Parents Question about Cheetah cups

[Amanda]

My dd started wearing Cheetah cups for vault a couple of months ago for heel pain that we are pretty sure is either Severs or tendonitis. (It corresponded with a growth spurt.) We've also done icing, stretching, and massage. It seems to have greatly improved. She say she hasn't really had any pain in over a month or maybe a little longer. For those of you whose daughters wear them, do they wear them all the time or just during a flare or when they have had a pain? I don't want to mess with something that seems to be working but they do smell at this point! And they can be a little time consuming to take on and off. I'm also wondering if some practice without them might be good before a meet- she has one coming up in about 5 or 6 weeks. Thanks!

 

[mls529]

My daughter was diagnosed with Severs and tendinitis in both feet back in October, and like your DD, it corresponded with a huge growth spurt. It was fairly painful for her. Doing physical therapy -- both at therapy and at home -- has been what has worked best for her. Cheetah cups have helped as well. She wears them at every practice - even now that the pain has diminished significantly. She also warms up in them at her meets, but then takes them off for all 4 events. She doesn't put them on for event rotations, because, as you mentioned, it takes a long time. She had no problems adjusting to competing without them.

 

[mommyof1]

Re. the smell, I was able to reduce it somewhat by putting the Cheetahs in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Washing them and spraying them with vodka did absolutely nothing.

 

[M2Abi]

My dd has not been diagnosed with anything, but does wear cheetah cups for heel pain. She wears them when her heels are bothering her, and doesn't use them when they're not.

 

[Amanda]

Re. the smell, I was able to reduce it somewhat by putting the Cheetahs in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Washing them and spraying them with vodka did absolutely nothing.

Ok, you motivated me to give this a try! They are in the freezer now. Hoping it helps at least a little!

 

[gymnastmom05]

My DD was diagnosed with severs as well (during a big and long growth spurt). She wore Cheetah cups at practice for 5-6 months (in addition to physical therapy and even a cast at one point). We washed them weekly and placed them in a ziploc bag in the freezer each night. They always smelled but not as bad as some of her teammates so I would continue to do your best to keep the smell as manageable as possible! Once she noticed the pain wasn't bothering her, she stopped wearing them. She did have what I'm assuming was another small growth spurt months later (her shoe size did go up about 2 sizes in a short period of time?!)and she started wearing them again for a month or so. If her heel is feeling better, I would have her try and see how it is without the Cheetah cups. If it hurts, put them back on. If not, great! I will say I still make sure my DD is wearing supportive shoes when she's going to be any amount of walking/running/on her feet a lot. We don't need to go back to the severe pain she was in the first time around.

 

[thefellowsmom]

Did only wore them when she was flared up. Once pain subsided she would test out without them and we would continue with other things we were doing until she was pain free without them.

 

[Sidnito]

Spray those heel cups with Odor Eaters.
Instead of washing in the washing machine soak them in water and baking soda for 30 minutes. Works wonders.

 

[Amanda]

Thanks everyone. We might try having her do some of her practices without them. And I am going to try cleaning them with baking soda and water and then putting them in the freezer!

 

[esor]

Thanks everyone. We might try having her do some of her practices without them. And I am going to try cleaning them with baking soda and water and then putting them in the freezer!

Soaking them worked for us too! Also, my DD had this issue for about 3 years. We let her decide when she wanted to stop dealing with wearing them. For a while her heel was fine but she still wore them "just in case". Eventually she decided it was a pain taking them on and off so she stopped wearing them and never had a problem again.