Hints & Tips
Is FOOT PAIN hindering your New Year's Fitness Resolution?
January 8 2021
Most people try to kick off the New Year with a healthy, positive goal in mind. Whether that be regularly walking Castle....
Calcaneal apophysitis is the most common cause of heel pain in the growing child and is due to overuse and repetitive micro-trauma of the growth plate within the calcaneus (heel bone). Another name for this children's heel pain condition is Severs disease, but as scary as the name may sound, it is not a disease, but an overuse condition. Calcaneal apophysitis is most common between the ages 8 to 14 and is more common in boys than girls.
Although every child goes through the stage of having an open growth plate in their heel, not every child will develop pain. (A growth plate is a layer of cartilage usually found at the end of a bone, allowing the bone to grow in length. It is weaker and more vulnerable to injury than the rest of the bone. When the child has finished growing the growth plate disappears and the bone becomes one complete bone).
Children more likely to develop growth plate heel pain will have:
If the symptoms are not improving then the underlying biomechanics need to be addressed. This may include:
Calcaneal apophysitis is a self-limiting condition – meaning it will go away completely when the two parts of bony growth join together. There are no known long term complications associated with children's heel pain.
However, calcaneal apophysitis can be very painful and limit the child’s sporting ability while they are waiting for it to go away, in some instances making them feel like ‘throwing in the towel’. Symptoms commonly last for 1 – 6 months (varies greatly) and may recur on many occasions until the growth plate fuses.
Telling a child to rest from activity and that their pain will eventually go away on it's own is poor advice. Ask yourself, why would you let your child go through pain for weeks, months and in some instances years, when the pain can be easily managed or resolved? Between the ages of 7-14, it is most important for children to be participating in sport to develop motor co-ordination, balance, fitness and social skills.
Don’t let your child suffer heel pain any longer – give Foundation Podiatry Townsville a call today!
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