What Is Severs Disease?

Heel pain in children is not as common as it is in adults, but when it does happen, easily the most common is a condition known as Severs disease. This condition is considered as strain to the growing cartilage area at the back of the heel bone. This growing area only exists in children and fuses with the rest of the bone before the age of 15 as growth in the heel bone stops. The cause of this problem is considered to be overuse as it is more common in active children and it appears to be more common in those who participate in sports, especially on hard surfaces. The Achilles tendon attaches to the back of this growing area of bone, so the pull from the tendon, combined with the impacts from the ground are thought to play a role.

The pain from Severs disease is felt at the back of the heel bone, classically when the bone is squeezed with the fingers on the sides of the bone. It is usually only initially painful after sport, but later progresses to be painful during sport and the painful with just normal everyday activities.

The treatment of Severs disease is to modify the sporting activities so that the pain is within the tolerance levels. Often a heel raise is used to relieve the pull from the Achilles tendon and to cushion impacts with the ground. Many of these children tend to have tight calf muscles, so stretching exercises should be implemented. If a flat foot is present then the use of foot orthotics should also be considered. In more severe or prolonged cases, then all sporting activity may need to be stopped and even a walking brace may be needed to further restrict activity. Whatever happen, this condition is self limiting as the growth plate merges with the rest of the bone and there are no long term problems.

By: Craig Payne

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