Sever's Disease
Sever's Disease - a form of heel-pain - can make life hell for sporty young people. Here's how to treat it.
August 1, 2024
If you have a sporty youngster who complains of heel-pain it's quite likely to be Sever's disease. The misery of this condition causes is distressing to parents - but frequently the medical advice is: it's a condition that will disappear in time, try to manage it with rest, supportive shoes or heel cups and plenty of rest. And, of course, painkillers.
That's just depressing.
And it's wrong.
Sever's will resolve when the heel bone ossifies. Your sporty child could be waiting several years for this to occur. In the meantime they will have lost the opportunity to play sport at a level that is commensurate with their ability.
The secret of treating Sever's lies in tracking down the cause.
The question that needs to be asked is: Why is there excessive traction on the heel bone?
I promise you that it is NOT merely over-activity and I promise you that it is NOT lack of supportive footware. (See www.evolutionorthoticsystems.co.uk for why the foot is a self-supporting structure.)
The answer lies in a correctly made orthotic device, specifically designed to reduce the need for the achilles tendon to pull too hard on the heel bone.
Sever's will then resolve - although a course of Class 4 MLS laser might be helpful in quelling the bony inflammation associated with Sever's.
In April/May 2023 we had great success with the orthotic treatment of Sever's in a 13-14 year old very sporty boy, after his parents' had no luck with the "conventional" approach. Within a fortnight of receiving his custom Evolution orthoses he was back to running 5k.
