Back to school means back to routine, repetition, sports and play.
As we move upwards in school grades, we embark on the next stage of growth and development. Sometimes growth and development in conjunction with sports and play can render pains and strains in different areas of the body.
Areas that are commonly affect school students include; the arch of the foot heels and knees (just to name a few).

One common condition we treat in Podiatry is:

Severs Disease

Why are your child’s heel/s so sore?
• They can be sore on the back of the heel or bottom of the Achilles area; this can be on one side or both.
• This condition typically affects boys, around the 9-14 age brackets, whom are active.
• Severs disease typically causes pain during, after activity and sometimes even worse the following day. Sometimes the pain is so severe your child may not be able to play at all or go to school.

What is it?

When we are growing, the back of our heel bone is a ‘growth plate’ – this is a heel bone and a large plate of cartilage that is trying to (around the age 9-14) all fuses together to become one complete heel bone. Our muscles, ligaments, footwear and activity level can sometimes disrupt the fusing process and cause inflammation to develop between the bone and cartilage.

If your child complains of heel / Achilles pain – it is important they be assessed to establish the cause, and tailor a treatment plan for recovery. This condition if left untreated, can cause long term concerns and leave your child sitting out of sports for an entire season.