Signs Your Child Might Have Sever’s Disease
When you are a parent, protecting your child is your job. You want to keep your son or daughter from as much harm as possible, while still allowing your child to learn to overcome obstacles and develop responsibility. Unfortunately, though, you can’t protect your child from everything. With injuries like Sever’s disease, you simply have to be aware of the problem and its signs and symptoms so you can get your child the care he or she needs when it develops.
Sever’s disease isn’t some scary illness. It’s actually a really common injury that causes heel pain in active, growing children. Stress on the back of the foot creates inflammation in the heel bone’s growth plate, which makes using that foot uncomfortable. Because activity triggers the pain, this isn’t something your child can just “walk off” and feel better. It does need active treatment.
The good news is that catching it early makes it easier to eliminate, so knowing the symptoms of Sever’s disease can be very helpful. If your son or daughter is in the right age group—generally from about ages 8-12—here are a few signs your child might have this particular type of heel pain:
Your active child limps – When running, jumping, or playing outside, your active child limps or favors one foot.
Your child doesn’t want to participate – Your normally active child doesn’t want to participate in his or her favorite sports or games. He or she may complain about their feet or shoes, too.
Walking or being active makes it worse – Walking or otherwise using the affected foot tends to make discomfort worse, while resting helps the pain.
Squeezing the heel hurts – Your child’s heel feels tender to the touch, particularly when the sides of it are squeezed or pinched.
Sever’s disease is a common injury among growing, athletic kids, but it doesn’t have to sideline your child until he or she stops growing. You can take quick steps to alleviate the pain and eliminate the problem now. If you’re at all suspicious your child has heel pain, contact our team at Gulf South Foot & Ankle, LLC for more information or an appointment today. You can reach us online, or by calling our Metairie, LA, office at (303) 805-5156.