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]
Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief:
If he had the surgery in August, he probably would have missed most or all of this season because they have to alter/sever the achilles to get to it...
That's my guess too...so they started this whole "week to week" spiel.
They are hoping he can play through it at some point...maybe at least get a game or two for $14 million.
It would make CHunt look like a dope if the contract, he brokered against his GM's wishes, resulted in the player missing 31 games immediately following the signing. [Reply]
The HIPAA privacy rules only apply to “covered entities.” Under HIPAA, a covered entity is either a health plan, health care clearinghouse or a self-insured health care provider.
The NFL is not a “covered entity” in terms of HIPAA.
All Berry has to do is carry personal insurance other than NFL provided and he falls under HIPAA or even his own surgeon.
JPP has an ongoing lawsuit with Adam Shefter for disclosing that his fingers had been amputated. The NFL fines teams all the time for not following HIPPA. [Reply]
Originally Posted by srvy:
All Berry has to do is carry personal insurance other than NFL provided and he falls under HIPAA or even his own surgeon.
JPP has an ongoing lawsuit with Adam Shefter for disclosing that his fingers had been amputated. The NFL fines teams all the time for not following HIPPA.
Adam Schefter obtained and released JPP’s medical records from his health care provider, which is covered under HIPAA.
That is a different situation than an NFL team/coach providing a status update on an injured player. [Reply]
he either deals with the pain management and whatever increased risk of tearing again, or they buzz it off and he's down for a couple months (cant speak to the 6 month on NIH website, that really sounds like normal humans not comic book heroes)
he hasnt done surgery yet, my guess they've already decided no or not now, maybe after season, and they just hold him til they feel he can get in there and power thru the end of the year with pain mgmt. 2nd qtr? mid season? [Reply]
he either deals with the pain management and whatever increased risk of tearing again, or they buzz it off and he's down for a couple months (cant speak to the 6 month on NIH website, that really sounds like normal humans not comic book heroes)
he hasnt done surgery yet, my guess they've already decided no or not now, maybe after season, and they just hold him til they feel he can get in there and power thru the end of the year with pain mgmt. 2nd qtr? mid season?
Why the fuck wouldn't you just go ahead and do the surgery as soon as possible? Now he's going to be playing in a constant state of pain when the flipside is he might almost be recovered right now from the surgery if he has it at the beginning of August. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Superturtle:
Why the **** wouldn't you just go ahead and do the surgery as soon as possible? Now he's going to be playing in a constant state of pain when the flipside is he might almost be recovered right now from the surgery if he has it at the beginning of August.
My guess is the actual recovery time is longer than a few months...so they are rolling the dice. [Reply]
Whether it was this, or something else, we all pretty much knew in the back of our minds that Berry may well never be the same again... we'll be lucky to get 4-5 games out of him
He'll play a game, then need a week off because of the pain or something... Veach has to start approaching this as if Berry will never play again
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
Whether it was this, or something else, we all pretty much knew in the back of our minds that Berry may well never be the same again... we'll be lucky to get 4-5 games out of him
He'll play a game, then need a week off because of the pain or something... Veach has to start approaching this as if Berry will never play again
BRING ME THE HEAD OF EARL THOMAS
That may require The Dance Of The Seven Veils, Mr. Easy 6.
-Chiefs obviously knew about this for weeks.
-Pretty clear that Berry so far doesn’t want/need surgery.
-getting better every week=inflammation is slowly going down.
I think he’ll play around mid season. Early November [Reply]
Originally Posted by Superturtle:
Why the fuck wouldn't you just go ahead and do the surgery as soon as possible? Now he's going to be playing in a constant state of pain when the flipside is he might almost be recovered right now from the surgery if he has it at the beginning of August.
Because for an athlete that relies on speed and quickness the idea that he would possibly have to have his achilles detached during that surgery...
If he has 2 surgically repaired achilles that may be it for him so he probably is doing everything he can to avoid that scenario. [Reply]
