My son has been dealing with heel pain, inability to play soccer or do gymnastics on and off, mostly off for the last year. For the past 2 1/2 months he cannot jog or run at all without terrible pain. He has been going to PT on a regular basis,has many stretches and exercises he does daily, ices his foot, and has rested . We've had him going to a chiropractor lately who has recommended gait and running changes and more stretches , and he wears superfeet in his gym shoes and shoes around the house. He also started taking the supplement Oscon 1 1/2 months ago but no improvement. This is extremely frustrating for him and us.
Thank you for any ideas or suggestions you may have.
Thank you for the responses ! We have seen our PCP and the PCP and PT both think it is Sever's. The chiropractor primarily discusses and addresses the "tight calf muscles". He does have an appointment this week with a recommended orthopedic surgeon.
It's amazing to me the different levels a child can have with sever's-from playing sports with some heel pain to needed to be casted because their is extreme pain and inflammation issues.
Have you taken him to an orthopedist to see if he has plantar faciitis? It's heel pain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fasciitis
If you haven't I would. Have xrays done to see if there is something wrong with the bones of his foot. I bet it's extremely frustrating!!! Please take him to an orthopedist and have his foot xrayed!
good luck!
I am not a doctor. I can tell you my story and hopefully it can help you and.your son.
I was very athletic. I played select soccer and either soccer, volleyball, or basketball at all times. If I had been on only one team at a time maybe things would have been different but I doubt it. I played outside on my few days off of team sports. We played a lot of tackle soccer for fun and that was harder on me than some practices.
I had a few injuries that made me take a break from sports for a couple months at a time but I never did anything permanent. (or so I thought)
I had an annoying foot pain on the side but below the ball of my foot. I went to the doctor because it wouldn't go away. I was 14yo. I needed to see an orthopedic doctor and needed surgery. I got some advise from my doctor that I didnt listen to and to this day I regret it very much. My doctor knew me well. He told me that I needed to take it easy on my body. I mistreated it for years so it was going to start failing me. He said that my body was about 40yo and I needed to treat it as such. I, being 14yo, thought it was funny. That seemed sooo old. No way was I going to have problems. The doctor said that I needed to swim more and stop the constant pounding of my joints.
I didn't take his advise. I did go to the orthopedic doctor and he said I needed surgery for bunions. I didn't know what that was but found out soon enough that it was typically an old woman surgery. I was 14yo.
I'm in my mid thirties now. I have pain everyday. I've had multiple back surgeries. I have to take Meds everyday. I played soccer on a Thursday night. Turned down another full ride to college to play soccer and by Saturday was hurt so bad I couldn't even stand in one place. I couldn't work. I had to walk with a walker and then a cane for years. I was 22yo. I want my body back.
Make sure the chiropractor knows how and is good at adjusting the ankle, foot, knee and pubic bone, as they are all connected. Maybe try a chiropractor who does a lot of extremity adjusting.
Ours is awesome with extremities, so if it does't clear up, maybe hop on a flight with Frontier and get out here! One flight will probably cost less than seeing everyone else....AND he'll be better.
Poor kid! In addition to the medical treatments he is receiving, I would suggest getting a good massage by a massage therapist who is NCTMB or NCTM certified, they are the best trained. Perhaps your chiropractor can recommend someone. Make sure that the massage therapist understands that the main problem is in his calves and feet, and that she or he uses care not to use too much pressure on the worst areas, too much pressure can be counterproductive. Myofacial release would be a good therapy for the massage therapist to incorporate; your chiropractor may already be using that therapy. I am just thinking about how I would approach the issue as a massage therapist myself! Good luck, I hope your son feels better soon!
You didn't mention that he has actually seen a doctor about his heel pain. He goes to PT on a regular basis (for what? for the heel or something else based on what kind of diagnosis?) What did the chiropractor diagnose?
I agree with Cheryl that it sounds like it could be plantar fasciitis, but I am surprised that a doctor wouldn't have given you a diagnosis of that if that is what it is. Unless he hasn't actually seen a doctor (?).
I had it, and for some people it can be an ongoing very difficult problem to treat. In my case, I did some stretching exercises appropriate to the condition, and rolled the bottom of my foot/heel on a frozen soda can a few times a day and it went away after a few weeks. No more problems for me. Others aren't always so lucky.
ETA after your SWH:
Ok, forget the plantar facisitis, lol.
Obviously, if he has been diagnosed with sever's then you will need to have him follow the recommendations for that condition. May not be what he wants to hear, but from what I read in a super quick search online, he basically needs to stay off of it for some time. It is a growth issue. Normal growth, but in slightly abnormal order. A sort of growing pain issue, that time is the best medicine for.
http://www.orthogate.org/patient-education/child-orthoped...
I agree with the posters about plantar fasciitis or heel spurs. I have had both, it has been taken care of with good calf stretching and orthodics. When I was younger I first wore the soft ones from stores but as it got worse I need Spanko's with are the hard inserts and then actual orthodics done by a podiatrist. My podiatrist dx me with an X-ray, you could actually see on the xray the bone spur and even where my tendons in my arch were falling.
Forget the Chiropractor and get him to an orthopedist ASAP or someone who is experienced in sports medicine. He has gone too long with type of symptoms that could indicate a serious problem that may require surgery.
He could also wind up with permanent damage and a very short career as a young athelete.. Don't mess around, go to a specialist.
My son has Sever's. It is really painful but does get better. There are some tennis shoes he cannot wear. He plays baseball and loves pickup games of basketball. His went away for quite a while and is back. I think it is due to the basketball - lots of bouncing up & down. What helped him before is stretches, icing his heel, motrin, rest, and Dr. Scholl's heel cups (put in his shoes / cleats). It's something alot of boys this age go through especially if they are athletic. Hope he feels better soon !
have you had it xrayed??
It sounds like it could be Plantar Faciitis. I've had this from being active in sports and it can be painful. This type of injury usually hurts the most first thing in the morning and less after the arch of the foot has stretched out a bit. Things that can help are wearing insoles such as superfeet (like you said), stretching the arch and calves, wearing a night splint (Strausberg Sock), rolling foot around on a golf ball (massage).
You need to first get a diagnosis, I would forget the chiropractor and recommended gait/running changes for now. Go see a GOOD podiatrist (not one who automatically prescribes expensive orthotics) or an Orthopedic Surgeon.
