Sever's Disease A Guide to the Causes, Symptoms, & Treatment
                     1
Sever’s Disease
A Guide to the Causes, Symptoms, & 
How to determine if your chTilrde’s aheteml peain its caused by Sever’s Disease
www. pediatricfootankle.com
What is Sever’s Disease? 2
Sever’s disease is an 
inflammation of the growth plate 
in the heel. 
It is the most common cause of 
heel pain in children and results 
from a dramatic growth spurt 
when the heel bone grows at a 
faster rate than the muscles and 
tendons surrounding it.
www. pediatricfootankle.com
Causes of Sever’s Disease 3
Sever's disease is caused 
by repetitive stress to the 
heel during a growth spurt 
when the child's heel bone 
is growing faster than the 
muscles, tendons, and 
ligaments in their leg. 
Sever's is most common in 
active children who 
participate in sports, 
especially ones with 
running or jumping. 
www. pediatricfootankle.com
Increased Risk of Sever’s Disease 4
The following conditions may increase your child’s chances of 
developing Sever’s disease.
1 A pronated foot, or a foot that rolls at the ankle when walking. This may cause a twisting 
and tightness of the Achilles tendon, which increases the pull on the heel’s growth plate.
2 High or flat arches, which can affect the heel’s angle within the foot.
3 Being overweight or suffering from obesity, which may put additional pressure on the 
growth plate.
4 Short leg syndrome. This is when one leg is shorter than the other one. Thus forcing the 
shorter leg to bend down in order to reach the ground.
www. pediatricfootankle.com
Symptoms of Sever’s Disease 5
Tenderness or pain in either one or 
both heels is the most obvious sign of 
Sever’s disease. 
This usually occurs in the back. 
However, it is possible for the pain to 
also go down the sides and the 
bottom of the heel, right around the 
arch of the foot.
www. pediatricfootankle.com
Other Symptoms May Include 6
Difficulty with walking
Discomfort if the heel is squeezed on both sides
Redness or swelling of the heel
When walking, the feet are stiff or discomforted
Walking unusually, to avoid putting pressure on the 
heel by walking on one’s tiptoes or with a limp.
www. pediatricfootankle.com
Sever’s Disease Treatment 7
• The primary concern of treating this 
disease is to relieve the pain. Since 
activity tends to make the symptoms 
worse, the main treatment is to rest. 
This will relieve the pressure on the 
heel bone and decrease the swelling 
while reducing pain.
• The doctor will usually direct the child 
to cut back on all activities and sports 
until the swelling goes down and the 
pain is gone
www. pediatricfootankle.com
Other Recommendations for Treating 8
Sever’s
Do leg and foot exercises that focus on strengthening and stretching leg tendons and 
muscles.
Use a compression stocking – to decrease swelling and pain.
Elevate the leg and apply ice (not directly to the skin). Do this for twenty minutes up to 
three times a day. It should be done even on days when the pain is not bad. This will 
help reduce the swelling.
Ingest over-the-counter medications that focus on reducing swelling and pain. These 
include acetaminophen like Tylenol or ibuprofen like Advil and Motrin, not aspirin.
Overweight or Obese Children – the odds are good that the doctor will recommend a 
weight loss regimen in order to decrease the pressure on the heel.
If your child has a severe case of Sever’s disease, the doctor may want him or her to 
wear a cast between 2 to 12 weeks. This will immobilize the foot so it has a better 
chance of healing.
www. pediatricfootankle.com
Conclusion 9
If a child is suffering If you would like to Pediatric Foot & Ankle 
from pediatric heel schedule an appointment, provides pediatric 
pain that affects both the podiatry services to 
bottom and back of the or learn more about patients in Phoenix, 
heel, then they may have Sever’s Disease, call Arizona. The team treats 
a condition called (480) 534-7220 or visit a wide array of children's 
Sever’s Disease.  PediatricFootAnkle.co foot ailments, including 
m. conditions they're prone 
to due to rapid growth, 
such as Sever's disease 
and pediatric heel pain. 
www. pediatricfootankle.com