What is Sever’s Disease?

Sever’s disease (also known as calcaneal apophysitis) is one of the most common causes of heel pain in growing children and adolescents. It is an inflammation of the growth plate in the calcaneus (heel).  Sever’s disease is caused by repetitive stress to the heel, and most often occurs during growth spurts, when bones, muscles, tendons, and other structures are changing rapidly. Children and adolescents who participate in athletics—especially running and jumping sports—are at an increased risk for this condition. However, less active adolescents may also experience this problem, especially if they wear very flat shoes.

In most cases of Sever’s disease, simple measures like rest, over-the-counter medication, a change in footwear, and stretching and strengthening exercises will relieve pain and allow a return to daily activities. The bones of children and adolescents possess a special area where the bone is growing called the growth plate. Growth plates are areas of cartilage located near the ends of bones.

When a child is fully grown, the growth plates close and are replaced by solid bone. Until this occurs, the growth plates are weaker than the nearby tendons and ligaments and are vulnerable to trauma.

Sever’s disease affects the part of the growth plate at the back of the heel where bone growth occurs. This growth area serves as the attachment point for the Achilles tendon—the strong band of tissue that connects the calf muscles at the back of the leg to the heel bone. Repetitive stress from running, jumping, and other high-impact activities can cause pain and inflammation in this growth area of the heel. Additional stress from the pulling of the Achilles tendon at its attachment point can sometimes further irritate the area.

Sever’s Disease Symptoms:

Painful symptoms are often brought on by running, jumping, and other sports-related activities. In some cases, both heels have symptoms, although one heel may be worse than the other. Symptoms may include:

• Heel pain and tenderness underneath the heel
• Mild swelling at the heel

Sever’s Disease Treatment:

Treatment for Sever’s disease focuses on reducing pain and swelling. This typically requires limiting exercise activity until your child can enjoy activity without discomfort or significant pain afterwards. In some cases, rest from activity is required for several months, followed by a strength conditioning program. However, if your child does not have a large amount of pain or a limp, participation in sports may be safe to continue.

Your physiotherapist may recommend additional treatment methods, including:

• Heel pads. Heel cushions inserted in sports shoes can help absorb impact and relieve stress on the heel and ankle.
• Wearing shoes with a slightly elevated heel. Elevating the heel may relieve some of the pressure on the growth plate.
• Stretching exercises. Stretches for the Achilles tendon can reduce stress on the heel, help relieve pain, and hopefully prevent the disease from returning.

Adolescent or Children’s physiotherapy, is an area we highly specialise in our clinics in Blanchardstown and Castleknock. We have been successfully treating adolescents with various injuries for 15 years. Every child is different, so our unique level of experience in this area of physiotherapy has allowed us to rehabilitate adolescents from all over Dublin and Ireland.

You can also check out our Running Performance Lab, located in our clinic in Castleknock GAA Clubhouse, where we provide a platform for recovering athletes to regain their full potential.  We review your running technique from multiple angles in our state of the art facility. We then analyse your run using using world leading movement capturing software (Dartfish) in order to construct a plan tailored to your needs.

We treat runners of all backgrounds, whether you are a beginner, recreational runner or an elite athlete. If you are suffering from running related pain or just want to improve your running times, our detailed assessment and treatment plans and packages will help you to take your training to the next level. Click here for further details

If you are looking for Adolescent Physiotherapy in Dublin, you can book in to see one of our experienced Physio’s to get a more individualised assessment and treatment approach.

You can now book an appointment at our Blanchardstown Physiotherapy Clinic, our Castleknock Physiotherapy Clinic, or our Old Bawn Physiotherapy clinic through our website www.somertonphysio.ie, email us at [email protected] or call us at 01 9069566.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about Sever’s Disease.  You can follow us on our Facebook page and Instagram for more updates.