Calcaneal apophysitis (or Sever’s disease) is a common cause of pain in the heel in children. It is a stress injury to the growth plate at the back of the heel bone. That growth plate merges with the rest of the heel bone at about the mid-teenage years. For that reason, adults can not have calcaneal apophysitis.
Calcaneal apophysitis can only occur when the growth plate is present (or technically called the “calcaneal apophysis is open”). This growth plate appears at around 7–9 years of age and typically fuses with the rest of the heel bone between the ages 15–17. There is some variability between individuals, which is why I prefer to say this is “about the mid-teenage years”. This means that children and adolescents could be affected by calcaneal apophysitis between the ages of 7 to 17 years with it being more common between 8 and 15 years.
There are many other causes of heel pain in adults and children. If heel pain is present below the age of 7 or over the age of 17, then its not due to calcaneal apophysitis as there is no apophysis there to be injured.
