Changing The Gait Of A Child With Club Feet
Posted on: 26 August 2017
A child being born healthy is what most parents worry over for the entirety of the pregnancy. Some issues are only found when a child is born, which can lead to immediate concern. One common birth defect is club feet in a child. This defect causes the feet of a child to be turned inward, with the feet facing one another. If your child is born with clubbed feet, you can fix this condition so that they can walk and run normally. If you are wondering how clubbed feet can be corrected, here is a list of things that you can do to aid the correction of your child's feet:
Have your child's feet put in casts
If your child is born with club feet, you should have their club foot put inside of casts. The casts will help with turning and manipulating their feet. Stretching the foot via casts will help to turn the foot forward, to make walking easier and to realign the ankles. Since newborn bones are much more fragile and moveable, it is best to start the casting while the child is still in the infant stages. Be sure to bring your child to the hospital or have a doctor who makes house calls check the cast regularly. The doctor can perform the appropriate moving.
Physical therapy during toddler years
When your child is beginning to walk, it is common for a child with club feet to walk on their ankles. If you allow this to continue, their feet will be severely deformed later on. To help toddlers learn to walk, as soon as they begin to stand and walk on their own, get them physical therapy. In physical therapy, your child can wear the proper shoes with bars in order to begin walking properly. With the appropriate attention, your child can walk and run normally within a year or two.
Purchase appropriate shoes
Although it may be tempting to allow your child to wear regular shoes, purchase your child a pair of shoes that have the bars to point feet in the correct direction. Leather shoes with proper bar are good to strengthen the feet of toddlers who are walking and standing on their own. This will ensure that pressure is taken off of the ankles and put on the bottom of the feet where it belongs. This will allow your child's feet and calfs to develop the proper strength while developing as well.
Contact a medical center like DeSoto Memorial Hospital for more information and assistance.
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