Haglunds deformity is an enlargement of the bone at the back of the heel bone. Any shoe that pushes on that enlargement is probably going to eventually become painful. An inflamed bursa (retrocalcaneal bursitis) and develop from the continued pressure of the shoe. This can be particularly problematic when the footwear is a rigid construction such as ice skates (‘Bauer’s bump‘).
The only way to treat a Haglund’s deformity without surgery is to get the pressure from the footwear of the bump. There is no other way. The only way to get rid of the bony lump is with surgery. The soft tissue swelling of the bursitis will go down if you get pressure of the bump, so it is possible to reduce the size of it without surgery.
The obvious way to get pressure off the Haglunds bump is to not wear shoes. That will work really well, but unfortunately is not that practical. There are other approaches such as the wearing of felt padding for Haglund’s that can get pressure off the bump. This padding can be stuck on the foot or in the shoe. The padding could be in the shape of a ‘U’ or the shape of a donut. Either way the podiatry felt keeps the pressure of the enlarged bone and bursa, helps substantially with the pain. If the adhesive felt works well in the short term, more permanent padding can be made.
