Parents Severs/ Growth Plate/ Heel Pain

[KieQ]

Anyone had luck treating this while their athlete was still training? DD Floor is suffering because she can barely get through her tumbling passes. Currently she's only running her tumbling lines two or three times per practice because if she does more, it hurts to walk.

 

[Seeker]

does she wear anything protective?

 

[gopuckgo]

Have you heard of Oscon? I had never heard of it before and it had mixed reviews, but I ordered it a month ago and she has been on it since. I have to say that I am not sure if it was the resting it completely for one month or the Oscon, but it did seem to help. My daughter just went through something sort of similar to Sever's, but hers was a little worse almost requiring surgery. I notice that if she misses a day or two the pain begins to come back a little. So I felt like it was worth it. We combined icing, resting, taping and Oscon and keeping my fingers crossed it is working. She is back at gym and beginning to get her skills back which is taking time. She is slowly but surely getting things back. Unfortunately this competitive year is pretty much gone, but looking forward to the future and hopefully better luck next season.

 

[Mama Duck]

My daughter wears lightweight gym shoes during tumbling when she is having bad heel pain. It might be worth a try to see if it helps.

 

[lhmom]

My daughter has issues with Severs and had a flare up a few weeks ago at her last meet (hurt so bad that I thought she had actually damaged her foot while warming up on a very hard floor). The week after her meet, she was not allowed to tumble or vault at all. This past week, we allowed her to try tumbling and vault but told her that she needed to stop if it hurt. We have been doing several things to help her get through this last flare up: I wrap her foot with KT tape (they have videos on youtube to show how to wrap for heel pain) and she also uses her cheetah cup during practice. I also dose her with advil before practice. But the thing she swears has helped her the most is wearing a night brace, something recommended by her ortho doctor. It helps keep her foot in one position while she sleeps and I guess helps relieve pain by not moving at night. We found one at the local Walgreens. Hope this helps!

 

[leotardmakermum]

My daughter is currently out of the gym for about 5 weeks to try to finally get her severs gone. The pain level, which was around 8/10, is slowly dropping. Believe me, we've tried EVERYTHING (except Oscon, which I've never seen or heard of here in Australia). Many coaches just don't get how painful it can be because most gymnasts don't get it that bad. I hope things improve for your daughter soon.

 

[esor]

My DDvhas had the same issues, and we have tried all of the above. But, the only thing that truly works for her is rest. Luckily, she is in a good phase right now where she is not in pain, but when it flares up we ice and ibuprofen, and she wears a cheetah cup to make it through key meets and then takes some time off, usually a week.

It sucks, and she has a coach that indicated he thought she was faking it, even though we were following doctors orders. That was tough getting everyone on the same page

I hope your DD finds a manageable path for this!

 

[leotardmakermum]

Yep, my daughter had a coach who I'm absolutely sure thinks she's a malingerer. I feel your pain Esor. I'm glad your daughter is currently in a good phase. I hope the good phase never ends. ;-)

 

[leotardmakermum]

I've just been reading about Oscon. Please note that these comments are from someone who is NOT medically trained. I always feel that getting nutrients from natural sources (i.e. FOOD) is going to be much more useful than having a supplement. So for me, looking at the active ingredients in Oscon and trying to find them in foods that are readily available for consumption is infinitely preferable.

So, according to what I've read, Oscon is basically made up of selenium compounds and RRR-alpha-tocopherol (a form of vitamin E).

Selenium is a trace element that can be harmful in large amounts, and the "large amounts" aren't actually that large. For a 4-8 year old, US dietary guidelines are 30mcg. For a 9-12 year old, its 40mcg. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/ ONE Brazil nut contains approximately 90ish mcg of selenium. According to the linked fact sheet, most Americans have adequate consumption of selenium.

So, assuming that most of us are already getting adequate selenium, and that having just one Brazil nut per day could either rectify any deficiencies or tip you over into too much, let's assume that that's easy to take care of.

