Severs, difficulty in getting DD7 to follow the plan

[youlemming]

I posted a few weeks ago about my DD's heel pain, we have now seen the physio at the hospital how said it is Severs.

She's advised no impact activities for 4 week and a number of stretches due to the muscles being very tight, as well as encouraging DD to walk as normally as possible (currently toe walking).

But despite the ban on PE, running around at playtime and rugby this doesn't seem to be enough to overcome that fact it's painful to do the above.

I've been using a little baby oil to massage her legs before the stretches and have heel pads in her shoes so she's not having to come straight down to walking flat.
And I have been trying to do the stretches together as I'm building up a weak ankle after a bad sprain.

The physio mentioned splints if there little or no improvement in the next 4 weeks and we really want to avoid that.

Any idea's on what else I can do to make it easier for her?

Hi. My DD had this on and off for a few years. When it flared up, apart from the stretches, she used to ice her heels every evening and then I used to massage her achilles and calves on both legs (it was usually only one heel flared up at a time). We also used silicone heel cups, and when it was particularly bad, I got permission from school for her to wear trainers for a few weeks instead of her school shoes, which really helped. Wearing trainers around the house also helped.

When a flare died down, we continued to use heel cups and icing, stretches and massage after any sports. Also, we used the Tuli (Cheetah?) wraparound heel protectors whenever she was doing any bare foot activities.

We were told by a consultant that continuing to exercise would not do any long term damage and that the pain would stop when she stopped growing (it did).

Hope that helps a little.

DS1 had Severs 3 years ago when he was 10. He actually ended up in A&E initially as DH thought he'd ruptured his achilles playing football but they diagnosed Severs.

His treatment was a bit radical but it worked...they actually put it in a cast and then an air boot for 4 weeks. I still to this day don't know why they did as I assumed it would have been best to keep moving it but it really worked. Within a few days of the boot being off he was walking normally and with out pain.

Fast forward 3 years and it's back again but he has just had another massive growth spurt. It's no where near as bad as it was and we are just seeing physic and doing stretches. He also has heel cups as well.

I had Severs very badly as a child (as did my father - and 2/3 siblings had it mildly) and really sympathise.

I spent 2 years in and out of plaster casts - 6 weeks in/6 weeks out - which they rarely do these days but was the fashion back in the 1980's. If your DD ends up with these, worth asking if she could have the removable ones - I had one that zipped on and off so I could take it off at night and in the bath.

Insoles are an absolute must, and I found that shoes with a bit of a heel made a difference - the muscles don't need to stretch so much then.

Hope it disappears soon and doesn't reappear - I'm v worried my 8 year old DD will get it... it's so hereditary and she is exactly the same shape as my father and I.

Thanks for the replies.

I was half expecting something as I had issues with my hips and knees spending weeks in traction, again something they don't do now.

She's getting more cooperative with the stretches now and I do see an improvement on some days.
And the heel insoles do make a difference when she's walking with shoes, but as soon as she's bare foot it's straight back onto the toes.

A couple more weeks to see if there's any difference or I'll get her booked back in to see what else can be done.