Question of the day: Would the One Stretch be able to alleviate the pain associated with Sever’s Disease? My 12 year old son has heel pain when he is growing, especially now with fall sports starting.

My Answer: Sever’s is nothing more than pediatric plantar fasciitis. The calf in this case is not short because of aging as in PF, but is “relatively” short because with his recent growth spurt his skeleton (tibia in this case) outpaced his gastrocnemius, so it is short. Now the strain is placed on his tibia apophysis or growth plate, instigated by conditioning for sports. This is not damaging and does not require rest as most doctors recommend. Of course, if a certain level of activities causes too much pain, then keep things lower.

Calf stretching is the answer to your question because it fixes the problem, which is the tight calf. Other measures to make the heel feel better are OK, but are only symptomatic relief. Don’t lose focus on the stretch. Unlike old folks like myself, his calf stretching efforts should pay off in a week or two, and one month tops. That is provided he consistently does it everyday using my protocol. He can start right at 3 minutes 3 times per day, everyday. He might experience a slight increase in pain. Just keep going. That is a good sign; it means he’s doing it right.

Finally, while the One Stretch is, in my opinion, the very best way to stretch ones calves, it can be done on the stairs as well. You decide.

Here is a video that might make things a bit more clear, at least for plantar fasciitis, which again, is parallel.

Plantar fasciitis mechanics animation from One Stretch on Vimeo.