Let's look at Vitamin E, then. The specific type in Oscon is RRR-alpha-tocopherol. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminE-HealthProfessional/ The linked fact sheet says that natural Vitamin E is more effective than synthetic (you need less natural than for the equivalent effect of synthetic). Alpha-tocopherol is the only type of tocopherol that has been shown to have any benefit to humans. Gamma-tocopherol is the most common form of Vitamin E that we get from our regular diets. However, according to the fact sheet, it isn't hard to get enough alpha-tocopherol from small servings of the listed seeds, nuts etc. Whether it is RRR-alpha-tocopherol though, I have no idea.

But what I'm trying to show is that perhaps it is worth experimenting with dietary-based sources before going for expensive proprietary supplements. Of course, I am not a medical practitioner, so I suggest you do your own research and check your findings with your health professional.

This all makes the assumption that what is contained in Oscon actually is beneficial to helping with Osgood Schlatters and Severs Disease.

 

[magymmom]

My dd had this really bad and she got a treatment from a physical therapist called ASTYM worked great and has stayed away after 5 treatments.

 

[aerials]

Physical therapy seems to work the best with the gymnasts at our gym.

 

[MBJ974]

DD has had two bad flair-ups with Severs. The first time she taped (got no relief from Cheeta Cups), did physical therapy, and wore a gel insert in her shoe. It was a very LONG three months. She just got over her second round and this time she limited her tumbling and stretched her Achiles tendon every night. She did the exercise where you let your heels hang off the back of a stair. This time it lasted two weeks. Needless to say, she still stretches her Achiles every night

 

[KieQ]

does she wear anything protective?

She was borrowing an x brace...it was too small so I made her stop using it. Didn't want her stretching out someone else's brace. We've been taping it with KT tape for now. She's not sure if it's helping. There is a new xbrace coming out in a few weeks so I'm hoping to hold off buying a new one til the 2nd gen arrives.

 

[KieQ]

Similar to cheer shoes?

My daughter wears lightweight gym shoes during tumbling when she is having bad heel pain. It might be worth a try to see if it helps.

 

[KieQ]

Never heard of a night brace. Any chance you could snap a pic so I'd know what to look for?

My daughter has issues with Severs... But the thing she swears has helped her the most is wearing a night brace, something recommended by her ortho doctor. It helps keep her foot in one position while she sleeps and I guess helps relieve pain by not moving at night. We found one at the local Walgreens. Hope this helps!

 

[KieQ]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm sorry there are so many going through the same thing but must admit I'm also relieved that she's not alone. Thanks for all the great options. Seems we are working on many of them already but there are definitely a few suggestions that I will look in to implementing this week.

 

[profmom]

For DD, who's been dealing on and off with Sever's now for about three years, the winning combo is rest when it's at its worst, X brace plus heel cup at all times, and keeping up with the exercises. She had two weeks off a few years ago, and a longer period off tumbling and hard landings this summer, but it always improves eventually. The head coach's prescription for Sever's is "no landings that make noise."

Do whatever else you want to try from the thread, but if you take her off tumbling and hard landings for two weeks, it will almost certainly improve to or close the the point of resolution.

 

[leotardmakermum]

Profmom, I wish that were true for my daughter (off tumbling and hard landing for two weeks). How about off for months and months with no improvement at all? Unfortunately sometimes it isn't that simple, however much we'd LOVE it to be.

 

[profmom]

Profmom, I wish that were true for my daughter (off tumbling and hard landing for two weeks). How about off for months and months with no improvement at all? Unfortunately sometimes it isn't that simple, however much we'd LOVE it to be.

Are the docs sure it's just Sever's? DD was off for three months in the summer, but she had tendonitis as well.

 

[leotardmakermum]

Just severs. We have a lovely set of X-rays and MRIs to prove it, all looked at by a variety of medical practitioners.