REPORT: Eric Berry has a Haglund’s deformity on his heel
New information on Berry’s sore heel injury emerged on Saturday.
By Pete Sweeney Sep 29, 2018, 1:15pm CDT
Eric Berry has not practiced or played for the Kansas City Chiefs since August 11 in St. Joseph, Missouri, because of what the team has described as a “sore heel.”
The last we heard from the Chiefs athletic training staff was in early September, when head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder described the injury as “literally day to day.”
More information on Berry’s injury emerged Saturday morning, via NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo:
Mike Garafolo: “My understanding, and I’ve spoken to people familiar with his injury situation. He’s got what’s called a Haglund’s deformity in that Achilles. That’s a bone spur that basically digs into the Achilles. Shaun O’ Hara, our colleague at NFL Network, he had it. I spoke to him this week. He said it is extremely painful. He actually used a more colorful word that I won’t use here. It’s just something that continues to irritate the area. Some guys have been able to play with it—you get a shoe here or there, you can adjust … but that’s what’s going on. It’s going to be a pain management thing. It’s not like this thing will tear the Achilles necessarily. A lot of these cases don’t result in a tear, but that’s why with Berry right now, he has not played, and they’ve been doing OK. That’s going to allow them a little bit more patience with Berry, but it is extremely painful.”
This provides a little more clarity than Berry’s injury simply being a “sore heel,” which is good, but what’s bad is there still seems to be no timetable. Remember, Berry missed nearly the entirety of the 2017 season due to a ruptured Achilles on the other leg.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was mum on the injury when asked about it Saturday afternoon after the Chiefs’ final practice of the week.
Berry is officially ruled doubtful heading into the Monday night game against the Denver Broncos.
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Here are the notes from our in-house medical expert, Aaron Borgmann:
A lot of talk today regarding something known as a Haglund’s deformity. It was reported by a media source that the player in question suffers from this condition. This discussion is not to confirm or deny that possibility, as I can only explain the available information that we have been given. To be clear, the team has not confirmed this diagnosis and I have no advance knowledge of the player’s current condition.
The simple explanation here that it is indeed a bone spur on the backside of someone’s heel. This is frequently known as a “pump bump” from the occurrence that it is often seen in women’s fashion from the shoes that they wear. However, incidence in football players is also common, sometimes referred to as “retrocalcaneal bursitis” as well.
The bone spur irritates the bursa (fluid-filled sac) that sits between the bone and the tendon or even the tendon itself directly. This can cause a great deal of inflammation and discomfort with any sort of dynamic ankle/foot movement, worse with pressure on the spot itself.
Having one in and of itself it not uncommon, but the degree to which it bothers someone is the issue. Depending upon demands of movement, these can range from debilitating to just a nuisance. Obviously, in football players, the degree of inflammation is what dictates the level of function.
These are diagnosed both visually and radiographically and it is a situation where if you see it and player complains of certain symptoms (pain with movement in that exact spot, swelling, redness) then you can be pretty sure that is what it is.
Treatment focuses on reduction of inflammation obviously directly over the spot. This can be done both topically and through systemic medication. Soft tissue lengthening in both the calf and bottom of the foot is also done to alleviate the issue from both sides – this is due to the fact that both the calf and plantar fascia connect to the calcaneus (heel bone) on either side.
Not to be forgotten is footwear modification and adjustment. Very rigid shoes can cause this irritation, and in some athletes, I would even cut the shoe in the heel to allow room for the bump. Other options include specialized padding and friction reduction methods. Heel lifts have been shown to be helpful in some.
For this condition, non-surgical intervention is preferred to reduce the inflammation as opposed to surgical due to the immobilization period.
If the inflammation can be reduced and the function level high, many players learned to adapt their daily routines to accommodate. They may have to put in a bit more time in order to get ready due to the condition’s demands but can nonetheless get by and still perform at a high level. [Reply]
I guess the biggest indictments that are there is that he thought the secondary was good enough to not address it with any draft picks until the 4th round or do much in FA about and he also used his highest draft pick on a OLB that honestly doesn't look like he's good at anything but eating and drinking beer. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Coach:
Unfortnuately, it was the right move at the time though, because Maclin's play has been declining rapidly. He's currently a free agent, and no team has bothered to look into him.
