# Broken Calcaneus (heel) bone



## JustMtnB44 (Nov 8, 2004)

First time poster in this forum, and second major bike crash. Two years ago I crashed in a rock garden while riding my trail bike at Crested Butte bike park and broke my arm (radius bone) just above the wrist. I needed a plate and screws to fix that and was off the bike for about 2 months.

1.5 weeks ago I was riding at Jake's Rocks in north western PA when I came across a random branch lying in the trail lengthwise, causing me to slide and stick my foot out which then jammed into a large rock at speed. The oddest part is that we had just ridden up this same section of trail 15 minutes before the crash, and I don't remember any branches in the trail or else I would have removed them. However, on the way down the trail just before the crash, my front brake also randomly decided to stop working again, an issue I thought was fixed months ago. I was probably going faster than I should of given the combination of these two factors, but really this is a fairly benign section of trail.

Video: 




Click link above or skip to 2:00 to get to crash
[video=youtube;MMlr2w5X3kY?t=1m40s]https://youtu.be/MMlr2w5X3kY?t=1m40s[/video]

Recovery looks to be at least 2-3 months before walking again, not sure on riding. I will likely need surgery to repair; have Dr. appt tomorrow to make final decision on that now that I had a CT scan to better see the damage. Overall this sounds like a fairly serious injury. Has anyone else broken their heel bone?


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## ethierjung (May 30, 2017)

Ouch. Tough to deal with a busted wheel. Had my ankle replaced and was off the MTB for 6 weeks but I was on the roadie at 5. Good luck.


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

I've never broken a heel bone. It does seem rare but could happen. i wonder if there is any special gear that could be worn to prevent or reduce injuries of this type. 

I noticed that some of the riders at Red Bull Rampage wore ankle braces (it's probably overkill for enduro riding)

Healing vibes JustMtnB44


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## JustMtnB44 (Nov 8, 2004)

Thanks guys. I had surgery last Wednesday to put the calcaneous back together. Current recovery plan is 5-6 weeks no weight bearing on that foot at all, then start PT to work on getting things moving again. Hopefully it should eventually get back close to normal. Long term the doctors expect I will get arthritis in the area, which depending on when and how bad could require additional treatments, but I think they are prepping me for worst case outcomes. I'm 34 so have a much better chance of this healing well, as opposed to many people who break this bone are older.

X-rays of my new hardware:


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## k2rider1964 (Apr 29, 2010)

Crazy!! Like your friend, I'm missing the stick. I watched the video a few times and all I keep seeing in the rock as well. In any case, it looks like a fun place to ride. 6 weeks will go by in no time. Good luck with the recovery.


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## JustMtnB44 (Nov 8, 2004)

k2rider1964 said:


> Crazy!! Like your friend, I'm missing the stick. I watched the video a few times and all I keep seeing in the rock as well. In any case, it looks like a fun place to ride. 6 weeks will go by in no time. Good luck with the recovery.


If you change the playback speed to 0.25 and watch right around 2:12 you can see it most clearly. There is a long stick in the center of and parallel to the trail that causes my front wheel to slide and points me towards the rock, and I can't recover it in time. Thanks for the well wishes, I hope it goes by quickly as well.


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## k2rider1964 (Apr 29, 2010)

JustMtnB44 said:


> If you change the playback speed to 0.25 and watch right around 2:12 you can see it most clearly. There is a long stick in the center of and parallel to the trail that causes my front wheel to slide and points me towards the rock, and I can't recover it in time. Thanks for the well wishes, I hope it goes by quickly as well.


I spent five MONTHS on the couch after I broke my femur right above the knee (and tore every ligament but one) and I thought it was going to be forever but it went pretty fast. I made the mistake of ordering too much pizza while I did nothing but watch TV though. Still paying for that 8 years later :eekster:


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## JDHutch (Sep 29, 2017)

That’s a bad injury. The calcaneus and the tibial plateau fracture are the two worst imo. Lots of little pieces to put back together and at such crucial joints in the body. I’m a medical sales rep and have been in surgery for many of these cases. That’s looks like a Synthes plate FYI and the repair looks great on those post-op films. Good luck with your recovery.


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## JustMtnB44 (Nov 8, 2004)

It's been just over two months since my injury happened. I had a doctor's appt this morning and my calcaneous looks to be healing up ok so far. I can start putting partial weight on it this week, working up to full weight over the next 4 weeks provided there are no issues.

I've been using the iwalk 2.0 hands free crutch since my surgery. For me it's the best option I could find to have reasonable mobility and use of my hands, I highly recommend it for lower leg injuries that require a period of non weight bearing.
iWALKFree Hands-Free Crutch for Walking - Better Than Crutches or Knee Scooters

I can't ride, but I hobbled out to the trails with the iwalk to work on a reroute project I had planned and coordinated before the injury happened.

__
http://instagr.am/p/Bbaj8tilCG9/


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## Gilgo (Jul 15, 2011)

How did you heal up? Have the same injury, happened in a similar way with a log inline with the trail but my heel hit a rock instead. 

