Ankle & Foot
Sever's Disease
Also called: Kids' heel pain (calcaneal apophysitis)
Irritation of the heel's growth plate in active kids roughly 8–14 — the heel-bone cousin of Osgood-Schlatter, flaring during growth spurts and sports seasons. Benign and self-limited, with symptoms fully manageable so kids keep playing.
Common signs
- Heel pain during/after running and jumping sports
- Squeezing the sides of the heel reproduces it
- Worse in cleats and flat shoes; often both heels
- Tight calves alongside a growth spurt
Seek help now if
- Night pain, rest pain, fever, or a limp without activity link (evaluate further)
- Redness/heat and swelling of the heel
- Pain not improving with genuine load management
Any of these: call 911 or get to an emergency room first. Everything else can wait.
What to do first
- Reassure the athlete and family — this is growth-plate irritation, not damage in the adult sense
- Dose the load: trim the highest-impact sessions to keep next-day pain mild
- Heel cushions/cups in sport shoes and daily calf flexibility work start immediately
If it's become chronic
- Manage in cycles around growth spurts and seasons until the growth plate closes (it always ends)
- Keep calves long and strong through the growth years
- Persistent atypical pain gets re-examined, not assumed
Natural healing options we use
- Calf mobility and progressive strengthening
- Chiropractic and manual care for foot-ankle mechanics
- Heel-cup strategy and footwear guidance
- Growth-supporting nutrition: calories, calcium, vitamin D
About imaging
Clinical; X-rays for atypical or persistent presentations.
Daily self-care
- Heel cups in every sport shoe
- Calf stretches daily, especially growth-spurt months
- Honest pain reporting to adjust the week's load
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Please read: this page is education, not a diagnosis. A proper examination is how a condition gets confirmed and a plan gets built. See our medical disclaimer.