Diagnosing a child’s heel pain is not always easy to do on your own, because it could be due to one of several conditions. Your son or daughter could have a bruise, a stress fracture, an inflamed bursa, a cyst, tendon problems, or even juvenile arthritis.
However, the most common reason for heel pain in adolescents is calcaneal apophysitis—a problem with the growth plate in the heel (also called Sever’s disease after the doctor who first characterized the problem in 1912.)
Kids grow at varying rates, and certain tissues in their bodies can grow faster than others. When the heel bone develops more quickly than the Achilles tendon and calf muscles connected to it, the constant tension on the heel’s growth plate can cause it to become irritated, inflamed, and painful. This problem will disappear once all the tissues reach full growth, but in the meantime there are several things you can do to treat the pain and help your child function better.
Yuko Miyazaki, DPM has the knowledge, experience and testing equipment needed to properly diagnose Sever’s disease or other childhood foot ailments. Call the office in Berkeley, CA at (510) 647-3744 for an appointment and advice on how to relieve your child’s pain.