My son has been experiencing terrible pain in his heels on both feet. I thought it was spurs, but the doctor said his 'growth plates' were shifting.
Has anyone ever heard of this??
He is a normal active boy who plays basketball and baseball and does not want to sit around all summer.
Any advise/thoughts/suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.

"Growing Bones and Ligaments
The immature bones of children are different from those of adults. The "growth plates" in children's bones do not finish closing until age 15-17 in boys and 13-15 in girls. When stressed, these plates are more susceptible to injury than the tendons and ligaments that support the joints. Ligaments tend to "give" before bones in adults.

Podiatric physicians warn repetitive overuse can cause inflammation of the growth plates. They advise parents to promote diverse physical activities for their children rather than one sport. This is especially important with individual sports such as running, gymnastics, and tennis, which require long hours of practice.

Statistics show children who concentrate on just one sport for long hours at a time are setting themselves up for injuries. Because of the susceptibility of bones with open growth centers to overuse injuries, sponsors of the Boston Marathon recently increased the minimum age to participate from 16 to 18.

A sports medicine podiatrist can offer a thorough examination of the entire lower extremity, and identify a leg length imbalance, weakness, or biomechanical imbalances that may need to be addressed to prevent injuries on the athletic field. "

Taken from:
http://www.apma.org/sports/children.html

"In our experience, children shoes and shoes for different contact sports, e.g., hockey shoes, basketball, baseball shoes, soccer cleats or athletic shoes have no arch support or shock absorption whatsoever. The abnormal forces on the legs and feet are the number one cause of injury. The most common complaint we see is the child from ages 9-12 with heel pain (calcaneal apohysitis). This pain is caused within the growth plate as it attempts to close -- a normal occurrence by age 12- 14. Arch pain and shin pain are also related to poor support of the foot and leg tendons and ligaments poorly supportive shoes are the main culprits. "

Taken From:
http://www.footdoc-il.com/children.htm


Hope this has helped.

Take Care!

Sherri.