Sever's disease

[user1474490421]

Does any one have experience of this heel pain - Sever's syndrome? My 10 year old "sporty" son has been diagnosed with it. He was told he would need to wear a cast on each leg for 6 weeks plus have an additional 6 weeks therapy (18 weeks treatment in total!). This seems extreme as he does not have acute pain and I want to find out if there are other effective ways to manage this without the cast if possible? He is a swimmer and I do not want to interrupt his training if it could potentially help his condition. Would love to know if any one has been through this with their child without using a cast. Should he stop football for a while?

Its fairly common in gymnasts and other sports which are high impact.

I'd stop him doing any impact sport, so yes, football, running etc.

Swimming i wouldn't have though would agravate it? The casts seem a bit extreme, normally its rest, and ice if painful.

Who has he been seeing? Has he seen a sports physio? Unless he's seen an orthonwhi specialises in sport or a sports physio i'd get a second opinion.

My son had it last year when he was 11. He is a very active child. Once diagnosed, we took him to a sport's physio therapist (we have private insurance that covered this) and they gave him lots of exercises to do everyday at home. He was very good about doing them and recovered within about 4 months completely. He was told to cut back on physical activity and to listen to his body during recovery time. Casts were never mentioned by the specialist he saw or the physio. In fact, they were quite anti even using inserts in his shoes as they felt he needed to retrain the way he walked and stood.

My son had this along with Osgood Shlatters (spelling might off). He had orthotics in his shoes fitted by a specialist at the hospital but that was it. He is now 22 and still gets pains, he can't drive because it hurts and has had to give up playing football. I wish I'd known more about it, we were assured it would all go by 22, but it has not.

I would explore all routes, we were not offered any alternatives or solutions like casts.

My son had this, just in one foot though. It was very painful for him to walk. It's an inflammation so yes, any kind of impact sport will aggravate it but like pp I don't see why he shouldn't swim. When you say a cast do you mean a plaster cast? That seems very extreme to me.

My son's doctor recommended rest and ice, and after no progress in a few weeks he moved on to a boot (removable). I don't think he really started to improve until he had physiotherapy, and then it got better really fast. So I agree with really. A sports physio is what you want.

My ds plays football mainly - he was out for about 3 months.

Once it's better, you can get insoles for his shoes to help prevent it recurring.

I had it very badly as a child and spent nearly 2 years in plaster casts (6 weeks in, 6 weeks out) as that was the treatment in fashion at the time.

I managed to break just about every cast they put me in - even the fibreglass ones for racehorses - as it wasn't painful once the cast was on.

In the end I got a superb zip-on plaster cast - it was like two pieces of stocking that they filled with green foam and rolled out, then fitted it round my leg, zipped it up and left it to harden. That way I could wear it all day but take it off for swimming, baths, sleep etc. No idea if it still exists but this could be a solution for you.

Otherwise the best things I found were shock-absorbing sorbethane insoles in all my shoes and exercises to lengthen the muscles in the back of my legs.

So sorry for all DCs with this horrible disease, it is immensely painful (like having a chunk of broken glass stuck in your foot) and very tedious. I hope schools are more sympathetic than they were back in the 1980s.

It's very hereditary - my father had it badly, and my brother and one sister had it very mildly. I'm praying my DD doesn't develop it as she's very keen on dance.

I had this as a child and it gets very painful if not immobilised. I was in a cast for 4 weeks and had physio for 6 weeks after that and given special inserts for my shoes that I still have to wear 30years later. I ended up getting it in both heels about a year apart. At it's most basic the heel bone is hardening too fast while it's still growing and it stresses the connective tissues around the bone. The immobilisation gives the joint and tissue a rest. It can get very painful very quickly and while my mum left it for months with me thinking I'd sprained my ankle, in the end I couldn't walk and ended up in a&e

Using casts is very old school - would avoid unless it is very severe. The body doesn't like being immobilised.

Ds1 has this. We've seen podiatrist and got insoles and exercises which did no good. I then spent a fortune on various other insoles - again no good. Then I got would you believe heel pads from poundworld (yes really! ) which have pretty much sorted it out. It still bothers him sometimes if he's really overdone it but ice helps with that and he's pretty much back to normal now - just wears his heel pads at all times and we also have these special over the heel grips for when he does exercise without shoes on. We also were hearing stuff about casts beforehand as nothing else had seemed to work. I think they do it if your other options have run out. I would certainly question them recommending it if insoles and exercises hadn't worked. Go back and ask for other options and in the meantime get to poundworld!

Oh and Ds1 was in a really bad way before we got the insoles - crying when he walked more than 10 minutes, not able to do football etc.

Sorry that should say would question them recommending casts if insoles and exercises hadn't been tried.

DS had this age 10. Very active and played football on Astro turf. He had to rest for a month - no exercise - and used the special insoles. Saw podiatrist who recommended exercises and that helped too. Now 8 months on has gel heel supports but does not always wear them as pain has gone.

One of my DCs had this. First one heel, then the other.

No casts - exercises and ice/heat therapy, all managed carefully via an excellent physio and pain went within a few weeks.

And to answer PP: No, schools not sympathetic at all .

DGS (now aged 9) has Severs and Osgood Schlatters (equivalent knee pain) and exercise helped the Severs but only rest sorted the knee pain. A cast was never mentioned and I can't see how it would improve things. He was given orthotics for his shoes but that never worked as he has a very high instep so no room for the insole even if we bought a size larger.
We learnt a lot from Googling both Severs and Osgood Schlatters.

Agree schools don't understand it.

My 10yo had this when his school started doing mile runs most days to improve fitness and concentration. Physio diagnosed severs and suggested physio (calf stretches mostly) and orthotic heel inserts and rest from running (and swimming if it hurt for first week to let inflammation got down and no aggravate), then he was fine for swimming but still off running for about a month. School were ok, but I suspect they thought it was over anxious parent being fooled by malingering. But he was fine after the month, but still wears the insoles a year later.

DS3 had this, podiatrist said it's quite common in boys between 8-14. Gel innersoles helped, as did physio exercises, but it didn't go away till he was about 14.
As for swimming, does it hurt when he does? If not, let him carry on. I don't know about splints/casts - these were never suggested for my DS. Might be worth a second opinion.

oh I didnt realise it was a gp/physio thing, never mind casts! ds1 has it but we just ignore his hobbling. hmm maybe physio then!

Unbelievable that schools are still so unsympathetic - even when I was in plaster and on crutches mine were terrible about it. I was made to spend every break time and pe lesson sitting in the library on my own... given that I was at a boarding prep-school that did sport for nearly 2 hours every afternoon I spent a LOT of time in that blasted room (I used to hide inside the floor length curtains with a book and my, did I know a lot about the staff romances that were going on!)

I ended up with fractured growth plates which is possibly why I was in plaster for so long - fortunately only one foot was affected.

I know this is a zombie thread but my son (nearly 9) probably has this in his right heel
Tbh I've left it longer than I should have - I just put it down to growing pains :(
He's had an x ray today and Dr is talking about a referral
I have e mailed the school - he is back on thurs - and I am going to ask the dr for more clarification on what he can do (pe etc)
Should we be looking at a private podiatrist/physio?