How to deal with Severs Disease
Severs disease, or more appropriately called Calcaneal apophysitis as its not a “disease” is a common problem of the heel in growing children. The pain is typically at the back and sides of the heel bone. It is more common in active children.
The key to managing Severs disease is to manage the load or activity levels of the child. The levels need to be reduced to a level that the pain is tolerable or manageable. How long Severs disease lasts will depend on how much the loads are reduced. This can be challenging as all kids want to be active and while there organized sports activity can be reduced, it is the unplanned activity, perhaps undertaken during the lunch break at school that parents can have little control over. A lot of education of the child and negotiation with the child will be needed to help with this. Given time, this will lead to a reduction in the symptoms and buy time for the pain to improve and the heel pain to get better.
In addition to load management, ICE can be applied after sport if it is particularly painful. Soft shock absorbing heel pads or inserts are also often helpful
Severs disease is a self-limiting condition as the growth plate that it occurs at merges with the rest of the heel bone about the early teenage years, so it is no longer a problem. The key to its management is the loads, the lifestyle and expectations to keep it under control until such a time that it is outgrown and is no longer a problem.
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