"Right foot, left foot, small feet!"

Following my son complaining of pains in his heels after sprinting in a variety of ball sports, I took him to my local GP at Amersham Health Centre.

The latter seem to reluctantly come to a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis but said it was rare in children. That might be the general case but actually many of my friend's children seem to suffer from this (why this is, is another discussion). Fortunately, my son does not suffer from the condition immediately he wakes up, just after sprint style sports (which he does do 6 times a week).

I was told that cutting down on sport wouldn't make a difference and I should buy gel insoles from Boots for him to wear in his shoes. I dutifully went off to the chemist and subsequently online to find out that gel inserts are really only available for adult shoes.

Whereas my friends children have been given insoles made as a result of a visit to a podiatrist, I am having to make do with cut down adult size insoles which cannot be right. I have to say though, on the positive side, the insoles are making some difference even if they are not the right size for my son's shoes.