TITLE:
Sever’s Disease: An Underdiagnosed Foot Injury in the Pediatric Emergency Department
AUTHORS:
Michael Marchick, Henry Young, Mathew F. Ryan
KEYWORDS:
Foot Pain, Heel Pain, Pediatric, Sever’s Disease
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Emergency Medicine,
Vol.3 No.4,
December
15,
2015
ABSTRACT: Sever’s disease—also known as calcaneal apophysitis—is a common cause of heel pain in pediatric
patients typically aged 7 - 14 years old. Sever’s disease can be painful and limit a child’s function
as well as participation in physical activity. Herein, we described a case of delayed presentation of
chronic Sever’s disease in a child who had been experiencing heel pain for over one year which
worsened substantially when the child began to participate in sports. This is important for the
emergency medicine physician because Sever’s disease represents an underdiagnosed cause of
foot and heel pain in the pediatric patient and may be often missed. We describe the diagnosis and
treatment options of Sever’s disease as well as associated controversies, e.g., whether activity is
indeed the cause of Sever’s disease and whether imaging is needed for a diagnosis.