Irradiation of a Haglund heel

Haglund's heel

The Haglund heel (Haglund exostosis) is a protruding bone on the side or back edge of the calcaneus in the attachment area of ​​the Achilles tendon. Those affected feel pressure pain in the corresponding area of ​​the heel, especially when wearing shoes. Often the skin over the Achilles tendon attachment is red and swollen. As the cause of a Hail and exostosis Among other things, unsuitable footwear comes into question, a genetic predisposition is also discussed. If the suspicion of a Haglund's heel is corroborated by orthopedic examinations, an imaging diagnosis using ultrasound, X-ray or CT is carried out.

Treatment options

The symptoms that can be caused by a Haglund's heel can be utterly Freedom from pain and symptoms towards severe pain pass. Accordingly, there are various options for treating Haglund's heel, depending on the severity. With light shapes, the choice of correct (possibly orthopedic) footwears in combination with insoles or padding contribute to a significant improvement. Also physiotherapy exercises and pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs can work.

If these measures are only temporarily effective, the actual cause of the disease must be treated in the form of a surgery or non-invasively by a Irradiation.

Read more on the topic: Haglund heel therapy

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Athletes (joggers, soccer players, etc.) are particularly often affected by diseases of the foot. In some cases, the cause of the foot discomfort cannot be identified at first.
Therefore, the treatment of the foot (e.g. Achilles tendonitis, heel spurs, etc.) requires a lot of experience.
I focus on a wide variety of foot diseases.
The aim of every treatment is treatment without surgery with a complete recovery of performance.

Which therapy achieves the best results in the long term can only be determined after looking at all of the information (Examination, X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, etc.) be assessed.

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Irradiation

When a Haglund's heel is irradiated, there is the option of shock wave therapy on the one hand and X-ray radiation on the other.

Shock wave therapy

In shock wave therapy, which has already become established for breaking up kidney stones, targeted shock waves (high-energy pressure waves) are fired at a tissue area. The tissue hit now sets the surrounding tissue in vibration. As the duration of treatment increases, there is an increase instability in the irradiated bone. The Ossification of the S.One approach to the Haglund heel becomes so practical dissolved, it "crumbles".

A session only lasts a few minutes and is not painful for the patient, so anesthesia or anesthesia is not necessary. Several sessions are usually necessary to achieve the desired reaction in the tissue.

The Shock wave therapy For the treatment of Haglund's heel does not have to be covered by the statutory health insurance in Germany, so the patient receives the treatment may have to pay yourself. In the case of several sessions with costs of several hundred euros be expected. There is the possibility of submitting an application to the health insurance company to cover costs, which can be approved at your discretion. You can find out more about your specific case from your treating doctor.

The procedure offers after several sessions good chance of recovery, however, can also after achieving a pain and discomfort Recurrence of ossification cannot be ruled out. The Shock wave therapy is generally great as a non-invasive treatment option low risk and in the vast majority of cases free from Side effects.

It can rarely be Irritation of the surrounding tissue come, such as swelling or superficial bleeding. Consequential damage like that Injury to bony structures, Nerves or Vessels are very rare and not to be expected if carried out properly.

Read more on the topic: Shock wave therapy.

X-ray exposure

Another nonsurgical treatment option for Haglund's heel is deep x-ray irradiation. This form of X-rays differs from "normal" X-rays how it is used for imaging by a higher hardness. This radiation effortlessly penetrates the soft tissue lying above the bone (skin, fatty tissue, muscles) and emits when it hits the Bone tissue a high proportion of energy. X-rays include through interactions with the DNA (genetic material of the cells) cell damaging, which is useful for irradiating the Haglund heel. Mostly in multiple sessions the ossification at the base of the Achilles tendon is broken down, so that the symptoms characteristic of the disease are reduced.

It is important with this procedure that the X-rays in their Dose and alignment is chosen so that the surrounding healthy tissue is spared remains. If the irradiation area is chosen too large, it can lead to irreversible (irreversible) Damage to Annoy, Blood vessels and soft tissue come. The side effects of X-ray exposure include Irritations of the Skin over the corresponding area, whereas cooling gels can be applied preventively after the treatment. However, since the skin is an excellent Regenerative ability no permanent damage is to be expected.

As with shock wave therapy several sessions necessary to lead to a visible and tangible success. The ossification only recedes very slowly, so that the symptoms can even worsen temporarily (usually at the beginning of the irradiation), which means that those affected should not be discouraged at first.