Severs disease

What is Severs disease?

Severs disease causes ankle pain usually felt after exercise.  It is most common in sporty boys as they grow.  It can take people a while to take action because at other times it is quite comfy.   Also, it only hurts while the child is growing.

Why does it hurt?

Bones do not grow along their full length but instead, have growth plates which are softer than the surrounding bone.  When a child is growing it becomes even softer.  When the Achilles tendon pulls because it is short or the calf muscle pulls on activity this will pull on the growth and cause pain.

Why is Severs disease called that?

I think Severs might be the worst named condition in all of medicine.  It sounds like the Achilles tendon is going to sever itself from the ankle, yuck!  It is actually named after the guy who discovered it.

The good news

When a child stops growing the pain of Severs will almost certainly resolve.  You can see it on an x-ray that as a child matures growth plates become bone and when this happens it is then tough enough to tolerate the forces the muscle puts upon it.  This means pain disappears.

The bad news

Teenagers find Severs very frustrating.  Even with treatment they may have to reduce their sporting activities, but without physio Severs may stop their sport altogether while they are growing.  To some extent the unpredictable nature of the problem, with growth spurts, frustrates the kid as on Tuesday they could run freely at training but on Saturday they can’t run at all during the game.

At Pure Physio Albany we will look at all the structures that are pulling on the growth plate and reduce this.  We will teach strategies to cope with the pain.  Possibly most importantly, we will take the pressure off of parents by explaining to the child why they have to look after their painful ankles.

There are reasons to be optimistic.  With appropriate treatment even really intense pain can be reduced quite quickly.  If you need treatment call 09 4481277 (on a mobile push the blue phone sign) or click here to book online