Comparison of Braces for Treatment of Sever's Disease in Barefoot Athletes

It is widely accepted and scientifically confirmed that physical activity improves child health with positive effects on adiposity, musculoskeletal health and fitness, and cardiovascular health. Beyond the health benefits of physical activity alone, participation in sports at this crucial age enhances psychological and social health outcomes. Athletes with Sever's symptoms are limited in their ability to participate in physical activity and athletics, and it is suggested that active intervention in the management of Sever's is most appropriate to improve quality of life and outcomes without substantial time lost from sport or physical activity. Therefore, efficient and effective treatment is essential, especially for active and competitive athletes.

Standard treatment for Sever's disease is placement of heel cups in shoes and stretching or physical therapy. These interventions are effective in reducing Sever's patients' heel pain. A retrospective study showed that with treatment with a heel cup or other foot orthoses, symptoms improved within 2 months. However, there remains a distinct lack of randomized control trials evaluating treatments for Sever's in the literature. For the many young athletes with Sever's who participate in barefoot sports such as gymnastics, dance, or tae kwan do, the standard treatment is inadequate. They cannot use the recommended heel cups, which are placed in an athletic shoe. Currently, two braces are commonly used for barefoot athletes with Sever's: Cheetah Heel Cups and The X Brace. Neither of these braces are currently FDA approved as they are not considered medical devices and are marketed as an insert. Health care providers often recommend barefoot athletes purchase these braces, but no published studies evaluating their effectiveness exist in the established literature. This study will compare these two braces in an investigator-blinded, randomized control trial in order to contribute to the understanding of standard treatment for barefoot athletes with Sever's disease and improve patient outcomes by affecting clinical practice. In light of the paucity of information on and the importance of optimizing patient outcomes to improve quality of life and maintain an active lifestyle for young barefoot athletes, this prospective, randomized treatment study will compare the effectiveness of two braces in decreasing pain severity in barefoot athletes diagnosed with Sever's disease.