All-Star Heel Pain

My daughter had Sever's Disease when she was little. Once her foot grew to her adult size the pain never returned. She put a padded plastic cups in her heals and it really helped. The pain would come and go with her activity level. Stretching helped too. It was something she just lived with. It came and went as her feet grew. Once the ligaments and muscles stretch to accommodate the bone growth the pain will subside. Check her shoe size, her feet might have grown recently.

my heel was hurting a couple of weeks ago but oddly only when doing running tumbling after practice and in the mornings it sorta just went away but it did hurt really bad to the point where i couldnt do a ro bhs without it hurting

It sounds like Severs Disease, a horrible name for something that is really more of a condition. Cheerleaders at every level can suffer with it because of the repetitive pounding of the heel with tumbling.
My cp has had it for about four years and it always flares up during growth spurts. We tried the Bioskin ankle braces and the Tully's heel cups which gave her some relief. It would eventually subside after a few very long weeks to months. The pain is just awful and icing right after practice is critical.
Her last flare up a year ago was so bad I sought more info about Severs on the internet and found a product called Oscon. http://www.kidsheelpain.com/index.php I read all the info and reviews and decided to give it a try. The results were nothing short of amazing. Within a few days the pain was almost completely gone and after one week the pain was no more. Good luck to you and your cp, I know how frustrating it is.

i'd say severs too. i had that when i was 10, so that's why i asked how old she was. i'd take her to get it checked. generally, there isn't much that can be done for severs other than rest and let your body, literally, grow out of it.

she does have a dr appt, but could not get in until the 27th...i was just putting out feelers in the meantime. Would severs disease just affect ONE side? seems like it would be both.

as for plantar faciitis, i will say that on the offending foot, the muscle in her foot arch is VERY tight compared to the foot with no heel pain. so i guess that's a possibility, but would be strange for an small 8 year old.

Each foot grows at a different rate the slower it grows the less the pain. One day it might hurt and the next day be fine or the pain can last for weeks. Spend time stretching her feet and massaging her heel before the appointment. Also stretch her before practice. If it is severs there isn't a lot they can do. The stretching really helped her get through it.

It sounds like plantar fascitis. I suffer from that. The key symptom is when u wakeup and try to walk on it. It's very painfull then works it self out. I also have had the cortisone shots. It's an inflammation and the ligaments in the heel and arch of the foot pulling. I have to use arch supports, flat shoes or walking barefoot exacerbate it. Of course seek treatment but for now someything like motrin(anti-inflammatory) may help. On another note, My daughter was 7 when she started complaining of heel pain from tumbling. I took her in to the Dr. and she came out in a cast. Blew my mind, they diagnosed her with a growth plate injury. After her cast was removed I bought her Tully cups for her cheer shoes. She still wears them 2 years later.

@SheCheers - i had it in both, but not at the same time. so like @shadow said, since feet grow at different rates, and one leg can be stronger than the other, it wouldn't have to be in both.

Severs!!!!. My cp got it first when she was 7, it flared up each time she went through a growth spurt. You have to ice it as much as possible, and stretch the achilles. She wore heel cups for about a year and a half that helped. One thing that also helped, which I was skeptical about, but it did as it advertised was something called Oscon, available online. We constantly keep a supply of this and although its very rare now that shes 11 and 1/2, whenever she complains of her heel/heels hurting, usually after an intense tumble session, she takes two Oscon each day and in a few days pain is completely gone. We have been to so many orthopedic docs after orthopedic, and all wanna put her on crutches and sit her out for 6-8 weeks. Not possible in this sport. She found a way with ice, stretching, foot taping (KT Tape is awesome) and Oscon to help ease the discomfort and continue to cheer and tumble. Sorry to hear about your cp. But know it does go away completely when their growth plates fuse at around age 12. And my cps issues are pretty much gone now! Good Luck to you both!

blingmeup said:

But know it does go away completely when their growth plates fuse at around age 12. And my cps issues are pretty much gone now! Good Luck to you both!

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However, be very careful. I was a little older, and was training level 7 gymnastics, so putting a fair bit more pressure and pounding on my joints, but my doctor told me that I was to the point of, if i continued at the rate I was, breaking my growth plates and stunting my growth.

thanks everyone! @blingmeup our Dr does Airrosti, so i'm sure he'll do the KT tape. I'll look into the Oscon! hoping that helps. it's just hard to wait almost two weeks. i'm very thankful to everyone sharing their experiences because I'm NOT a worrier by nature when it comes to health issues, and sometimes when you google, it makes it worrisome rather than better...all these things seem pretty straight forward and treatable

i told her that she will be stretching before she gets out of bed every morning. and that i'd rub her feet/heels at night.

Thanks y'all. It's amazing that you're talking about this. My cp just started complaining about one of her heels hurting after tumbling. She's 8 and on a level 2. She's going to the Dr. this morning for a sore throat, so I think I'll ask about the heel while I'm there.

Yes...severs can effect just one side. My CP has severs. It took about 6 months to finally get a diagnosis. Her heel/ankle would hurt periodically. One orthopedic actually casted her thinking that if it hurts that bad then cast it. I finally found a doctor who knew what Severs was (and believed in it)...so be aware, not all orthopedics will diagnose it. Make sure she is seen by a sports orthopedic. Does your gym have an ortho who they work with? We have a sports doc/chiro that comes into our gym and works on the girls...manipulating their ankles/foot for girls with Severs, and the knee for Oshgood Schlatters (SP)?

It helps my CP if she puts the toes on the wall and pushes down to stretch her achilles and heel/arch area. She does this every day before practicing, even if it is not hurting. Another thing that helps is to soak her foot in an ice bath after practice for 5-10 minutes.

Good news is that if it is Severs it will go away for a while... Bad news is that until she stops growing it will continue to effect her at times.

Hope you get an answer soon.

We saw a pediatric sports medicine doctor. Her regular pediatrician recommended him. A sports doctor understands they won't quit their sport nor do they tell you too. They teach your kid how to stay in the sport and manage their injury/pain. If there is one in your area I would recommend going to one.

My girl has severs also. She has had it on and off since age 8. We used heel lifts in her shoes and still do. It worked wonders. Ice and Motrin to get her through the 1-2 weeks of pain, along with a lot of "suck it up". She learned to tumble on the pain, and she learned that the more she tumbled, the better it felt. She hasn't had it since June. Maybe she's done growing (please please).