Is Your Child Limping After Sport? 

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Understanding Sever’s Disease 

Watching your active child limp off the soccer pitch or netball court is worrying for any parent. If your child is complaining of heel pain between the ages of 8 and 14, there is a high chance it isn’t an injury from a tackle or a fall. 

It’s likely a condition with a scary name but a simple cause: Sever’s Disease.

What is Sever’s Disease? 

Medically known as calcaneal apophysitis, Sever’s is the most common cause of heel pain in growing children. 

During the rapid growth spurts of puberty, your child’s heel bone often grows faster than the muscles and tendons around it. This pulls the Achilles tendon tight like a rubber band, creating tension where it attaches to the back of the heel (the growth plate). 

When you add the impact of running and jumping to that tightness, the growth plate becomes irritated and inflamed. 

Signs Your Child Might Have Sever’s 

Sever’s usually hits active kids who play high-impact sports like football, basketball, netball, or gymnastics. You might notice: 

  • Pain during or after sport: They might be fine while playing but sore immediately after.
  • The “morning hobble”: Stiffness in the heel when they first get out of bed.
  • Limping: Specifically, walking on their toes to avoid putting their heel on the ground.
  • Squeezing pain: It hurts if you squeeze the sides of their heel bone. 

Physio or Podiatry: Who Should You See? 

This is the most common question we get. The answer is that both professions play a crucial role in treating heel pain. At OnePointHealth, we often use a team-based approach so you don’t have to choose. 

How a Podiatrist helps: 

A podiatrist looks at how the foot hits the ground. They can provide: 

  • Footwear advice: Ensuring boots or runners aren’t making the problem worse.
  • Orthotics or Heel Lifts: innersoles that raise the heel slightly, instantly taking the tension off the Achilles tendon and reducing pain.

How a Physiotherapist helps: 

A physio looks at the rest of the body. They focus on: 

  • Load Management: Helping you plan how much sport is “safe” vs. “too much.”
  • Strength & Flexibility: Loosening the tight calf muscles and strengthening the rest of the leg to handle running loads. 

Do They Need to Stop Sport Completely? 

Usually, no. 

Old-school advice was to “rest until it stops hurting,” but that can take months and makes kids miserable. Our goal is to keep them active. We might modify their training, perhaps less sprinting and more skills work while we treat the inflammation. 

The Bottom Line 

Sever’s disease is “self-limiting,” meaning it will eventually go away on its own when the growth plate fuses (usually by age 15). However, leaving it untreated can mean months of unnecessary pain and missed games. If your child is limping, avoiding sport, or complaining of pain, you don’t have to wait it out. Book an assessment with our team today. Let’s get them back in the game, pain-free.