A parent's guide · 8–14 years · Usually 6–8 weeks with structured load management
Sever's Disease
Also called Sever's disease, calcaneal apophysitis, heel pain in children, child heel pain growth plate.
Heel pain in active children caused by inflammation of the growth plate at the back of the heel.
Recover
What is happening to your child
The back of your child's heel still has a growth plate in it, a soft area of developing bone. During a growth spurt the heel bone lengthens faster than the calf muscle and Achilles tendon can keep up, so every run and jump tugs on that area. It becomes sore and irritated, not broken or damaged. The word "disease" makes it sound far more serious than it is.
Does this sound like them?
- Pain at the back or underside of the heel
- Limping after sport, especially running and jumping
- Tenderness when squeezing the sides of the heel
- Tight calves and stiff ankles
Why it has flared up now
- Rapid growth spurts
- High-impact sports (football, basketball, gymnastics)
- Poor footwear or worn-out boots
- Sudden increase in training load
For parents
What parents worry about most
Is the growth plate being damaged?
This is an irritation of the growth plate, not a break, and it is not known to cause lasting damage or affect how tall they end up. It settles as the area matures, and our job in the meantime is to keep them active without constant flare-ups.
Are we making it worse by letting them play?
Playing through severe limping tends to keep it flared up. Playing at a level where pain stays mild and settles within 24 hours is usually fine, and keeps them in the game while the calf and foot get stronger.
Everyone says just rest it, why hasn't that worked?
Rest calms it down, but nothing gets stronger while they sit still, so the pain often returns the week they go back. Reducing load and building calf and foot strength at the same time tends to hold up much better.
Grow
What you can do this week
- Cut the highest-impact sessions (sprinting, jumping, running on hard ground) rather than stopping sport altogether
- Check their footwear, worn boots and flat trainers make heel pain worse
- Try a cushioned heel raise or heel cup in both shoes
- Start gentle calf stretching and simple calf raises daily, keeping pain mild
- Keep a note of which sessions flare it up, it makes the pattern obvious
When to get them seen in person
Book an in-person assessment with your GP or a physiotherapist if you notice any of these, or if you are simply worried. Our guides and programmes are education and exercise support, not a diagnosis.
- Pain severe enough that they cannot put weight through the foot
- Swelling, heat or redness around the heel or ankle
- Pain that wakes them at night, or is there constantly at rest
- Fever, feeling generally unwell, or unexplained weight loss
- A specific injury or fall that started the pain
Where to go from here
Step 1
Free
Read the parent guide
Understand what is happening to your child, what makes it worse, when assessment is appropriate, and how the three-stage framework works. Written by a physio, for parents.
Understand it
Get the free guideStep 2
£59
6-Week Recovery Framework
A condition-specific framework you follow at home: phase-by-phase structure, load and pain guidance, progression criteria, impact and sport-capacity progressions, and exercise demonstrations.
Load & Pain, Impact Tolerance
See plansStep 3
£395
12-week personalised rehab
The same three stages, built around your athlete after a 1:1 video assessment, with bi-weekly physio check-ins, changes as they progress, and return-to-sport screening.
All three stages, with support
See plansEvidence Hub
More on Sever's Disease
Evidence-informed articles for parents and coaches on this condition, growth-related injury and youth athletic development.
Hypermobility and Growth-Related Injuries: Key Recommendations for Parents
Bendy joints and a growth spurt are a common combination behind knee, heel and back pain in young athletes. Here is why the two interact, and what parents can do about it.
ReadWhat Is a Growth Spurt (PHV) and Why Does It Matter for My Child's Training?
Peak height velocity is the fastest point of your child's growth spurt, and it is the period when growth-related injuries cluster. Here is how to spot it and what to change in their week.
ReadGrowth Plate Fractures: A Parent's Guide to the Types and What Rehab Involves
Growth plate fractures are common in children and most heal well. Here is what the five types mean, why the classification changes the plan, and what physiotherapy actually does afterwards.
ReadWhen Bones Finish Growing: Ossification Timing in Adolescent Boys and Girls
Growth plates do not all close at once. Knowing roughly when each one hardens, and that girls run about two years ahead of boys, explains why certain injuries appear at certain ages.
ReadWhy Do Growth-Related Injuries Happen?
Growth-related injuries are not bad luck. They are the predictable result of demand outrunning capacity at a specific point in development.
ReadCan You Prevent Growth-Related Injuries in Young Athletes?
You cannot prevent growth. You can meaningfully change the odds, and the things that work are simpler and cheaper than most parents expect.
Read