Sever’s disease is characterized by children having heel pain following activites such as soccer, football, basketball, tennis or lacrosse. What occurs is an inflammation of the growth plate in the heel. It is a very common condition that effects many children. The pain tends to be activity dependent so once your child stops the offending activity the pain will subside. Below I have listed the five best treatments for Sever’s disease, or osteochondritis dissecans of the heel.
5. Have the child take a motrin or advil before performing the activity that precipitates the pain. This should calm the inflammation in the area, and at times maybe even take care of your problem. Regardless, prior to the activity, the child should take a Motrin or advil. This is a cheap, inexpensive treatment that can be successful. Also, while your child is in pain, have them take a motrin as this will also work to relieve the pain.
4. Ice- After activity have the child put ice on it, as this will work to reduce the pain and swelling in the area. There are multiple ways to apply the ice.
3. Sometimes the child needs a good orthotic to help ease the stress on the heel and control some possibly poor biomechanics which may be causing the pain. There are two types of orthotics. Custom orthotics are specifically made for your child’s foot and require a podiatrist to cast or computer scan your child’s foot. This will give a specific orthotic designed for your child. These typically run between 450-600 dollars, although some insurances will pay for them. The other type is an over the counter orthotic which is sold at WalMart or CVS. These typically cost 10-30 dollars, but are not made specifically for your child’s foot.
2. Heel Cup- Sometimes the answer is very simple. Just a heel cup in the sneaker will stabilize the heel and prevent any of the inflammation from occuring. These are cheap and inexpensive as well. Here are some heel cups which are very effective in treating Sever’s disease:
1. Rest- Sever’s disease is activity dependent. The child stops doing the activity and the inflammation calms down. Sometimes the child just needs to stop doing the sport for a two to three week period. Remember, Sever’s disease is a self limiting condition. It will go away; it is not permanent. Sometimes you just have to wait it out. In severe cases, a patient can be placed in a cast or CAM walker as seen here:
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