Incidence of calcaneal apophysitis in the general population

Calcaneal apophysitis, or Sever's disease, is a traction apophysitis. It is a frequent cause of heel pain in children. Knowledge about the exact incidence of calcaneal apophysitis in the general population, however, is lacking.

Cross-sectional study.

From 34 general practices, records of patients between 6 and 17 years old, visiting the general practitioner (GP), were analysed. Diagnoses of calcaneal apophysitis were counted using computerised registration networks of GPs in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

There were 16,383 SOAP files searched and a number of 61 children with calcaneal apophysitis were established over the years 2010, 2009 and 2008, showing an incidence of 3.7 in 1,000 registered patients.

This is the first report on incidence rates of calcaneal apophysitis in general practice. With an incidence of 3.7 in 1,000 registered patients, it is a common pathologic entity, which requires more research on pathophysiology and therapy. The actual incidence may even be higher due the strict inclusion criteria of this study.