Intoeing
Walking with the feet curved in instead of pointing straight ahead can be caused by:
- Poor alignment at the hip (femoral torsion); This can be from tight swaddling of babies which affects their hip joint development.
- Internal rotation of the leg bone (internal tibial torsion). This can cause a child to look like they are over-lapping their toes when they are walking straight. They may often trip of fall over as toddlers a lot.
- “Banana feet” with the foot turned in like a “c” shaped foot. This is known as metatarsus adductus in children. It can result from a baby being in a cramped position in the womb, in utero.
At Inspire Podiatry we understand the effects of what may seem like small deformities in your beautiful child. However, we can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have early assessment, to correct alignment so symptoms later in adult hood are prevented.
Don’t get the wrong advice.
We have seen many parents that have been told to “put their child’s shoe on the opposite foot” to correct their funny shaped foot. Or, “just tell your child to try and walk with their feet turned out” or “they will grow out of it”. Little do they know that you may be making things worse or causing your child to get leg pain. With early assessment from an expert podiatrist many symptoms can be prevented and corrected for them.
Toe-Walking
Whether it be a habit or an underlying medical condition such as Autism or Cerebral Palsy. We are qualified to quantify if the toe walking is caused by a nerve signal, a motor control patterning, a structural block in the ankle or purely a habit that your child has gained. Inspire podiatrists are happy to take the time to assess and quantify the extent of your child’s toe walking and let you know if we recommend any treatment.
Latest studies show little evidence that simple stretches are effective. The best treatment intervention if the toe-walking is significant enough may be a series of serial casts to correct the deformity. Orthotic inserts can also be helpful at increasing the sensory input to the child’s foot to encourage them to heel strike. Call inspire podiatry who are Brisbanes Northside podiatry experts in managing children’s foot needs.