Sever's disease or calcaneal apophysitis is the most common cause of heel pain in the growing athlete and is due to overuse and repetitive microtrauma of growth plates of the calcaneus in the heel. It occurs in children ages 7 to 15, with the majority of patients presenting between 10 and 14 years of age. It is in relation to Osgood-Schlatter disease

Osgood-Schlatter disease

Osgood–Schlatter disease and or syndrome is an irritation of the patellar tendon at the tibial tuberosity....

 which affects the knee rather than the heel/ankle.

Symptoms

• Complaints of pain or tenderness in the heel
  Heel
  In human anatomy, the heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.- Human anatomy :...
  
   (or heels)
• Discomfort upon awaking, or when heel is squeezed
• Limping
• More severe pain after walking or exercise, and increased difficulty walking
• Pain during running or playing a sport

Cause

Sever’s disease is directly related to overuse of the bone

Bone

Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...

 and tendons in the heel. This can come from playing sports or anything that involves a lot of heel movement. It can be associated with starting a new sport, or the start of a new season. Too much weight bearing

Weight bearing

In orthopedics, weight-bearing is the amount of weight a patient puts on the leg on which surgery has been performed. In general, it is described as a percentage of the body weight, because each leg of a healthy person carries the full body weight when walking, in an alternating fashion.After...

 on the heel can also cause it, as can excessive traction since the bones and tendons are still developing. It occurs more commonly in children who over-pronate, and involves both heels in more than half of patients.

Treatment

Treatment may consist of one or more of the following:

• Elevating the heel
• Stretching hamstring and calf muscles 2-3 times daily
• Using R.I.C.E.
  RICE (medicine)
  RICE is a treatment method for soft tissue injury which is an acronym for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. When used appropriately, recovery duration is usually shortened and discomfort minimized....
  
   (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation)
• Foot orthotics
• Medication
• Physical Therapy

Recovery

Sever’s disease is self-recovering, meaning that it will go away on its own when the foot is used less or when the bone is through growing. The condition is not expected to create any long-term disability, and expected to subside in 2–8 weeks.
The disease may also take several years to stop, because it is often triggered by growing too fast.
It is more common in boys, although occurs in girls as well. The average age of symptom onset is 9-11.

Prevention

• Maintain good flexibility through stretching exercises
• Avoid excessive running on hard surfaces
• Use quality, well-fitting shoes with firm support and a shock-absorbent sole

External links

• Bibliography: http://www.epodiatry.com/heel-pain-children.htm
• http://familydoctor.org/158.xml
• http://www.footphysicians.com/Content.aspx?id=1483