Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2025
Diagnosis of Musculus Gastrocnemius Tightness - Key Factors for the Clinical Examination
Published on: July 7, 2016
Defining Haglund's deformity radiographically by incorporating the biomechanics of ankle motion
Tonya Conley1, James D Michelson1
1Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, Burlington, VT 05401, USA.
Insights
New radiographic measurements can better identify Haglund
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic surgery
- Radiology
- Biomechanics
Background:
- Haglund's deformity involves retrocalcaneal tenderness.
- Existing radiographic methods don't account for ankle motion's impact on posterior impingement.
- This limits diagnostic accuracy for Haglund's deformity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate new radiographic measurements for Haglund's deformity.
- To assess the effectiveness of these new measurements compared to traditional ones.
- To improve the diagnosis of Haglund's deformity by considering ankle motion.
Main Methods:
- Standing foot radiographs of 55 Haglund's deformity patients and 50 controls were analyzed.
- Traditional radiographic parameters were compared with two novel angular measurements.
- Measurements were based on the relationship between ankle rotation and posterior calcaneal-Achilles impingement.
Main Results:
- A combination of new angular measurements effectively distinguished between Haglund's deformity and control groups (p = 0.018).
- These new criteria accounted for calcaneal tubercle height and posterior prominence.
- Previously published radiographic criteria did not show significant differences between the groups.
Conclusions:
- The newly proposed radiographic criteria are more predictive for diagnosing Haglund's deformity.
- These criteria improve upon previous methods by incorporating the influence of ankle motion.
- This advancement offers a more accurate radiographic assessment for Haglund's deformity.
Background:
Haglund's deformity is clinically defined by the presence of retrocalcaneal tenderness, with previous radiographic parameters relying on calcaneal anatomic parameters that did not considering the influence of ankle motion on posterior calcaneal-Achilles impingement METHODS: Standing foot radiographs from 55 patients with clinically defined Haglund's deformity were compared to 50 control patients using previously described measurements and 2 new angular measurements based on the linkage between ankle rotation and posterior calcaneal-Achilles impingement. The ability of each measure to distinguish between Haglund's and control patients was assessed.
Results:
The combination of the angles to account for both increased calcaneal tubercle height and increased posterior calcaneal prominence could distinguish between the two patient groups (p = .018, Area under the curve = 63.2%). None of the previously published radiographic criteria were different between the two patient groups.
Conclusions:
The proposed radiographic criteria were more predictive than previous criteria that did not address the role of ankle motion.
