“Calcaneal osteoenditis” is a kind of foot and ankle disease that occurs at school age, but it is rarely discussed in the medical profession. When your child’s heels have pain inexplicably, is it growing pain? Or plantar fasciitis? Or is it osteoenditis?

The secret between “growth board” and height

Many people must have a similar experience in the process of growing up: when entering puberty, parents will seek prescriptions everywhere for the smooth growth of children, looking for prescriptions that can promote the growth and development of children, so that children can grow faster, higher!

However, some children may feel intermittent pain in their heels during this process. In the past, this would be attributed to “growth pain”, and even complacently thought: “It must be the secret recipe that has worked to make the child grow longer. It hurts too fast…”

So what exactly is growth? From the perspective of foot and ankle specialists, growth pain is a specious concept.

Located in the children’s limb bones and vertebral bodies, there are so-called growth plates, which have the effect of increasing value and division. This is the key to children’s “growth”. The growth plate of each joint has its ossification center (called end nucleus in Japan), which appears about four to seven years old, and closes when it is about sixteen or seventeen. After closing, people will no longer grow taller. Of course, the appearance and closing time of ossification centers in various parts are different.

Therefore, the so-called growth is that the growth plate has been tightly closed and becomes a mature state. When we reach this state, we will no longer grow taller. So why is the concept of growth specious? This is the reason! Parents tried their best to let the children grow, but instead, let the growth plate close together earlier. So, once it grows smoothly, it means that this kid will not grow up anymore…it’s very paradoxical!

Mommy, my feet hurt! Child, is this growth pain? !

Is there any way to delay the adhesion time of the growth plate? To be honest, it is still necessary to “eat well, sleep well, and be stress-free.” Some people use growth hormone to stimulate the body, but growth hormone itself is a hormone, and our body has a hormone regulation mechanism; therefore, for body, this foreign hormone can be a little dangerous From the doctor’s professional standpoint, I do not encourage its use.

To give a simple example, the same is Chinese. Why did ABC, who grew up abroad, feel taller and stronger? This is not an illusion, it is all rooted in the relationship between the growth environment. If our children can grow up in a similar environment, they are not afraid of growing up. Therefore, if you want your children to be tall and strong, please remember to exercise more and have a normal life pattern will be the only way to grow.

During development, in addition to paying attention to whether the child can grow taller, don’t ignore the phenomenon of “inexplicable foot pain”; if your child always complains of heel pain, it is likely to be classified as “growth pain” by parents before. It is very likely to be caused by “osteitis.”

Osteitis, what is the growth plate?

Of course, osteoenditis does not only occur in the calcaneus. As long as there is a growth plate, it may cause osteoenditis due to use. However, because the heel is the place with the greatest stress during exercise/activity, it is also the easiest This disease occurs.

For most people, it is a very mysterious disease, so it is often misdiagnosed as plantar fasciitis, but its symptoms are different from those of plantar fasciitis:
(1) The pain of osteoenditis is more scattered, unlike plantar fasciitis, the pain points are concentrated on the soles of the feet.
(2) If you accidentally cause osteitis, the symptoms may be relieved by taking more rest. Unlike plantar fasciitis, you will feel pain when you get out of bed every day, and you will feel uncomfortable when you step on your feet.

“How did osteoenditis happen? “It’s mainly caused by too vigorous exercise. According to research, the prevalence of osteoenditis is mostly boys between the ages of eight and eleven and fewer girls. Because males at this stage are active and prone to suffering from osteoenditis, just like the knees and elbows of juvenile jumpers, they are all caused by overuse.

In addition to the heel, where else is prone to osteoenditis?

The tip of the phalanges and the metatarsal bones can also cause osteoenditis, and sometimes it can even extend to the adult stage, forming a chronic problem, and finally even entering the operating room. On the contrary, the common calcaneal osteoenditis will not worsen the disease to such a serious degree due to delayed treatment. Generally, conservative treatment can have good results.

In addition, there is also a growth plate at the junction of the patellar ligament and the knee. After inflammation, it forms “Jumper’s knee” or Osgood-Schlatter disease. In addition, because Little League players use their elbows too frequently, they are prone to suffer from “Little League elbow” because of frequent use of their elbows. These are similar diseases.

Inexplicable foot pain, if it is osteoenditis, it will be easier to deal with! if not…

As long as you have the correct concept and responsible attitude, osteoenditis is not a serious disease:

First of all: rest more. After recovery, don’t forget: exercise must be moderate, and don’t overdo it.

Second: Choosing an appropriate pair of insoles will greatly help relieve symptoms. For example, some “heel” insoles (not arches) made of silicone on the market are good tools; it can help children improve their heels, their strength will be dispersed forward, and the pressure on the heels will be reduced; Silicone can also effectively disperse the strength of each step so that we feel more comfortable during exercise without such pain.

Furthermore: Do the traction exercise (Stretch) of the heel tendon to pull the heel softer. It is similar to the traction exercise of plantar fasciitis. The purpose is not to make the heel so tight, and the impact force on the sole will decrease.

Finally, it is the correct understanding that parents should have. Once a child has inexplicable heel pain, understand that it is very likely to be osteoenditis rather than plantar fasciitis, but it may also be a tumor, or even a tendon rupture, infection, etc., although the latter is very rare.

If you want to rule out these situations and find out the correct cause of the “unexplainable foot pain”, you should seek the assistance of a professional doctor and take X-rays to confirm. Stop believing in some wrong concepts, such as “growth pain”, “turning adults”, “turning bones prescription”, etc., or when the situation is still unclear, just go to the Guoshu Museum, folk therapy “Qiao Yiqiao”, This will only make the condition worse, costly, time-consuming, and useless…

Osteoenditis is not a big problem, but it does cause trouble for some active children and patients, and it has great harm to their quality of life. After correct diagnosis and effective treatment, most patients The chance of a return visit is not great. When you get older and the ossification center is closed, these problems will naturally go away with the wind.

Therefore, don’t believe in unfounded legends. When children encounter inexplicable heel pain, they should no longer treat it as “growth pain that must be experienced in growth” to avoid delays. To reduce the trouble, we should establish correct medical understanding. Once a situation occurs, it is the right way to seek medical treatment immediately!