My x-rays looks pretty much the same. 

Surgery 26/4, 3 weeks with plaster (16/5). Since then mobility exercises. Got ok to partially put weight on the foot yesterday (7/6) and got some exercises with a rubber band. Hurts really bad afterwards. Sideways mobility of the foot sucks. Heel tendon hurts and is really sensitive.

Would appreciate a short version of recovery, mobility, pain, other issues and problems and biking afterwards.


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## Gilgo (Jul 15, 2011)

Some pictures:


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## JustMtnB44 (Nov 8, 2004)

Gilgo said:


> How did you heal up? Have the same injury, happened in a similar way with a log inline with the trail but my heel hit a rock instead.
> 
> My x-rays looks pretty much the same.
> 
> ...


It's been 7 months now since I had surgery for this. I did physical therapy for a few months until the end of March. Since then I eased back in to my normal activities of riding, hiking, trail maintenance, etc. I am at a point where the ankle joint is still noticeable (minor pain or stiffness) most of the time, but doesn't interfere with activities. I agree sideways mobility of the foot is not quite what it was before, and the tendon along the outside near the incision area still gets sore sometimes. The joint is still a bit swollen and noticeably larger than my other ankle. The heel itself is fine now, most of my pain or soreness is at the top midfoot area and most noticeable when bending your foot up towards your shin under load. I still do the PT exercises at home sometimes, but probably should have done them more often.

When I first started riding mountain bikes again at the end of April (I was physically able to ride sooner but the weather was crap and the trails were too wet until then) I think the whole foot/ankle area was still a bit weak as well and hitting rough sections, g-outs, and small drops caused pain in the ankle so I had to take it easy. But the more I rode the better those things felt. Using clipless pedals forces the ball of your foot to take the load through a bent ankle which exacerbates this, and I was also finding it difficult to unclip sometimes possibly due to a bit less rotation of the foot. I recently switched to flat pedals, specifically the Pedaling Innovations Catalyst pedals, so that I could center my foot on the pedal more and with those I'm having no issues riding. However after a long ride, my foot/ankle will be quite sore later in the day. If I go for a longer hike or trail maintenance session I will also be sore afterwards as well.

I have a follow up appointment with the orthopedist in a few days, so I'll post here again if I learn anything new.


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## Waafoo (Mar 13, 2010)

I avoided this forum like the plague when I was healthy, Didnt want to even think about another injury! I know the dangers of riding and the longer u go it seams the more likely your going to get hurt. 10 years of nothing to bad Then May 6th just cruzing down one of my favorite trails the bike just washed out instantly! I still don't know what exactly happened but when the bike went I had to dab hard then down to my knee and off the trail. I immediately knew my heel was broke. Fond out it's my calcaneus, fractured, no surgery yet but my 4 week x ray doesn't look so good. I go Monday for my 6 week and I can post up results. 
If anyone else has some experience with this please share your thoughts and advise...
Thx


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## Gilgo (Jul 15, 2011)

The type of fracture decides if surgery is required. In your case they must have thought that no surgery was needed. If they where right be happy. Post-op pain is much worse and lenghtier then pain after the injury.

Hope you heal good despite the not soo good x-rays. This injury sucks bigtime.

I got ok to put some weight on my foot last week so I started to try to walk with crutches. Feels like a big step. I also did my first workout on a borrowed trainer. Normally I would never consider doing that but for rehabilitation it's ok.
Today exactly 2 months since my injury.


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## Gilgo (Jul 15, 2011)

I have had some thoughts regarding ROM. When trying to angle my foot inwards, it feels like a mechanical stop. I can feel that there is like a "klonk" and then it can't move any further. Anyone else experienced something similar? Worried that the hardware limits ROM. I am never going to have the same ROM offcourse but right now it's like 30% sideways and it does not improve.


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## JustMtnB44 (Nov 8, 2004)

Gilgo said:


> I have had some thoughts regarding ROM. When trying to angle my foot inwards, it feels like a mechanical stop. I can feel that there is like a "klonk" and then it can't move any further. Anyone else experienced something similar? Worried that the hardware limits ROM. I am never going to have the same ROM offcourse but right now it's like 30% sideways and it does not improve.


My ROM is definitely limited and I also feel a bit of a mechanical stop in some directions. I can't twist my foot inward or bend it downward as much as the other one, but it's generally not an issue for daily activities.


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## bncrshr77 (Jun 19, 2007)

Hey fellas, Figured I would thow this out there for future reference of guys with the same injury.

Came off the bike on a 6 foot drop at speed and ended up breaking my Heel. 

X-rays show it broken in 3 places but nothing shifted so no surgery required!!

CT Scan didn't show any major tendon / Ligament damage or anything else that seemed to matter to the Doc.

Original plan for me is 10 weeks in a boot with NO pressure on the heel at all... Any time I'm sitting with my foot elevated I'm to to be stretching my foot front to back using a towell or something.

4 week x-rays showed decent healing and I have a great range of motion.

Have another appointment 3 weeks from now and will post up how it's going and what the Doc has to say about my overall plan.


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