A rare cause of heel pain: A calcaneal spur fracture

Abstract

Heel pain is a complaint frequently encountered in orthopedic clinics that has peculiar symptoms and may have various etiologic causes. Calcaneal spur fracture is an extremely rare cause of heel pain, and only four cases had previously been reported in the English language literature. We present a 45-year-old woman who had heel pain on her right foot after falling from a height onto the heel. Radiographic examination of her right foot showed a fractured calcaneal spur, which was successfully treated with conservative methods. Calcaneal heel pain is a complaint that may be attributable to many different etiologic causes, which often have specific symptoms, and we frequently encounter them in the orthopedic clinic. Calcaneal spur fracture after trauma should be remembered in the differential diagnosis of heel pain as a rare cause. Our case is the fifth reported case in the English language literature of this extremely rare condition.