What is the back of your ankle called?

If you’ve ever stared at your feet and marveled at the fact that these two appendages were somehow responsible for keeping you upright (hopefully), then chances are you’ve also spent some time pondering what certain parts of your foot are called. You know, like those tiny toes that never quite seem to be where they’re supposed to or that little bump on the back of your heel – yeah, that one.

Well, my friend (yes, I’m talking to you wise guy sitting there reading this while blatantly ignoring work responsibilities), let us delve into solving one such mystery today: the identity behind that weird part sticking out from your ankle bone!

Introduction

It’s an annoying little bump; it’s always getting snagged on socks when trying to yank them off like a crazed child. And why does it have no better name than “thingy”? Bosses frown upon lackadaisical thoughts regarding employees’ footwear habits so we here will affectionately refer to said protrusion as “Heely McAnkleBump” going forward.
Throughout history people have tried everything from rubbing bread crusts against their ankles (not kidding) to boring cool big spoons into other peoples’ brains but came up empty-handed (thank goodness).
So let us not fall prey to such sadistic measures – instead let’s dive into the strange corners of googledom and see if we can finally put an end once and for all with exactly what this pesky little nub is called.

Location:

Before delving any further “back-wards” before forwards (get ready folks, lame jokes coming in hot!), we need a brief anatomy lesson. The area our question pertains specifically relates corresponds onto the posterior calcaneus aka the heel bone. This bony prominence protrudes atop of where the Achilles tendon attaches to aforementioned ankle bump

What Role Does it Play?

If this weird little extension seems entirely ill-fitted for pretty much any task, that’s because…well, it is. But hey – everybody has to work as a team right? And in this particular case collectively they all help with shock absorption during walking/running . In other words,[^1] your Heely McAnkleBump is there so you can keep getting those daily steps in without completely annihilating your poor heels.

What Do Other Disciplines Call It?

For starters, anatomists refer to our hairy-legged friend’s knob as “posterior calcaneal tuberosity,” but who wants let alone needs an eight-syllable name anyway?
Even more lovable monikers include “pimples” or – my personal favorite – “Haglund deformities.”

So while we may never be able to give our mini foot mountain a satisfying one-word title like ‘shoulder’ or ‘elbow,’ just rest easy knowing that everyone else in the anatomy world struggles with their own version of annoyingly long names too.

Surprising Findings and Home Remedies!

Cue mysterious music.

As always happens when delving into deep internet dives: some truly bizarre (if not downright worrying) ideas come up.
For instance…it turns out that trimming off this bump is apparently something people might want[^2]. A study by Bohay et al found that over two thirds of patients undergoing surgical removal had an associated Haglund syndrome.[^3] However,(here comes another gold nugget) if surgery isn’t quite your thing, then good old fashioned bread-treatment is also popular among-the extremely-patient-who-just-can’t-decide-what-to-do people. (Remember the earlier mentioned slices of bread?) The theory behind this unusual method is that once you’ve soaked two pieces of stale bread in vinegar and worn them to bed over your heel, they will somehow manage to dissolve the pesky lump by morning. Definitely not medically approved or heard of anymore but still intriguing enough to be noted.

Alternatively, get some non-medical treatment from pretty much every person’s closest ally: Google! (Yes, I’m being sarcastic – a computer has steered us down an uncertain path.) Apparently common remedies[^4] include ice packs when inflamed, relative rest periods… and as expected..brace yourselves… stretching exercises such as calf raises among others.[^5]

Conclusion

So there we have it folks: if you ever happen upon someone staring intently at their own ankle with a crazed expression on their face – they might just be trying to name that little bump sticking out awkwardly from their heel.
Thankfully nowadays multiple options exist for treating pain in this area meaning the future looks bright for those wanting relief from sinister-sounding “Haglund deformities”

Heel-y McAnkleBump shall forevermore hold its dense boney presence whether regarded affectionately or otherwise unsure if it’s worth all this fuss . But there you have it; everything anyone would ever want think about regarding that mysterious part located at back-side of one’s foot.
Until next time folks!

[3]: Bohay D.R., Anderson J.G. et al. 1991 Long-term follow-up of Achilles tendon surgery: A retrospective study Journal of Foot Surgery (30), pp252-255.

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