The voicemail thing though was not acceptable. That's on Dorsey.
That being said, almost all of the big dead cap money will be off of the books after the end of this season.
2018 - $18,478,464 is dead money. That's 8th in the NFL (per Spotrac).
2019 - Under the assumption that no major surprises, for example Eric Berry not being cut, $464,855 is dead money. And the Chiefs will have an estimated $50 million available on cap space.
Maclin with Mahomes is a totally different scenario. I loved bringing him to KC, but Alex Smith was not the QB for Maclin. [Reply]
Originally Posted by bowener:
Maclin with Mahomes is a totally different scenario. I loved bringing him to KC, but Alex Smith was not the QB for Maclin.
Maclin not even being on a team would mean the league thinks he's done. It wasn't a good signing, but they lacked receivers at the time, weird to think that now since we're like 5 deep.
Not worried though all that dead money is off after this year the Chiefs gain 18 million dollars after this year just from dead money. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
I guess the biggest indictments that are there is that he thought the secondary was good enough to not address it with any draft picks until the 4th round or do much in FA about and he also used his highest draft pick on a OLB that honestly doesn't look like he's good at anything but eating and drinking beer.
My reading between the lines suggests that Veach just didn't think we'd be competing for a Super Bowl this year and, therefore, went for prospects rather than win now guys. That sucks, but I can't say I thought we'd be this good this year either.
As for Speaks, the only reason people are pissy about him is that they're putting him on the field. Kpass undoubtedly would have been awful this time last year, but we just never saw him.
Veach certainly deserves more than one draft (in which he didn't have a first round pick) to show what he can do. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
My reading between the lines suggests that Veach just didn't think we'd be competing for a Super Bowl this year and, therefore, went for prospects rather than win now guys. That sucks, but I can't say I thought we'd be this good this year either.
As for Speaks, the only reason people are pissy about him is that they're putting him on the field. Kpass undoubtedly would have been awful this time last year, but we just never saw him.
Veach certainly deserves more than one draft (in which he didn't have a first round pick) to show what he can do.
It to me hurts when a guy just looks out of shape and doesn't even show athletic explosion. Kpass still looks inexperienced but you can see his talent flash at times.
Speaks never flashes he just looks unathletic and that is not something you wanna see at all. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
It to me hurts when a guy just looks out of shape and doesn't even show athletic explosion. Kpass still looks inexperienced but you can see his talent flash at times.
Speaks never flashes he just looks unathletic and that is not something you wanna see at all.
I agree.
At least with Ford and Tanoh, they had the athletic traits to be a player. Plus they showed flashes.
It’s early, but Speaks has looked horrific rushing the passer. He’s slow and fat. [Reply]
Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19:
Apparently Berry did some jogging and stretching during warmups today that he hasn’t been doing normally, according to Matt Derrick.
Seems positive.
Just saw that.
Here's the tweet.
We did get to see #Chiefs S Eric Berry jogging and stretching with his teammates on the practice field today. He's not practicing today but he did some warmups.
We did get to see #Chiefs S Eric Berry jogging and stretching with his teammates on the practice field today. He's not practicing today but he did some warmups.
We did get to see #Chiefs S Eric Berry jogging and stretching with his teammates on the practice field today. He's not practicing today but he did some warmups.
Originally Posted by Mecca:
It to me hurts when a guy just looks out of shape and doesn't even show athletic explosion. Kpass still looks inexperienced but you can see his talent flash at times.
Speaks never flashes he just looks unathletic and that is not something you wanna see at all.
Give Speaks a year in the weight room, and let’s see where he’s at in 2019. He’s transitioning to a new position at the NFL level. It’s going to take some time. He’s got NFL strength and a solid base. He’s also a willing participant in the run game. More than I can say for Dee Ford his rookie year (or year two). Every rep will be valuable for he and Tanoh this season. [Reply]
