9 year old with sever's disease

My nine year old daughter has been experiencing heel pain for three weeks now. She first felt the pain while at gymnastics, she is a competative gymnast. She has pain in both heels with weight bearing and now is at the point that she is crawling around the house, crawling up the stairs, frequently asking to be carried and is using crutches to try and get around at school. She refuses to walk without the crutches or hanging on to something. The pain is felt at the back of her heels and the DR. feels she has sever's disease. We have used Advil, Tylenol and Naprosyn to try and ease the pain, but they don"t seem to work. We apply ice frequently each day to try and alleviate the pain. The only walking she does is when absolutely necessary, other than that has not participated in any physical activity. We have bought new running shoes with arch supports and she has been using a gel heel insert for over two weeks. She had an x-ray done and it was "normal". We aren't sure what to do now...we are awaiting a consult with an orthapedic specialist, but have been told it will take weeks or more to get the appointment. What is the next step in treating this...it is so hard to watch a normally active nine year old in so much pain.

[FootDoc]

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Sever's disease is a common foot ailment in active children. It is an inflammation of the apophysis (growth center) on the posterior of the heel. It is arguable as to whether it can be clearly diagnosed by x-rays, although other conditions may be found. But the symptoms, findings and history are so characteristic that a clinical diagnosis is generally adequate. Pain on pinching the posterior of the heel is presumptively characteristic. It is a self-limiting condition, in that when the growth center closes sometime in the child's teens, the condition will resolve by itself, even if it is untreated. But resolving it sooner generally requires a period of rest and reduction of stress to the area, which may mean anything from restricting running and jumping, to strapping, to avoiding shoes without sufficient heels or use of heel pads under the heel, to orthotics, to casting. It is important that the child be conscientious in avoiding activity which is likely to precipitate the problem and not to return to full activity either too soon or too fully after symptoms have dissipated or a recurrence will often be forthcoming. First step is to have a proper diagnosis by a qualified doctor.

My 12 year old son has sever's. It was diagnosed when he was 10 and it significantly better now. We were told to ice it regularly and to stretch the achilles and hamstrings regularly, in addition to ibuprofen. Both did seem to help during flare ups.

My daughter was diagnosed with Sever's disease after seeing a Sports Medicine Doctor and a visit to an Orthopedic Specialist in the fall of 2009. She was having so much pain in both of her feet, she stopped walking all together and preferred to crawl where she needed to go. The sports medicine MD put her in air casts (which were on for 5 weeks) and they did not help relieve the pain. After a visit to an orthopedic specialist, he put her in below the knee fibreglass casts for two weeks and when they were removed she was finally pain free.
She was pain free from the end of November until the first week of March, when the pain came back in her left foot only. Within a week she refused to walk on that foot, so the orthopedic specialist once again put her in a below the knee cast on that foot. The cast was on for two weeks, and once again she was pain free when it was removed. Unfortunately she was only pain free for 4 days and once again she is experiencing heel pain and refusing to walk on that foot. She was a competative gymnast, but has been unable to participate because of her heel pain. She has a heel lift in her shoes, is stretching daily and icing her heel. She is unable to take advil and tylenol doesn't help with her pain. Has anyone else had sever's continue to be so painful? Is there anything else we can do besides wait until her bones fuse together....she is missing out on so much because of her heel pain.