Chronic Severs Disease

[brian123norton]

My son, who is 14 years of age, has an extreme case of severs disease.  He has been wearing moon boots and ousing crutches for 9 months and is taking various forms of pain killers and anti inflamatories. Nothing seems to help. The tendon is quite swollen and extremely painfull.  We tried low dosage radiation traetment about 6 weeks ago but that seems to have caused the swelling to increase (as was predicted) but no improvement. The sugeestion from a physician is that my son has an immune deficiency and that he is suggesting a course of drugs for rheumatoid arthritis.

This is obviously not a normal case. Are there any suggestions for managing this more effectively?

[appleisle]

My son is 15yrs old and been suffering from chronic Sever's Disease for the last 31/2 yrs with episodes of immobility, constant crutches and immeasurable pain. Unfortunately my son is also a chronic asthmatic which means he cannot be treated with antinflammatory products. I can tell you I have had limited success with icing the areas and rolling my sons feet over marbles in a dish of lectric soda. My son too has swelling around the achilles tendon and heel area which just refuses to go away. We are now out of  options and look like we will be plastering both his feet in the next month to take the pressure of the feet and give them a much needed rest. I wish your son all the best and that someone can help him soon.

[dr_simran]

Hello brian123norton,

It seems that your child is most likely having Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The swelling must be due to the strong dose of corticosteroids.
The following information would be of great help, It's not known exactly what causes Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in kids. Research indicates that it is an autoimmune disease. By understanding the symptoms and characteristics of each type of Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, you can help your child maintain an active, productive lifestyle
In many cases, Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis may be treated with a combination of medication, physical therapy, and exercise. In specific situations, your child may require injection of corticosteroids into the joint or surgery.
Your child's health care providers, including the primary care physician, rheumatologist, and physical therapist, will work together to develop the best method of treatment.
The goals of treatment are to relieve pain and inflammation, slow down or prevent the destruction of joints, and restore use and function of the joints to promote optimal growth, physical activity, and social and emotional development in your child.
Refer: http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/arthritis/jra.html

Best.