Better Care for Sever’s Disease — So Your Child Doesn’t Lose the Season
Advanced, Non-Surgical Treatment for Sever’s Disease and Young Athlete Heel Pain — Serving Marble Falls and the Highland Lakes
You know the moment. Your child limps off the soccer field, the basketball court, or the gymnastics mat. They squeeze the back of their heel and wince. Last week it was “just a little sore after practice.” This week they’re crying after games — and asking to sit out. They’ve never wanted to sit out.
You watch them favor the foot at school pickup, on the way to the car, walking through the grocery store. The same heel pain that started as an inconvenience is starting to change how they move — and how they feel about the sport they love.
Here’s what we want you to know: Sever’s disease is one of the most successfully treated pediatric conditions we see — when it’s treated correctly. Surgery is never necessary. But the right answer is biomechanical, and the sooner we start, the fewer practices and games your child misses.
Medicare and most major insurance plans accepted.
Meet Dr. Frank Henry
Trusted by Highland Lakes Families
“We were told to just rest it for two weeks. Two weeks turned into two months, then the whole travel season. When we finally saw Dr. Henry, he had a real plan — orthotics, stretching, a return-to-sport schedule. Within a month she was back on the field. Wish we’d come here first.”
— Amanda K., parent of a 12-year-old soccer player, Marble Falls“The urgent care doctor said it was a stress fracture and put him in a boot for six weeks. He came out of the boot weaker than he went in, and the pain came right back. Dr. Henry took one look, ordered the right imaging, and explained it was Sever’s — not a fracture. Different problem, completely different plan. He’s playing again.”
— Jennifer R., parent of an 11-year-old baseball player, Kingsland“We’d been to the pediatrician twice and an urgent care in Austin once. Three different answers. Dr. Henry actually examined her, watched her run, and explained what was happening in a way we both understood. She’s back running cross country — and we know what to watch for if it tries to come back.”
— Sarah M., parent of an 11-year-old cross country runner, Horseshoe BayWhy Your Child’s Heel Pain Keeps Coming Back
If You’ve Already Tried Rest, Ice, Heel Cups, or a Walking Boot — Here’s Why They Didn’t Solve It
Most parents who come to us have already tried the standard playbook. Two weeks off practice. Ice after games. A pair of heel cups from the pharmacy. Maybe a walking boot from an urgent care or pediatrician. The pain quiets down — and then comes right back the moment your child returns to sport. There’s a reason none of it broke the cycle.
- Sever’s disease is a mechanical problem in a growing body. It’s an irritation of the growth plate at the back of the heel — the spot where your child’s heel bone is still actively developing. During growth spurts, the bone lengthens faster than the calf and Achilles can stretch to keep up. That tight calf pulls on the growth plate every time your child runs, jumps, or lands.
- Rest alone doesn’t fix the mechanics. Rest calms the flare, but the moment your child returns to sport, the same tight calves, the same foot mechanics, the same training load are still there — pulling on the same growth plate. The next growth spurt brings it right back.
- Generic heel cups from the pharmacy cushion the impact but do nothing for the tight calves, foot pronation, or training load that created the problem. The relief is temporary by design.
- Walking boots and casts can do more harm than good. Six weeks of immobilization in a still-growing athlete means deconditioned calves, weakened arches, and a longer road back to sport. Immobilization has its place — but it should be the exception, not the default.
Cortisone injections near an active growth plate are contraindicated. Injecting corticosteroids near the calcaneal apophysis — the developing growth plate at the back of your child’s heel — carries real risk to developing tissue. There is no role for cortisone in the treatment of Sever’s disease.
If a provider has suggested a cortisone shot for your child’s heel pain, please get a second opinion before agreeing. The right answer for Sever’s is biomechanical, not pharmaceutical.
The real problem is twofold. First, your child’s growth plate is being mechanically overloaded every time they push off, land, or sprint — and the underlying foot mechanics are why. Second, without addressing those mechanics, every growth spurt and every return to sport triggers another flare. Until both are corrected, the pain will keep coming back.
