Stilettos are practically the first thing that comes to mind when people think of Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City. Now, several years after the show and movies have wrapped, Parker is suffering so badly from foot pain and deformity that she has given up her heel sporting ways as often as possible. In a recent interview, Sarah Jessica Parker discussed how she has irreparably damaged her feet from her years of wearing high heeled shoes.
At Parker’s visit to her foot doctor, she noted that he told her she had grown “extra bone” in her foot from her shoe choices. It was most likely that he was referring to a “pump bump” deformity. A pump bump is also known as a retrocalcanealexostosis, which means a growth of excess bone on the back of the heel bone, or calcaneus. The term Haglund’s deformity is also often used interchangeably with the term pump bump, although there may be a slight difference in location on the heel of the two bumps. In general, individuals suffering from a pump bump have a dull aching soreness over the upper back portion of their heel bone. High heeled shoes, and cowboy boots have been associated with aggravation of the condition, as well as living in a cold environment due to the increased use of closed back shoes. Achilles tendonitis should be considered as another possible cause of this posterior heel pain. However, in patients with Achilles tendonitis, pain occurs with ankle movement both in and out of shoes; whereas pain with a pump bump occurs mainly while wearing shoes.
Initial conservative treatment of pump bump may include heel lifts, custom orthotics to address underlying biomechanical problems such as abnormal tilt of the heel or forefoot, and changes in shoe gear to prevent further irritation. Surgery may be required to resect the excess bone for heel pain that is not resolved or has recurred with conservative treatment.
Please visit www.ColumbusFoot.com for more information or call 614-885-3338 (FEET) to schedule an appointment with a podiatrist in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus Podiatry & Surgery is located on the North side of Columbus, Ohio near Worthington.
Columbus Podiatry & Surgery has opened a new location in Gahanna, near Easton. Please call 614-476-3338 (FEET) for an appointment with a podiatrist in Gahanna, OH today.
