Physical Rehabilitation And Severs Disease
Overview
One of the more common limitations to children enjoying their youthful energy is Sever?s Disease. Sever?s Disease is a pathology that affects the heels of children in their high growth years (usually around 9-15), and it can be quite painful. It usually occurs due to repetitive trauma or impact at the heel. This means that if your child spends a lot of time running around (in sports, or just with friends) the continuous impact of his or her heel to the ground can cause this! Usually, most children will complain of heel pain specifically when they are active; these are considered milder cases. In more severe cases the pain may never cease, whether the child is active or not.
Causes
Sever?s disease is caused by repetitive tension and/or pressure on the growth center of the heel. Running and jumping place a large amount of pressure on the heels and can cause pain. Children with Sever?s may limp or have an altered gait due to the pain. Risk factors for Sever's include tight calf muscles, weak ankle muscles, and alignment abnormalities at the foot and ankle. Sever?s can also result from wearing shoes without sufficient heel padding or arch support.
Symptoms
In Sever?s disease, heel pain can be in one or both heels. It usually starts after a child begins a new sports season or a new sport. Your child may walk with a limp. The pain may increase when he or she stands on tiptoe. Your child?s heel may hurt if you squeeze both sides toward the very back. This is called the squeeze test. Your provider may also find that your child?s heel tendons have become tight.
Diagnosis
Sever condition is diagnosed by detecting the characteristic symptoms and signs above in the older children, particularly boys between 8 and 15 years of age. Sometimes X-ray testing can be helpful as it can occasionally demonstrate irregularity of the calcaneus bone at the point where the Achilles tendon attaches.
Non Surgical Treatment
Please realize that the disorder may last only a couple of weeks to as long as 1-2 years. The treatment plan as prescribed by your doctor MUST be adhered to closely, and the activity level of the child must be controlled during the early stages of treatment. All jumping and running sports, such as basketball, trampoline, volleyball, tennis, soccer, etc., must be eliminated as part of the initial treatment. Once the child has improved and the pain has subsided, a rigid stretching program must then be implemented.
Recovery
One of the most important things to know about Sever's disease is that, with proper care, the condition usually goes away within 2 weeks to 2 months and does not cause any problems later in life. The sooner Sever's disease is addressed, the quicker recovery is. Most kids can return to physical activity without any trouble once the pain and other symptoms go away.
One of the more common limitations to children enjoying their youthful energy is Sever?s Disease. Sever?s Disease is a pathology that affects the heels of children in their high growth years (usually around 9-15), and it can be quite painful. It usually occurs due to repetitive trauma or impact at the heel. This means that if your child spends a lot of time running around (in sports, or just with friends) the continuous impact of his or her heel to the ground can cause this! Usually, most children will complain of heel pain specifically when they are active; these are considered milder cases. In more severe cases the pain may never cease, whether the child is active or not.
Causes
Sever?s disease is caused by repetitive tension and/or pressure on the growth center of the heel. Running and jumping place a large amount of pressure on the heels and can cause pain. Children with Sever?s may limp or have an altered gait due to the pain. Risk factors for Sever's include tight calf muscles, weak ankle muscles, and alignment abnormalities at the foot and ankle. Sever?s can also result from wearing shoes without sufficient heel padding or arch support.
Symptoms
In Sever?s disease, heel pain can be in one or both heels. It usually starts after a child begins a new sports season or a new sport. Your child may walk with a limp. The pain may increase when he or she stands on tiptoe. Your child?s heel may hurt if you squeeze both sides toward the very back. This is called the squeeze test. Your provider may also find that your child?s heel tendons have become tight.
Diagnosis
Sever condition is diagnosed by detecting the characteristic symptoms and signs above in the older children, particularly boys between 8 and 15 years of age. Sometimes X-ray testing can be helpful as it can occasionally demonstrate irregularity of the calcaneus bone at the point where the Achilles tendon attaches.
Non Surgical Treatment
Please realize that the disorder may last only a couple of weeks to as long as 1-2 years. The treatment plan as prescribed by your doctor MUST be adhered to closely, and the activity level of the child must be controlled during the early stages of treatment. All jumping and running sports, such as basketball, trampoline, volleyball, tennis, soccer, etc., must be eliminated as part of the initial treatment. Once the child has improved and the pain has subsided, a rigid stretching program must then be implemented.
Recovery
One of the most important things to know about Sever's disease is that, with proper care, the condition usually goes away within 2 weeks to 2 months and does not cause any problems later in life. The sooner Sever's disease is addressed, the quicker recovery is. Most kids can return to physical activity without any trouble once the pain and other symptoms go away.