Why “Wait It Out” Costs Your Child Seasons
The most common advice parents hear is that Sever’s “goes away on its own.” Technically true. Clinically unhelpful. Here’s why:
Yes — Sever’s disease resolves when the growth plate closes, usually around age 14 or 15. That’s a fact. But the question isn’t whether your child will outgrow it. The question is how many seasons they’ll miss along the way.
- ✗ The “Wait It Out” Cost: Without active treatment, kids commonly cycle through flare-ups for two to four years — each growth spurt triggering another round of pain, another period of rest, another return to sport that ends the same way. That’s entire seasons of soccer, baseball, track, and basketball lost to a problem that didn’t need to keep recurring.
- ✓ The Marble Falls Approach: We don’t treat the flare. We treat the mechanics underneath the flare. The same biomechanical evaluation we use for adult plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis works for the pediatric growth plate — with custom orthotics designed for a growing foot, structured calf flexibility work, and a return-to-sport protocol that anticipates the next growth spurt.
- ✓ The Difference for Young Athletes: When the mechanics are corrected, most kids continue their sport with minimal interruption while the growth plate matures. We aren’t asking your child to sit out the season. We’re fixing what’s causing the pain so they don’t have to.
A Real Plan for Your Young Athlete
1. Diagnose
A Real Exam, Not a Guess. Heel squeeze test for confirmation, in-office digital X-rays to rule out stress fracture or other pathology, live diagnostic ultrasound to evaluate the growth plate and surrounding soft tissue, and a biomechanical evaluation appropriate for your child’s age and sport. Reviewed on-screen with you and your child — kids deserve to understand what’s happening in their own body.
2. Calm the Inflammation
Targeted Relief Without Sidelining Your Child. Activity modification tailored to the sport and the severity — not a blanket “no sports for six weeks.” Class IV laser therapy to reduce inflammation and accelerate healing in the growth plate area. Targeted calf flexibility work. Heel cushioning that actually works for the mechanics in play.
3. Fix the Mechanics
Custom Orthotics Built for a Growing Foot. Engineered to correct the biomechanics driving the traction on the growth plate, and designed to be replaced as your child grows. A structured return-to-sport protocol. Monitoring through the next growth spurt, because that’s when it tries to come back. This is the step that breaks the cycle.
Meet Dr. Frank J. Henry DPM, FACFAS
“Sever’s disease isn’t a ‘wait it out’ problem. It’s a biomechanical problem with a biomechanical answer — and the kids who get the right protocol get their seasons back. After 30 years and 40,000+ patients, I can tell parents this with confidence: your child doesn’t have to lose the season, and they certainly don’t need surgery or cortisone for this.”
Dr. Frank Henry DPM is a board-certified Foot and Ankle Surgeon and a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Over more than thirty years of practice — the past eight serving Highland Lakes and Hill Country families — he has maintained a 95% surgery avoidance rate across more than 40,000 patients treated.
Dr. Henry uses his extensive surgical background to do the opposite of what many specialists do — he keeps patients out of the operating room. For young athletes with Sever’s disease, that approach matters most: it should never be a surgical decision, and it should never be a cortisone decision. The right answer is biomechanical, and it’s the same answer that gets your child back on the field.
What to Expect at Your Child’s First Visit
We know how frustrating rushed, ten-minute appointments can be. Your child’s first visit with us is different.
- A thorough, unhurried evaluation. About an hour. We sit down with you and your child, take the history, and understand exactly when the pain started, which sports, what makes it better and worse, and any recent growth changes.
- A real biomechanical exam. We watch your child walk. We perform a heel squeeze test, palpate the growth plate, and assess calf flexibility and foot mechanics. We take in-office digital X-rays and review them on-screen with you and your child — both of you deserve to see what’s going on.
