Characteristics of Pressure on the Apophysis in the Course of Paediatric Heel Pain—Preliminary Report

Abstract

Increased pressure on the heel apophysis is often implicated as a cause of paediatric heel pain. However, there are few reports on the causes of the increased pressure and its origin. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the distribution of pressure on the feet in children with heel pain. The study included 33 paediatric patients with non-traumatic heel pain, i.e., 24 boys (73%) and 9 girls (27%), aged on average 11.2 years (±3 years). Pedobarographic diagnostics proved a decrease in the pressure on the heels in relation to the ground and the transfer of the projection of the centre of gravity to the forefoot. While standing, the average contribution of the pressure on the heel was 0.52, SD = 0.14 in children with normal and reduced weight. In overweight children, the average pressure on the heel was higher (0.60, SD = 0.08), but the small number of children with this characteristic (n = 4) did not allow conclusions to be drawn in this area. Heel underload was also demonstrated during gait. However, the assessment of this aspect requires additional observational analyses in the field of propulsion and gait phases. The reduced pressure on the heel promotes apophysis traction, causing intracanal compression. Studies have shown that the causes of apophysis traction may be postural defects (in particular, forward inclination of body posture) and overpronation of the foot, or defects in the metatarsal area.