Overview
This is a condition that is quite often misdiagnosed as growing pains this generally affects boys more than it may affects girls, especially between the ages of 9 and 15. This is a common disease in children that play the following sports. Soccer. Football. Basketball. Hockey. However it is not limited just to these sports, nor is it simply a pre-season type condition related to fitness. Sever?s Disease is common and although it does not sound good there is no need to panic as it is not something you can catch or incurable. Children have a growth plate in the heel bone, which at puberty becomes solid and forms part of the heel, prior to puberty this can cause pain especially if the child?s foot rolls inwards or outwards too much, this can cause increased stress on this growth plate and therefore causes pain.
Causes
Sever's Disease typically affects boys and girls between 8-15 years of age. Risk factors include. Athletic activity that involves heel contact with hard surfaces, as in gymnastics, track, soccer, basketball, ice skating, ballet and aerobics. The wearing of ill-fitting shoes. Well-made shoes that fit properly are a must for every child. Prolonged periods of standing. If a child complains of heel pain after choir practice, doing dishes, standing in lines or other activities that put pressure on the heel bones, pay attention.
Symptoms
Athletes with Sever?s disease are typically aged 9 to 13 years and participate in running or jumping sports such as soccer, football, basketball, baseball, and gymnastics. The typical complaint is heel pain that develops slowly and occurs with activity. The pain is usually described like a bruise. There is rarely swelling or visible bruising. The pain is usually worse with running in cleats or shoes that have limited heel lift, cushion, and arch support. The pain usually goes away with rest and rarely occurs with low-impact sports such as bicycling, skating, or swimming.
Diagnosis
Sever disease is most often diagnosed clinically, and radiographic evaluation is believed to be unnecessary by many physicians, but if a diagnosis of calcaneal apophysitis is made without obtaining radiographs, a lesion requiring more aggressive treatment could be missed. Foot radiographs are usually normal and the radiologic identification of calcaneal apophysitis without the absence of clinical information was not reliable.
Non Surgical Treatment
First, your child should cut down or stop any activity that causes heel pain. Apply ice to the injured heel for 25 minutes three times a day. Your child should not go barefoot. If your child has severe heel pain, ibuprofen (Advil) will help. It is important that your child performs exercises to stretch the hamstring and calf muscles, and the tendons on the back of the leg. The child should do these stretches five times each, two or three times a day. Each stretch should be held for 20 seconds. Your child also needs to do exercises to strengthen the muscles on the front of the shin. To do this, have your child stand facing a wall to stretch the calves and the heel cord. Place one foot a shoulder?s width in front of the other, both feet facing the wall. The front knee is bent and the back knee is straight during the calf stretch. Then have your child push against the wall and feel the stretch in his or her back leg. To stretch out the heel cord, have him or her stay in the same position and bend the back knee. Repeat three times. Practice this stretch twice daily.
This is a condition that is quite often misdiagnosed as growing pains this generally affects boys more than it may affects girls, especially between the ages of 9 and 15. This is a common disease in children that play the following sports. Soccer. Football. Basketball. Hockey. However it is not limited just to these sports, nor is it simply a pre-season type condition related to fitness. Sever?s Disease is common and although it does not sound good there is no need to panic as it is not something you can catch or incurable. Children have a growth plate in the heel bone, which at puberty becomes solid and forms part of the heel, prior to puberty this can cause pain especially if the child?s foot rolls inwards or outwards too much, this can cause increased stress on this growth plate and therefore causes pain.
Causes
Sever's Disease typically affects boys and girls between 8-15 years of age. Risk factors include. Athletic activity that involves heel contact with hard surfaces, as in gymnastics, track, soccer, basketball, ice skating, ballet and aerobics. The wearing of ill-fitting shoes. Well-made shoes that fit properly are a must for every child. Prolonged periods of standing. If a child complains of heel pain after choir practice, doing dishes, standing in lines or other activities that put pressure on the heel bones, pay attention.
Symptoms
Athletes with Sever?s disease are typically aged 9 to 13 years and participate in running or jumping sports such as soccer, football, basketball, baseball, and gymnastics. The typical complaint is heel pain that develops slowly and occurs with activity. The pain is usually described like a bruise. There is rarely swelling or visible bruising. The pain is usually worse with running in cleats or shoes that have limited heel lift, cushion, and arch support. The pain usually goes away with rest and rarely occurs with low-impact sports such as bicycling, skating, or swimming.
Diagnosis
Sever disease is most often diagnosed clinically, and radiographic evaluation is believed to be unnecessary by many physicians, but if a diagnosis of calcaneal apophysitis is made without obtaining radiographs, a lesion requiring more aggressive treatment could be missed. Foot radiographs are usually normal and the radiologic identification of calcaneal apophysitis without the absence of clinical information was not reliable.
Non Surgical Treatment
First, your child should cut down or stop any activity that causes heel pain. Apply ice to the injured heel for 25 minutes three times a day. Your child should not go barefoot. If your child has severe heel pain, ibuprofen (Advil) will help. It is important that your child performs exercises to stretch the hamstring and calf muscles, and the tendons on the back of the leg. The child should do these stretches five times each, two or three times a day. Each stretch should be held for 20 seconds. Your child also needs to do exercises to strengthen the muscles on the front of the shin. To do this, have your child stand facing a wall to stretch the calves and the heel cord. Place one foot a shoulder?s width in front of the other, both feet facing the wall. The front knee is bent and the back knee is straight during the calf stretch. Then have your child push against the wall and feel the stretch in his or her back leg. To stretch out the heel cord, have him or her stay in the same position and bend the back knee. Repeat three times. Practice this stretch twice daily.