About the Haglund deformity I’ve written almost one year ago, with some fresh impressions after a deep investigation. I wasn’t happy, and I didn’t have a clue if it can improve or not, whatever if I can run properly or not… The answer, initially, was quite harsh, because after my recovery session I’ve talked about, the pain to my hill bone returned, and the excrescence got bigger. It was a hit on my morale, so not to despair, I just accepted I might need to live with the pain, and more often than I would like, I need to limp because my pain. However, this was not something to be happy about, you can imagine, and tried to find potential solutions.

Why Shock Wave can negatively impact Haglund deformity

I’ve cracked an important information, when I’ve visited another doctor, to be able to get another prescription for a set of physiotherapy. The idea is that I’ve asked about the Shock Wave therapy, and the medical doctor told me it is not very recommended for my condition, Haglund presumes the bone can grow back at any moment, even if it is “polished” with that device. Indeed, it hurts a lot, and then you feel, for the short, and even medium term, very good, but on the long run it can be problematic. And having this information, I’ve took it as it is, and use it to see if I undergo any changes. Because, in the end, I concluded that the increase in my loose bone was linked to the therapy itself.

Alfredson protocol, the main pillar!

After 12 more physiotherapy sessions at Kinetic, without Shock Wave, I can state that this could be a key in the improvement of my hill. Not only this, but it seems to be key. In my sessions, one of the ladies recommended me to rub some ice, from time to time on to the sensitive zone, before sleep. And another lady, this time from Recondition, gave another key piece of advice: Alfredson Protocol. Essentially, this involves hill drop exercise, like some stretching after effort. It is aimed primarily for the Achilles tendon – my main concern anyway – but it hugely reliefs the pain from my side bone of my hill. It works like magic! Right now, I can say that I am able to run almost 100 kilometers in one week, without limping anymore!

Ice in a paper cup, in the freezer, to calm the pain

With the hope that my bone ceased its grow, I can state, for the moment, that my problem is under control, and the three key pillars for this, discovered in the last year for my optimism is:

• Alfredson protocol: after each run / intensive walk, at least 4-5 series of 20 reps drop for each hill – this is the key component, and it relieves the pain instantly. I think it is the best stretching exercise I can take!
• Ice: put water into paper cups and put them in the freezer and you get a block which can get peeled easily so it can be rubbed efficiently directly on your inflamed zone, before going to sleep at night. Again, it is a wonder how good it can be!
• 12 sessions of physio at least once / year: mostly, for me, right now it is a check up, just to be sure I keep it at least at the current level. And ideally, don’t risk the Shock Wave – I can’t state for a fact that this affected my bone, but until another proof, I will take this as a benchmark. For now, it worked for me.

More to come about Haglund deformity

Apart of these three pillars, I am planning to do some other “improvement” work in the near future, especially at boot massage level, but being something right now pending, I will keep the information for after it is checked and developed into a firm conclusion. For sure, though, I’ll have stories about that shortly. Until then, if you have the Haglund deformity and run a lot, I hope this helps you in shaping the pain free & good mobility strategy. 🙂