Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, University Medical Centre of the Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Langenbeckstraße 1, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
J Orthop Surg Res. 2022 Feb 9;17(1):83. doi: 10.1186/s13018-022-02979-9.
Calcaneal apophysitis, or Sever's disease, is the most common cause of heel pain in childhood and adolescence. It is regarded as an overuse syndrome. Studies on the incidence of calcaneal apophysitis in young athletes and their associated return-to-play time are lacking in the current literature. The aim of our current study was to identify the incidence of calcaneal apophysitis in professional youth soccer, the associated time to return-to-play, predisposing factors and their impact on time to return-to-play.
Retrospective evaluation of injury data gathered from a German youth soccer academy in the years 2009-2018. In total, 4326 injury cases in 612 players were included in the study. The diagnosis and the follow-up visits were carried out in a weekly consultation hour at the youth academy.
During the observation period of 10 years, 22 cases of calcaneal apophysitis were detected. The incidence of calcaneal apophysitis per 100 athletes per year was found to be 0.36. The mean age of the affected athletes at the time of diagnosis was 11.8 ± 2.1 years (MW ± SD). The complaints were unilateral in 20 and bilateral in two cases. Three of the 22 detected cases of calcaneal apophysitis (13.6%) were recurrent injuries. The mean time to return-to-play of the affected athletes was 60.7 ± 64.9 days (MW ± SD). Athletes with recurrent complaints showed longer recovery time and time to return-to-play when compared to players with primary diagnosed disease. Our results could show that neither age nor body mass index at the time of diagnosis had an impact on time to return-to-play.
This is the first study investigating the incidence of calcaneal apophysitis and the associated time to return-to-play in youth elite soccer. Calcaneal apophysitis results in substantial time loss for the athletes. Further prospective clinical studies are required to fully understand the etiology and risk factors for calcaneal apophysitis and therefore develop preventive strategies.
跟骨骨突炎，又称 Sever 病，是儿童和青少年足跟痛最常见的原因。它被认为是一种过度使用综合征。目前文献中缺乏关于青少年运动员跟骨骨突炎的发病率及其重返赛场时间的研究。我们目前的研究目的是确定在职业青年足球中跟骨骨突炎的发病率、相关的重返赛场时间、易患因素及其对重返赛场时间的影响。
对 2009 年至 2018 年期间从德国青年足球学院收集的损伤数据进行回顾性评估。共有 612 名运动员的 4326 例损伤病例纳入研究。在青年学院的每周咨询时间进行诊断和随访。
在 10 年的观察期内，共发现 22 例跟骨骨突炎。每年每 100 名运动员的跟骨骨突炎发病率为 0.36。确诊时受影响运动员的平均年龄为 11.8±2.1 岁（MW±SD）。22 例跟骨骨突炎中，20 例为单侧，2 例为双侧。3 例（13.6%）为复发性损伤。受影响运动员的平均重返赛场时间为 60.7±64.9 天（MW±SD）。与初次确诊疾病的运动员相比，复发性疼痛的运动员恢复时间和重返赛场时间更长。我们的结果表明，发病时的年龄或体重指数均与重返赛场时间无关。
这是第一项研究青年精英足球中跟骨骨突炎发病率及其相关重返赛场时间的研究。跟骨骨突炎会导致运动员大量时间损失。需要进一步的前瞻性临床研究来充分了解跟骨骨突炎的病因和危险因素，从而制定预防策略。
