Prognosis | The Haglund – Heel

Prognosis

The prognosis for a successful treatment of the Haglund heel is good. The treatment can last for many weeks. Recurrence symptoms after conservative therapy are frequent.

Recurrences can also occur after surgical treatment of the Haglund’s heel, especially if the posterior bone projection is not completely removed. A spontaneous healing of a Haglund’s heel in an advanced stage is rather not to be expected, since it is a bony malformation which does not easily disappear again. The cause, apart from congenital malformation, is excessive stress on the heel over a long period of time.

This can be caused on the one hand by too intensive running training and on the other hand by poorly fitting shoes. In case of acute pain symptoms, running training should be avoided and the heel should be cooled and elevated. It is also advisable to wear different shoes and, if necessary, an insole (see topic “Insoles”).

Cooling quark compresses and shock wave therapy as well as current and ultrasound treatment are further supportive. In 1-3 sessions the bone is shattered from the outside by strong energetic waves, the small pieces of bone are then automatically absorbed by the body. The “ultima ratio” (i.e. the last possibility) represents a surgical correction.

Under anesthesia, a piece of the protruding heel bone is chiseled off and the skin above it is closed again. Such an operation is only possible in a swollen state and also requires a break of several weeks until complete healing is achieved. In order to prevent the symptoms from reoccurring, running training should in any case be started again slowly and gently.

In acute cases, painkillers can of course be taken to help treat the pain. It should be noted, however, that if taken over a longer period of time, a stomach protector such as Pantoprazole should also be taken, as the freely available painkillers of the NSAID class damage the stomach lining in the long term. However, it is advisable to consult your general practitioner or orthopedist.