- Diagnostic ultrasound. Live, in-office musculoskeletal ultrasound to evaluate the growth plate and surrounding soft tissue in real time. No separate imaging appointment, no waiting on a radiologist’s report.
- The tape test. We perform diagnostic strapping — the same biomechanical test we use for plantar fasciitis and other mechanical conditions. The tape itself is short-lived and diagnostic by design: meaningful relief is a strong signal the full protocol will work — it isn’t a cure, but it tells us what we need to know.
- An honest, spoken-out-loud assessment. A realistic return-to-sport timeline. A clear plan for what we’ll do if the next growth spurt tries to bring it back. And straight answers to whatever questions you and your child have brought with you.
Common Questions About Sever’s Disease
Is Sever’s disease serious? Could it cause permanent damage to my child’s heel?
Sever’s disease is not a structural injury to the bone and does not cause permanent damage when managed correctly. It’s an irritation of the growth plate at the back of the heel — a temporary inflammation that resolves when the growth plate closes around age 14 or 15. The real risks come from prolonged improper management: untreated Sever’s can cause months or years of missed sports, compensatory injuries from altered gait, and unnecessary deconditioning from over-immobilization. With the right protocol, your child should be back to sport in weeks, with no long-term consequences.
How long before my child can return to sports?
With the right protocol, most children are back to modified activity within two to four weeks and back to full sport within four to eight weeks. The timeline depends on severity, sport, training load, and how diligently the protocol is followed at home. Continuing to play through the pain typically extends recovery by months and increases the risk of recurrence. We’ll give you a realistic return-to-sport schedule at the first visit.
Will my child outgrow Sever’s? Can we just wait it out?
Yes, Sever’s resolves on its own when the growth plate closes around age 14 to 15. The question isn’t whether your child will outgrow it — it’s how many seasons they’ll miss along the way. Without treatment, children commonly cycle through flare-ups for two to four years, losing significant playing time. With proper biomechanical treatment, most kids continue their sport with minimal interruption while the growth plate matures.
Why does my child’s heel pain keep coming back every season?
Recurrence is almost always biomechanical. The underlying issue — tight calves, foot pronation, training load, growth spurts — was never addressed. Each new growth spurt or return to higher training loads pulls on the same growth plate the same way. Generic heel cups, rest alone, or “just stretching” rarely fix the mechanics. Custom orthotics designed for your child’s foot, structured calf flexibility work, and a managed return-to-sport plan are what break the cycle.
Are cortisone shots safe for a child’s heel?
No. Injecting corticosteroids near an active growth plate is contraindicated. If anyone has recommended a cortisone shot for your child’s heel pain, get a second opinion before agreeing. Sever’s is a biomechanical condition with a biomechanical answer — there is no role for cortisone in its treatment.
Does my child need a boot or cast?
Rarely. Immobilization is reserved for severe cases where the child can’t bear weight without significant pain, and even then it should be brief — typically one to three weeks — followed by an active rehabilitation phase. Long periods in a boot or cast can decondition a growing athlete and prolong return to sport. In most cases, activity modification combined with the right biomechanical correction is more effective than immobilization.
Are some sports worse than others for Sever’s? Should my child switch sports?
Running, jumping, and impact sports — soccer, basketball, football, track, gymnastics, dance — put the most stress on the heel growth plate. Switching sports is almost never the right answer. With proper biomechanical management, kids continue in the sport they love. The goal is to manage the underlying mechanics, not to change what your child wants to do.
My child has heel pain in both feet — is that normal?
Yes. About two-thirds of children with Sever’s disease have it in both heels — sometimes simultaneously, sometimes one after the other. This is consistent with the underlying mechanics: the same growth-spurt and calf-tightness pattern affects both sides. Treatment addresses both feet together.
Do you accept Medicare and insurance?
Yes. We accept Medicare and most major insurance plans. Our team is happy to verify your benefits before your first appointment — just call (830) 265-6000.