
Good luck, and do keep us posted. I’d say you’re due for some good luck!
BTW, maybe it’s just me or my browser (Opera), but I’m getting empty squares where the pictures should be. Loading them individually gets me a square that says “image”. . .
Superluminal–
I had surgery to remove my “bump and talon” about 3.5 weeks ago. But I had to have the debridement and tendon repair, too. (my first doctor said it was retrocalcaneal bursitis, and sent me on my way) After a year of running through the pain, PT and ultrasound, I finally couldn’t run at all. I went to an Ortho who specializes in runners (and is himself an ultrarunner) and after looking at the x-rays and the amount of boney growth and tendon damage, we decided that the surgery had to be done ASAP. I have a “normal” shaped heel now! The goal is to be back to trail running by the Fall. Good luck with your surgery on May 1st!
@eastcoastrunner
Yeah, I do have the bump, but most of mine is from the bursitis. We did some imaging and found there to be no actual bone spurring showing up on x-ray and MRI. In my case, the bursa is chonically inflamed and “defective”. As you probably know the pain is from the soft tissues and bursa and not from the bone itself, so my pain is probably as bad as yours was. I do have the Haglund’s deformity, which is the upper bony protrusion and the bony side ridge. I have it on my right foot also, but there is no inflammation or pain at all. It probably had something to do with my tight footwear and running mechanics that attributed to the injury. I have experimented with the barefoot running technique in Vibram FiveFingers and Luna Sandals and have had great success. I didn’t get knee or IT band pain anymore and everything felt light and agile. The damage has already been done however, and I need to get the surgery to be able to run properly again without pain.
Thanks for the comment. I hope everything goes well. I feel like I’m in good hands.
@normofthenorth
I’m not sure why they won’t load for you. I’m using Chrome, but it shows fine on Internet Explorer, Firefox, and native tablet browsers. Try copying the image URL link into your browser search and see if the image comes up.
Hopefully, the surgery will go well. I’ve been dying to put in some serious mileage without being crippled the next day.