Sever’s Disease

Does your child complain of painful heels and limp off the ground after playing sport?

They are probably experiencing one the most common growth related conditions that affects young, active children, usually boys more than girls. Given the name Sever’s disease, this condition is not a disease at all!

Essentially, Sever’s disease is when a tight Achilles tendon pulls at the growth plate in your child’s heel bone. This results in local inflammation and pain, which is aggravated with activity. This condition usually coincides with a period of growth, which makes the muscles tighter. Treatment for this once upon a time was stopping your child from playing sport. Seeing as this condition occurs in very active children who love to play sport, this would be the worst possible thing to tell your child!

Sever’s disease is treated very successfully with the correct management. Given the appropriate stretches, footwear advice and the use of orthotics to help correct any foot positional problems will allow your child to return to his or her desired level of sporting activity very quickly.

For more detailed information, see our Acrobat pdf Information sheets on Children's feet and Sever’s disease.

Please remember that the information in these documents should not be used as a substitute for podiatric or medical attention.

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