SEE UPDATE BELOW THIS POST
For me, 2011 has been a journey of healing. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts this year, I’ve been suffering from Haglund’s deformity – a chronic form of calcaneal bursitis (inflammation of the bursa sac that cushions the back of the heel) that results in hypertrophy of the heel bone. I’ve also been dealing with Achilles tendonitis which is commonly associated with this condition.
What was strange in my case is that, although this is a chronic condition, mine seemed to come on suddenly despite the fact that I didn’t change my footwear or my activities. In fact I run far less than I used to so it’s ironic that this problem cropped up at this time in my life. After suffering for many months while trying all of the standard allopathic medical treatments for Haglunds with no improvement, I decided to have surgery. I even scheduled the procedure, which involves shaving the heel bone, the permanent removal of the bursa sac and the temporary detachment and re-attachment of the Achilles tendon. The post-surgical recovery process is long and arduous and there’s no guarantee of a successful outcome or that the problem won’t return.
As the date of my surgery loomed I began to have second thoughts - particularly the prospect of a 6-month layoff from physical activity. Instead I decided to try the laser therapy and LED light therapy treatments offered at my chiropractor’s office, figuring I could always have the surgery later if they weren’t successful. Much to my delight I experienced improvement and was encouraged by my gradual progress – namely my ability to do more with less pain. During the summer I added bi-weekly acupuncture treatments and noticed a further reduction in my symptoms though the bursa and heel bone never shrunk in size. I began competing in 10ks and I even ran (and was the second female finisher) in a half-marathon. I also added a lot of cycling to my workout regime which helped strengthen my foot without pounding the pavement. As usual, deep water exercise was a staple and savior in my life and also helped strengthen my foot and keep me in shape without adversely affecting my heel or Achilles. As long as I didn’t run too much or too many days in a row I was able to continue. I was even able to return to running hilly courses and even competed in hilly races.
But by late Fall I became discouraged as my pain began to return and my progress seemed to plateau. Still adament about avoiding surgery, I began receiving homeopathic injections of Traumeel directly into the bursa. (This procedure is commonly performed in Europe though not in the US). I have had 5 rounds of Traumeel injections and plan to have one more next week. They are extremely painful and cause the bursa and overall pain and stiffness in my foot to increase for about 48 hours. The jury is still out as to whether they are effective, but I do feel that my foot is slowly changing for the better. I’ve also been taking Traumeel homeopathic tablets (instead of non-steriodal anti-inflammatories which with chronic use can delay healing) and have continued using Traumeel ointment on my heel – particularly the 2 days following the injections.
I also changed to a softer and smaller heel lift – after wearing a hard rubber one for years in my right shoe because of a leg difference resulting from scoliosis. Perhaps most importantly, I’ve been working on altering my running gait, attempting to adopt more of a barefoot style of running (but with shoes on!) instead of that of a heel striker (as I’ve been all my life). Old habits do die hard as this has proved extremely challenging for me! I’ve also discovered the joy of tandem bicycling – it’s great exercise and also doubles as couples therapy 
. More on that in a future post.
I’m still hoping to avoid the knife, though I realize that there’s no other way of returning the heel bone to its original shape so I may resort to that at some point. In the meantime, other than running shoes and cycling shoes I mostly wear clogs, mules, backless sandals and flip flops to reduce the pressure on the back of the heel.
I’ve learned a lot this year in this journey of healing….most of all not to give up hope. The body has an amazing capacity to heal itself if given the right tools.
Be Well and Happy New Year,
Carolyn
UPDATE: Well I went back to the Dr. today expecting to have my final Traumeel injection, however because my results have been rather underwhelming he decided to take the next step and try prolotherapy on my heel bursitis and Achilles tendonits. Prolotherapy involves the injection of a dextrose (sugar) solution (also includes Vitamin B-12 and Vitamin A) into the ligament or tendon where it attaches to the bone or any painful area. This results in a localized inflammation in these weak areas which supposedly increases the blood supply and flow of nutrients and stimulates the tissue to repair itself. If I thought Traumeel injections were painful, this was easily twice as bad probably due to the larger needle and the deeper penetration into the bone and surrounding tendons and ligaments. I had trouble walking within 90 minutes of the procedure when the pro-caine (anesthetic) wore off. Tonight I’m limping around and strangely enough it feels as though I sprained my ankle. I was told the pain and swelling would increase for approximately three days, but this is worse than I expected.
Here is a link to a video (see #11 on the sidebar of videos) of a patient receiving the injections in his foot (my injections were in the back of my heel and Achilles tendon). Don’t be fooled by the Dr.’s assertion that the injections are easily received by the patient. That was not my experience and I have a high pain threshold!
Be Well,
Carolyn
Tags: Haglund's deformity, LED light therapy and heel pain, prolotherapy for heel and Achilles pain, Traumeel injections for calcaneal bursitis
