The most prevalent explanation for heel pain in adults is a disorder referred to as plantar fasciitis which make nearly 90% of the reasons. When considering kids, plantar fasciitis is in fact pretty uncommon and the most frequent explanation for pain in the heel in kids being a condition known as Sever’s Disease. This is really bad vocabulary becasue it is not a disease and the usage of that term can certainly have rather undesirable effects. Additionally there is a tendency away from the use of terminology of problems from becoming named after individuals, usually the physician which initially explained the ailment. The more proper term for the condition can be calcaneal apophysitis. It is a problem of the growing plate in the back of the heel bone or calcaneus.
When we come into this world, almost all of the bones will still be a soft and pliable cartilage framework that the bone builds up on. With the heel bone growth will begin in the center and extends to take up the entire area of that cartilage framework. Having said that, there is still a cartilage growth area in the back of the calcaneus that development and growth continues to occur at. This small growing area in the back of the heel bone will be prone to damage if stresses on the heel bone tend to be higher.
The most important risk factors are a higher bodyweight, those that are taller and have a far more active way of life which include participating in more sports activity. Some also claim that tight leg muscles could be a factor, but that is not necessarily a consistent observation. The condition is a lot more typical in the ages of 8 through 12 years. The growth plate of the calcaneus fuses with the rest of the bone round the middle of the teenage years, therefore no matter what it is not possible to have this problem beyond that age.
The signs and symptoms of this problem will usually start off as a minor ache in the back of the calcaneus which gets more painful over time and it is far more painful with increased exercise. This commonly gets worse with increased activity levels with discomfort amounts not really exactly the same from day to day and vary based upon activity or sports participation levels. A common sign of this disorder is discomfort on the edges at the back of the calcaneus when you squeeze it between your fingers. There won't be xrays or any other imaging which can be used to help establish this and the diagnosis draws on the clinical conclusions.
The key approach to addressing Severs disease is education of the child and parents regarding the nature of the disorder and its self-limiting characteristics. Way of life along with sport activity amounts will need to become minimized so the strain on the growing area can be lowered to bearable levels. Cold therapy should be considered immediately after sport if the discomfort amounts tend to be higher. In the event the calf muscles are tight, then a stretching out technique can be used to increase the range of flexibility. A cushioned heel pad is usually very helpful. In most cases it's a matter of performing these therapies along with managing the activity levels and then wait for this to take its natural path and ultimately improve.
