Flatfoot treatment in children

If you went to ten doctors regarding a medical issue chances are you will get eleven opinions. If you went to ten doctors regarding their opinion on Flatfoot treatment in children you will probably get fifteen different opinions. Why is this so and what information should you as a parent use to make a decision.

Flatfoot treatment in children

The three major treatment options are either do nothing, or custom molded orthotics in their shoes. or corrective surgery to fix the flatfoot deformity. One thing to consider is that no 2 feet are alike and no two

mother daughter flatfeet

flatfeet are alike. they come in different severities. That is where you need an expert to tell you how severe the flatfoot is. A foot exam is only part of the exam if you do not have standing weight-bearing x rays there is no way to measure the extent of the deformity. Then there is no way to really be able to decide what course of action as a parent you want to take. As well, an X ray can tell you if your child has a tarsal coalition- that is a condition where the bones have not separated in the foot and can be a big problem.

The next criteria now that you had a exam including a gait analysis is to balance this with is this deformity causing pain and is the flatfoot causing your child not to participate in activities due to tiring easily.

Flatfoot treatment in children

There is much discussion as to if a child has a flatfoot, will they get arthritis in the feet when they are older? this has never sufficiently been answered in a large study. There seems to be a lot of anecdotal evidence that it may cause early arthritis. Think of a car that the tires are not properly inflated, the alignment with be off and you will oversteer the vehicle. As well your care will consume more gas. There are some studies that show people with flatfeet require higher oxygen consumption to perform the same activities as people with normal feet.

Flatfoot treatment in children

So now that you know if your child is having pain and you have had a gait exam a physical exam and an x ray. what should you do ? You can never go wrong with custom molded orthotics made by a pediatric trained foot doctor, it is like inflating the tires on your car. That is something that can help your child for many years to come. Surgery for flatfoot , that is the million dollar question. The simple answer only a good foot exam can really tell you if it is necessary. I was trained by an orthopedic surgeon that said all flatfeet should be fixed , just like if your child has knock knees you will surgically fix them so to with flatfeet. Some doctors only recommend surgery for extreme flatfoot cases. The answer lies somewhere in the middle. A severe deformity even without pain should be fixed to prevent future problems, a mild deformity with alot of pain should be fixed to get rid of the pain. Always try orthotics first to see if the pain resolves.

Flatfoot treatment in children