Why Is My Kid's Heel Sore After Footy? What I See in the Clinic Every Winter

Every winter, once the footy and netball seasons are properly underway, my phone starts ringing with the same conversation.

A parent will call, usually a bit worried, sometimes a bit frustrated. Their kid — nine, eleven, thirteen — has been limping off the field. Walking around on their toes after training. Complaining their heels ache the morning after a game. And the question underneath it is always the same one: Is this serious? Should I be worried?

If that sounds like your house right now, take a breath. You're not imagining it, you're not overreacting, and you're definitely not the only parent ringing a podiatry clinic this week about exactly this. There's a reason it happens every single winter, and once you understand it, it's a lot less scary.

First, let me tell you what's probably going on

The most common cause of heel pain in active, growing kids has a name that sounds far worse than it is: Sever's disease.

I always pause on that word with parents, because "disease" makes people picture something frightening. It isn't. The proper term is calcaneal apophysitis, and all that means is that the growth plate at the back of the heel bone has become irritated.

Here's the picture I draw in the clinic. Your child still has a growth plate in their heel — a patch of developing cartilage where the bone is still forming. When they hit a growth spurt, the heel bone can grow faster than the Achilles tendon can keep up with. That tug-of-war creates tension right where the tendon anchors onto the growth plate. Add the repetitive pounding of sprinting and jumping on a hard winter oval or a netball court, and that growth plate gets cranky. Sore. Inflamed.

It's the single most common reason growing kids get heel pain, and it usually turns up between about eight and fourteen — right in those busy, fast-growing years.

Why it always seems to hit in winter

The timing is no accident. Think about what happens at the start of winter sport. Your kid's had a fairly relaxed summer — nothing structured. Then almost overnight they're back into two or three training sessions a week plus a game on the weekend. Their body hasn't had a chance to adjust to that sudden jump in load.

Stack a few things on top: the winter grounds and courts are hard, so every step hits back harder; a lot of these kids are mid growth-spurt at the same time; and the footwear is often last season's boots, worn down and no longer offering much. Put it together and you've got the perfect storm for an irritated heel.

What to actually look for

Every child's a bit different, but the pattern I see over and over:

• Pain at the back or sides of the heel, worse after (or during) sport
• Limping, or tip-toeing around after a game
• Tenderness when you gently squeeze the heel from both sides
• Soreness that settles with a rest day, then flares at the next session
• Tight calves

I'll be honest — heel pain in kids can come from other things too. That's exactly why I'd rather have a look than have you guessing at 9pm with your phone in one hand and a sore-footed kid on the couch. A proper children's podiatry assessment takes the guesswork out of it.

The part that puts parents at ease

Here's the genuinely good news: Sever's is self-limiting. It settles on its own once that growth plate finishes maturing. Our job in the meantime isn't to shut sport down — it's to calm the irritation and, wherever we can, keep your kid doing the thing they love.

That usually comes down to practical stuff:

• Managing the training load so the heel isn't constantly overloaded — without necessarily benching them
• Stretching the calf and Achilles to ease the pull on the growth plate
• Supportive, well-fitting footwear for their sport and surface
• Heel raises or heel cups to take some tension off
• In more stubborn cases, a bit of orthotic support

There's always a plan, and a good one is built around your kid, their sport, and getting them through the season comfortably. If they're a keen runner, a running and biomechanical assessment can help us understand what's loading the heel in the first place.

When it's worth booking in

I'd have a look if the pain keeps coming back every time they play, if they're limping or sore off the field as well as on it, if it's hung around more than a week or two, or honestly if you'd just like someone to tell you what's going on so you can stop worrying.

The one thing I'd gently push back on is the "let's wait and see if it goes away" approach. In my experience, heel niggles settle far quicker when they're looked at early, rather than left until your kid's spending Saturdays on the sideline.

Common questions parents ask me

References & further reading

• healthdirect (Australian Government) — Sever's disease: symptoms, causes and treatment.
• Better Health Channel (Victorian Government) — Sever's disease.
• Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (NSW Health) — Sever's disease factsheet.
• Smith JM, Varacallo M. Sever Disease (Calcaneal Apophysitis). StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf.
• Conservative Management of Sever's Disease (Calcaneal Apophysitis): A Comprehensive Review of Treatment Efficacy. PubMed Central.

This is general information, not individual advice. If your child's got foot or heel pain, please see a podiatrist so they can be assessed properly.