Prevention and treatment of flatfoot in children

Run away from flat feet

Flat feet are the most commonorthopedic pathology in pediatrics. It begins to develop quite early, from eight months. At this age - and somewhere up to one and a half years - the child begins to stand up, learns to walk. At this time, parents need to be especially careful. In no case should you put flat-soled shoes on your child - after all, "wrong shoes" cause flat feet in most cases. But you can massage the legs and do therapeutic exercises.Photos: GettyImages There are five simple rules that can help you avoid possible problems with your feet.

Flat shoes are contraindicated in children up to7 years. Experts recommend buying models with a small heel with a height of 1-1.5 cm. Try to choose shoes as comfortable as possible: if the shoes and sandals are cramped or just uncomfortable, leg deformations can develop.

Children need to maintain a mobile lifestyle in order to constantly get a load on their feet. It will be useful to record a child for swimming or gymnastics.

It is very useful to walk barefoot. In the summer it is very cool when the baby runs barefoot on the grass, earth, sand and pebbles.

One of the most effective exercises forprevention of flatfoot - raising heels. You need to stand on tiptoes, hold out for three seconds, and again stand on the whole foot. The baby will probably be bored, so you have to do with it. And all will be useful.

Be careful: flat feet are more common in overly plump children. Watch for weight.

Time to guard

Let's say prevention didn't help. How do you know? The child's foot and shoes will give you signals themselves, just pay attention to them. So, you should be wary if:

The inside of the sole of a child’s shoe wears out faster.

When walking, the child spreads his legs wide, with a little bend in their knees, and the foot turns inside.

Feet acquire irregular shape, becoming wider.

The nails grow into the skin of the fingers, and the toes of the legs are bent

Calluses appear on the feet and fingers.

Legs get tired quickly.

For the diagnosis of flatfoot used in childrensuch a test: take a sheet of paper, grease the feet with bold cream or butter, then put the child on the sheet so that the weight of the body is distributed evenly over the entire foot. Consider the imprint - an important criterion is the size of the notch at the inner edge of the foot. In the event that it is absent or narrowed, flat feet can be suspected. But only an orthopedist can make a precise diagnosis. The fact is that at an early age all children have a physiological flat foot. All because of the fact that kids have a fat pad on the arch - this, of course, is not a pathology.Photo: GettyImages

Battle of the flying gait

If you “caught” a problem in time, half the battle is overdone. But there is still a lot to do. So, let's declare war on flat feet. Our first friend and comrade in this is massage. It is better if a specialist does it, but you can also master this technique yourself. Let's go!

Palm edge rub the foot of the child in the direction from the heel to the fingers.

Then, with a thumb, stretch the entire foot and, using only the pad of your finger, as if to draw the number 7.

“Draw” on foot 8.

Rub the gaps between the fingers, the upper side of the foot, shin in the lower part.

Gently rotate the foot in the ankle joint (rotational motion).

The second “pillar” is therapeutic gymnastics.The exercises are very simple and easy. 1. Roll a ball or stick on the floor with your foot. 2. Grab a small object from the floor using only your toes. 3. Walk on your toes and heels. Walk long and hard until your child’s legs get tired. 4. Walk on the outer surfaces of your feet. 5. Play with your toes: bend and straighten them. 6. Walk on a massage mat. You can buy one or make one yourself. It’s easy: sew buttons onto thick fabric, for example. This type of massage helps to tone muscles and improve blood circulation in the feet. 9. If your orthopedist advises it, buy orthopedic insoles. As a last resort, you’ll have to wear orthopedic shoes. Also interesting: