Ouch! What Is this Heel Pain Trying to Tell Me?
Ignoring heel pain and pushing through the discomfort usually makes the problem worse. Find out why professional evaluation identifies the root cause and prevents long-term damage.
SpeedBridge™ for Haglund's Deformity: A Minimally Invasive Surgical Option
A bony bump at the back of your heel that aches and rubs against every pair of shoes you own points to Haglund’s deformity. You’ve likely already padded it, switched shoes, and avoided the styles that flare it up.
When those steps stop working, and especially when the Achilles tendon itself has taken on damage, surgery becomes the next option. The SpeedBridge™ technique repairs the tendon once a surgeon removes the bony prominence, and it does so with a design built to hold securely while you heal.
At Foot and Ankle Institute of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Colorado, podiatrists Matthew Hinderland, DPM, Jordan Cameron, DPM, Trevor Whiting, DPM, and Shane Soto, DPM, treat Haglund’s deformity and perform SpeedBridge repair when surgery is the right path forward.
What Haglund’s deformity is and how it develops
Haglund’s deformity is a bony bump that forms on the back of the heel bone where the Achilles tendon attaches. The enlarged bone rubs against shoes and irritates the soft tissue between the bone and the tendon, leading to pain, swelling, and inflammation.
Several factors can cause it to develop, including tight Achilles tendons, natural foot structure, and footwear with rigid backs that press against the heel. Because stiff-heeled shoes play such a common role, the condition is sometimes called “pump bump.”
Over time, the irritation often extends into the Achilles tendon itself. When the tendon at the heel becomes chronically inflamed and develops areas of damaged or calcified tissue, surgery may need to address both the bone and the tendon together.
Why conservative treatment doesn't always work for Haglund’s deformity
Most people start with nonsurgical treatment, and for many, it brings enough relief. These approaches focus on reducing irritation and inflammation rather than removing the bony enlargement itself:
- Switching to shoes with soft or open backs
- Heel lifts or pads to reduce pressure
- Stretching to loosen a tight Achilles tendon
- Anti-inflammatory medications
- Physical therapy
- Custom orthotics
When the bony prominence is large or the Achilles tendon has become significantly damaged, irritation tends to keep returning no matter how carefully you manage your footwear and activity. At that point, surgery may be the more lasting solution.
What happens during SpeedBridge surgery
Removing a Haglund’s deformity surgically presents a challenge: to reach the bony growth, the surgeon first has to detach the Achilles tendon, then reattach it once the bone is gone. The strength and quality of that reattachment is what determines how well you recover.
Older surgical methods often struggled to reconstruct the tendon securely, which left some patients waiting months before putting any weight on the foot. SpeedBridge was developed to solve that problem.
After the surgeon removes the bony prominence and clears away diseased tendon tissue, the technique reattaches the Achilles using strong suture tape anchored into the heel bone, creating a sturdier hold than traditional repairs.
Why the SpeedBridge design supports faster recovery
The advantage of SpeedBridge comes down to how firmly it secures the tendon to the bone. Instead of relying on tied knots, which can irritate the thin skin at the back of the heel, the technique uses anchors and suture tape to press a broad area of the tendon flat against the bone.
That secure, knotless hold offers benefits such as:
- A stronger connection between tendon and bone
- No bulky knots beneath the skin at the back of the heel
- Compression spread across a wider area of the tendon
- A repair sturdy enough to support earlier rehabilitation
Because the tendon is held so securely, patients can often begin bearing weight and rehabilitating sooner than older techniques allowed.
Haglund’s deformity treatment in Colorado Springs
Persistent heel pain at the back of your foot that hasn’t improved with conservative care deserves a closer look. Our team can determine whether Haglund’s deformity is behind your symptoms and whether SpeedBridge or another approach makes sense for you.
Call our Colorado Springs office at 719-488-4664, or use our online booking feature to schedule an evaluation today.
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