Parents Heel pain(severs apophysitis ) with increased training hours

[Tigtimes]

My daughter dealt with this for years, didn’t stop till growth plates sealed. Tried everything. Best results for her were from the xbrace. They don’t last super long and we replaced them every few months. She did outgrow the pain but it was tough at times over the years

 

[pt coach]

My daughter also had the best results with the xbrace. In fact, she is currently suffering from similar pain due to college track training and this thread reminded me of how useful the xbrace was for her in gymnastics. I dug through her old gym bag, found her old xbrace and will be overnighting it to her today to see if it helps. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[jm_gymmom]

My 9 year old has it and it comes and goes. She uses cheetah cups and does icing after practice and stretching and exercises to help. Sometimes we have to take a day or even few days off to manage, but now it seems she can tell if it’s coming on and get ahead of a flare.

 

[BounceGym]

I recommend these Gym Heel Pads from a small business called Asher Athletic. They work really well for help with Sever's pain relief and are much different in construction and design than the Cheetah Heel Cup, or any other heel pad for that matter.

 

[JBS]

@BounceGym I have not tried these yet... what can you tell us about how they work?

Forster Gym Heel Pad

The Forster Gym Heel Pad from Asher Athletic is designed to be flexible, durable, and protect your heels from painful impact time after time. Lightweight with superior cushion, it's easy to gain confidence and get pain relief your feet. Finally, gymnastics gets an update! For balance beam...

asherathletic.com

We typically use the following once an athletes feet fit into them...

Link Removed

 

[BounceGym]

@BounceGym I have not tried these yet... what can you tell us about how they work?

Forster Gym Heel Pad

The Forster Gym Heel Pad from Asher Athletic is designed to be flexible, durable, and protect your heels from painful impact time after time. Lightweight with superior cushion, it's easy to gain confidence and get pain relief your feet. Finally, gymnastics gets an update! For balance beam...

asherathletic.com

We typically use the following once an athletes feet fit into them...

Link Removed

Designed for gymnasts and originally thought of to be used on beam as a compact and wearable Sting Mat, of sorts, the heel pads are lightweight and ergonomic with an adjustable heel/achilles strap to help with an ideal fit. The heel pads have proven to be useful for tumbling, vault and trampoline (in serious cases). The bottom sole uses a non-slip material for safety and grip on many different surfaces. Cushioning and protection is similar to another product called the Bar Heel Pad. They are washable.

The AchilloTrain's look like a nice product, and it is easy to see that they are quality-made. It is my first time to see this product, thank you for showing me. For the purposes and demands of gymnastics, however, I can see some aspects that may not be ideal:

1. The hardline and almost 90° angle of the padding wall on the bottom sole raises the heel off the surface, likely hampering stability with skills on beam, or when landing a tumbling skill or vaulting pass. Side-to-side and rear stability is likely compromised with a raised heel. There was an early prototype of The Gym Heel Pads that did away with this design for essentially a safety/stability reason. The heel pads conversely have no hard edges and are designed for the heel to fit inside the "cup" comfortably, so there is little or no feeling of lift or elevation change when walking, running, tumbling, etc.
2. The material looks really nice, however, gymnasts have sweaty and sometimes soaking wet feet. This closed sock-style seems to cover a lot of foot, which could become hot or slippery – though it does say 'moister-wicking'. The more open style of the Gym Heel Pads have an air mesh inner sole material to promote staying cool, along with a minimal size.
3. Two locations for the gel pads – for gymnastics– shows that the device may not be especially good at either reason for needing cushioning in the two dissimilar locations. I cannot speak much about the Achillo because the other heel pads are designed for gymnastics only, and the Sever's pain relief experienced by some is not expressly intentional.
4. The compression aspect of the sock style says it restricts mobility. That might be helpful for pain relief experience by Sever's and the other ailments listed on the site, though that is quite different that the Gym Heel Pads.

 

[JBS]

@BounceGym Just ordered a small + medium of version 2… and some stickers. We like stickers.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

I bought, and returned the AchilloTrain brace. My daughter tried it on and said it didn’t help the pain, I also think the smallest size might have been a tad too big for her. Taping seems to be working great, even if it’s a pain/expensive to do daily.

 

[BounceGym]

I bought, and returned the AchilloTrain brace. My daughter tried it on and said it didn’t help the pain, I also think the smallest size might have been a tad too big for her. Taping seems to be working great, even if it’s a pain/expensive to do daily.

Important to find what works!

 

[BounceGym]

@BounceGym Just ordered a small + medium of version 2… and some stickers. We like stickers.

Thank you so much! Getting this together for you now.

 

[gymmama504]

My daughter has Osgood-Schlatter Disease which affects her knees in the same way. It seems to flare a lot during growth spurts. She's dealt with it for about three years. We have done some PT for strengthening, and we have a paper of excercises that help when she does them on a regular basis. Lots of ice and modifications during training helps.
We also treat it with a daily ibuprofen regimen during competition weeks when it flares.
It is very bothersome and not having a pit at gym has made it worse.
However, my daughter loves the sport enough to deal with the pain, and thankfully, it will be less of a problem as she gets older.

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[JBS]

I bought, and returned the AchilloTrain brace. My daughter tried it on and said it didn’t help the pain, I also think the smallest size might have been a tad too big for her. Taping seems to be working great, even if it’s a pain/expensive to do daily.

Ya… for some reason the AchilloTrain only comes in large sizes. We have had the same result… if it’s not tight… then it doesn’t really work.

That looks like a great tape job.

 

[JBS]

I’m just linking the tape job from above right into the post…


How to Tape a Gymnast for Sever’s Disease and Shin Splints

 

[JBS]

To update on these...

Forster Gym Heel Pad

The Forster Gym Heel Pad from Asher Athletic is designed to be flexible, durable, and protect your heels from painful impact time after time. Lightweight with superior cushion, it's easy to gain confidence and get pain relief your feet. Finally, gymnastics gets an update! For balance beam...

asherathletic.com

We have a L4 using these that loves them. She has seen a drastic increase in tumbling and vaulting reps with them.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

There’s also a discount code on the heel pads from Asher Athletics through tomorrow! My daughters heels have been feeling fine all summer, but I’m tempted to get them just in case they flare up again with season coming up and increased reps / hard landings.

MYGYMHEELPAD​

 

[mark031111]

Look for athletic shoes with good arch support and cushioning in the heel area. Checking in with a podiatrist might also offer some tailored recommendations for your young gymnast's needs.