Bilateral heel pain in a patient with Diamond–Blackfan anaemia

• Two rare conditions are linked for the first time.
• The case prompts discussion of the aetiology and assessment of calcaneal stress fractures.
• A treatment algorithm for these fractures is proposed.

A rare case of bilateral calcaneal stress fractures in a patient with Diamond–Blackfan anaemia is described. This has not been previously reported in the literature. A calcaneal stress fracture is an important differential diagnosis in a patient presenting with heel pain. Bilaterality of symptoms should not exclude this diagnosis and clinicians should be especially vigilant with predisposed patients.