What is Sever's disease? Causes, symptoms and treatment

Sever's injury is a fairly common injury that appears in the heel of children. It is a painful disease caused by swelling of the growth plate of the heel. Injury to this plate is common when children begin a new sporting activity. In this post we talk about the symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment of Sever's disease. Keep reading!

What is Sever's disease?

Sever's disease, also known by specialists as calcaneal apophysitis It was first described in 1907 by Haglund as a chronic heel pain in children. The growth plate of the heel is where most bone growth occurs, making it the weakest part and most at risk for injury.

Thus, it is a disease that appears at ages between 8 and 12 years of age. Although it is not ruled out that it can appear at any age when some type of activity that causes pain to the heels is practiced.

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An incidence of between 2-16% of musculoskeletal injuries affecting children has been described, and may be a unilateral or bilateral condition.

Symptoms of Sever's disease

Sever's disease causes pain and tenderness in one or both heels. Other common symptoms of this disease may be inflammation and redness in the heel, stiffness of the foot when standing, walking on tiptoe, and pain when pressing on the heel.

Pain symptoms appear in the heel after finishing sports and disappear after a period of rest after the activity.

What causes Sever's disease?

Increased sports activity can cause overuse of the heel when practicing activities such as running, jumping, playing soccer or playing basketball. During sports, the muscles and tendons are pulled, which injures the growth cartilage.

Other conditions that facilitate the appearance of Sever's disease are wearing footwear that is not in optimal condition and is worn out, running on hard surfaces such as asphalt or having flat feet, cavus feet or pronated feet.

Obesity in children has also been observed as a factor that influences the appearance of apophysitis. of the calcaneus. In addition, other triggering factors for this disease may be shortening of the triceps surae, weak ankle dorsiflexion, the presence of bowed knees or genu varus, and dysmetria of the lower extremities.

Diagnosis and treatment of Sever's disease

For the diagnosis and treatment of iliotibial band syndrome, it will be the specialist who can offer an individualized diagnosis and appropriate treatment for the pathology.

How is calcaneal apophysitis diagnosed?

Generally, the Sever's disease It is diagnosed by ruling out other ailments, injuries and diseases that are carried out by x-ray. Therefore, a prior physical examination of the child's heels is necessary.

In addition, data must be collected on the onset of pain and moments in which the pain manifests, whether during activity or at rest, and whether any triggering traumatic process has occurred.

In some cases, complementary tests such as ultrasound, MRI or CT scan and/or blood tests are necessary.

Treatment of Sever's disease

Sever's disease or calcaneal apophysitis can be prevented if good foot flexibility is maintained. In this way, performing stretching exercises will help reduce the risk of suffering from this disease during the period of accelerated growth. Performing exercises to stretch the hamstring muscles and tendons at the back of the leg can help.

On the other hand, to prevent the injury from becoming chronic, it is advisable reduce or even stop all activities that cause pain in the heels. Applying ice to the area can be one of the solutions that can be done at home to relieve the pain caused by this condition.

So that there is a greater probability that Sever's disease does not reappear, it is recommended to avoid overexertion in sports and stretching after finishing sports activity.

In general terms, between 2 and 8 weeks is the time it takes to treat calcaneal apophysitis when adequate rest is given, allowing you to return to sports activities that you have been doing up to that point.

At Clínica Elgeadi we consider that preventive treatment of foot conditions is very important, because if they are not treated, they can trigger diseases that, over time, become chronic. Asks appointment with our team of traumatologists in Madrid if you have a trauma injury that prevents you from continuing your normal life.