Allison's injury

A few weeks ago after soccer practice Allison complained that her left heel was hurting.  We kept her home that Friday from her competitive team practice and had her stay off her feet.  Although during her soccer game Saturday it was evident she was in real pain and there was something wrong with her foot.  I took her to the pediatricians office and he diagnosed her with Sever's Disease.

About Sever's Disease

Sever's disease, also called calcaneal apophysitis, is a painful bone disorder that results from inflammation (swelling) of the growth plate in the heel. A growth plate, also called an epiphyseal plate, is an area at the end of a developing bone where cartilage cells change over time into bone cells. As this occurs, the growth plates expand and unite, which is how bones grow.  Sever's disease is a common cause of heel pain in growing kids, especially those who are physically active. It usually occurs during the growth spurt of adolescence, the approximately 2-year period in early puberty when kids grow most rapidly. This growth spurt can begin any time between the ages of 8 and 13 for girls and 10 and 15 for boys.



The pediatrician noticed her right foot was soar also.  He suggested a anti inflammatory for a week to get the swelling down and suggested she stay off her foot for two weeks.  The doctor also set Allison  up with a podiatrist to get a foot arch for her shoes.  He showed us several stretches to help her foot and told Allison to not walk around barefoot because it offers no support.  She also had an x-ray to rule anything else out.  Allison is definitely bummed about not having full use of her foot, and is having to learn to stay off of it.  She has been reading more books, spending more time in her room building legos, or playing with her dolls, drawling and of course jamming to music.  We are hopeful her heel will heal enough for her to play this weekend in a soccer tournament we signed up for months ago.  She's been off her feet nearly three weeks.  Time will tell how serious this will be for her.