What is Severs?
Severs is a common condition causing heel pain often seen in children aged between 8-15 but can occur in younger children too. It is especially common in children who participate in frequent high impact physical activity and can be worse during periods of growth. It is the most common cause of heel pain in this age group.
What causes Severs?
The calf muscles at the back of your leg, attach via a tendon into your heel bone (calcaneus) around the area of the growth plate. Repeated activity such as running and jumping can cause repeated stress and strain to the growth plate in the bone causing it to become inflamed and painful. The following factors can increase your risk of developing Severs:
- Frequent physical activities that include running, jumping or high impact, such as football, basketball
and athletics. - Tight muscles in your calf
- Weak muscles in the front of your shin
- Poor footwear especially while playing sport
- High BMI / being overweight
Severs can be seen alongside other biomechanical foot postures such as pes planus (flat feet) pes cavus (high arches) or genu varum (bowed legs)