Proper foot care for children’s feet probably doesn’t jump to mind as a top priority. However, there are several ailments that can affect a youngster’s feet, and it’s important that proper steps be taken to ensure good foot health during their development.
Human foot anatomy is an amazing and complex piece of engineering, comprised of 26 bones, 33 joints, 19 muscles and 107 ligaments.
It is therefore very important to promote optimal foot development in children, from infancy to adulthood. As a child develops, all of these structures must adapt and learn to work together so that they can carry them throughout life.
Children’s feet need time and care to develop properly. During infancy, the foot bones are very malleable, and can easily be deformed due to tight fitting socks, jumpers or footwear. If not fitted properly, bones can be forced out of place, and joint cartilage can become permanently damaged leading to arthritis and other foot deformities.
Children’s feet usually take 16 to 18 years to fully develop into the adult foot and your Chiropodist or Podiatrist (Foot Specialists) are happy to provide podopediatric foot care services every small step of the way.
Child Foot Problems
Some common paediatric foot conditions include:
- Intoeing walking habits
- Toe walking habits
- Flat and floppy feet
- Toe deformities
- Skin Rashes and Eczema
- Skin Infections
- Warts
- Growing Pains (Osgood Schlater, Siding Larsen Johanson, and Kholer’s Diseases)
- Foot deformities (Club Foot, Metatarsus Adductus, and Cleft Foot)
Pediatric Foot Care
Your Chiropodist or Podiatrist (Foot Specialists) knows that a child’s foot is a delicate part of the body, and must be handled with the utmost care. Treatment of a child’s foot condition may be as simple as advising a parent on how to properly care for their child’s feet, or may involve the prescription of child-safe-medication. In gait related cases, your Foot Specialist may prescribe a pediatric foot brace or custom foot orthotics.
When visiting your Chiropodist, you and your child may receive:
- Child foot care education: The more informed you are about your child’s foot condition, the better off you’ll be in treating it. Your Chiropodist will provide you with the skill sets and knowledge you may need.
- Podopediatric care: Your Chiropodist can help resolve your child’s skin conditions: infections, rashes and warts in safe and effective ways.
- Foot bracing and orthotics: If your child’s feet and legs are not developing properly, your Chiropodist may prescribe a foot brace or custom foot orthotic to gently encourage the bones to develop properly.
- Foot Manipulation Therapy: In certain instances, your Chiropodist may recommend foot manipulation therapy (FMT) – a gentle technique to help correct foot deformity.
Contact us today if you are concerned about your children’s feet.