Why does my child have heel pain?

Heel pain is something that is surprisingly common yet annoying for kids and teens, especially those who are frequently playing sports.

There are plenty of conditions out there that cause heel pain and we’re all guilty of falling victim to the worst case scenario option that ‘Dr. Google’ presents.

Most commonly, heel pain in kids and teens is caused by ‘Severs Disease’. Believe me, the name makes it sound much scarier than it actually is. ‘Severs Disease’ can produce pain at the back of the heel or just under it.

With Severs, pain is usually worst after activity, e.g. towards the end of or after training sessions. Kids may feel they can’t walk or run properly during a match. They may have bad heel pain for a day or 2 after the match. They can even start limping to compensate for the pain.

This is normally an overuse injury in very active kids. However, it is also related to growth spurts in young teens. Basically, the muscles can’t keep up with the rate the bones are growing at which causes them to overstretch.

Severs is most common in boys but can affect girls also. Treatment is quite straightforward but for the child who loves sport may be a bit of pain.

Treatment usually requires less activity, i.e. limited sports for several weeks. Calf strength and flexibility exercises are also needed as the issue is aggravated by tight calf muscles which pull on the back of the heel bone.

What we want to do is loosen and strengthen those muscles as much as we can to relieve that pressure. Unfortunately this can’t be done without taking a break from activity and sports for a few weeks. 

When the treatment plan is followed, the issue usually resolves quite quickly and we can start reintroducing sport and activity once the pain has subsided. In the case that the issue is taking a bit longer to resolve we can always look into further treatment options such as insoles for that extra support which will take pressure from the area. 

Overall, Severs Disease is 100% treatable and curable. As with everything, it’s best to catch it early which will reduce the overall recovery time.

It can be quite scary looking up pain online but DON’T PANIC. There’s ways around even the worst types of pain!

If your child is suffering with heel pain call us now on 0212021001

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