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.