A child has a clubfoot: what to do and how to avoid it

I have been interested in the problem of clubfoot in children for a long time. Its relevance is evidenced by the fact that almost every third child has either incorrect posture or an incorrect gait. Although clubfoot in a newborn is easier to deal with, good results can still be achieved at 7–15 years of age. But this is serious work, and first of all for parents. You have to create a miracle, only your sincere desire and perseverance can help your child. Get ready for the fact that you will have to work with your child for more than one month. The age I am writing about (from 7 to 15 years) has a number of advantages. At this time, children are already conscious individuals, capable of thinking and reasoning, and understanding that they themselves need to deal with clubfoot first of all. The main difficulty is the already established habit of placing your feet incorrectly. We will fight this habit.

How to see the problem?

The easiest way is to look at the tracks your child leaves in shallow snow. In a child who does not suffer from clubfoot, the tracks will be parallel to each other, with the toes only slightly spread apart.

Notice how your half-asleep child “plops” into the bathroom in the morning, and how he stands while brushing his teeth. At this time, he is completely relaxed and does not take care of himself.

Watch him closely in play when he is enthusiastic and natural. For example, during the game he was running and then suddenly stopped. How are his legs?

What you need to know about clubfoot?

1. If a child “rakes” his foot when walking (one of the feet is turned towards the other foot) or stands like a clumsy bear, this is not only an ankle problem. The problem may lie in the cervical spine (scoliosis) and even poor vision.
2. The spine and joints are joints driven by muscles. As a rule, in the presence of clubfoot, the muscles develop incorrectly, asymmetrically, and unevenly. Some muscles are overstrained and tight, they need to be relaxed (by the way, a lot of problems can go away as a result: headaches, poor sleep, etc.), and poorly developed muscles need to be pumped up, trained, and made to work correctly. At 7–15 years of age, the body still continues to grow, the bones and joints are formed, and deformations and curvatures occur where there is no muscle resistance or they contract unevenly.
3. When walking, clubfooted children often not only place their feet incorrectly, but also make an incorrect movement of the leg from the hip. As a result, the knee “looks” to the inside, and it seems that when walking, the legs “stick”.

Remember that clubfoot, flat feet, scoliosis are all links in one chain.

How to correct clubfoot in adults?

Despite the rather gloomy forecasts of traditional medicine, clubfoot in adults can be corrected with the help of regular exercise, massage, manual manipulation and the use of orthopedic shoes.

There is a stereotype that all tissues of the human body actively develop up to the age of 20 - 23 years, and then they seem to stop in their tracks and there is no longer any possibility of correcting any defects without the help of a surgical scalpel. Believe me, this is far from true in reality. In the practice of any chiropractor there are a huge number of real examples where posture, clubfoot and flat feet were corrected in adulthood without surgical operations. Bone tissue is capable of regeneration throughout a person’s life. Otherwise, all persons over 25 years of age would simply have no chance of their fracture healing.

Cartilage, tendon and muscle tissue are constantly changing. These are structures that, with a sufficient level of physical activity and a normal supply of nutrients, are capable of developing into old age.

Therefore, we offer you a comprehensive correction of clubfoot in adults using all available manual measures. Depending on the form of your pathology and the degree of neglect of the process, you will be offered various techniques including acupuncture and osteopathy, therapeutic strengthening massage and physical exercise. Yes, the treatment will not be quick. But you will notice a positive result after the first sessions. It will manifest itself in the form of improved well-being, increased vitality, increased performance, and excellent mood. And this is far from accidental. Because it is on the sole of the foot that there are numerous biologically active points that are responsible for the functioning of the entire body.

What to do?

You saw a problem and realized that it needed to be solved.

1. Discuss the problem with your family. Try to come up with a game that will help your child pay attention to the placement of his feet.
2. Talk to the child, explain and show his mistakes. It is advisable that this be done by a person whom the child respects and whose opinion he listens to.
3. Now try to feel the problem. Try to walk the way your child walks, feel the sensation that he experiences when walking.
4. Identify the muscles that cause your child to clubfoot. To do this, you need to lie on your stomach so that your legs extend beyond the bed to the middle of your shins. Make movements with the toe of your foot from the correct position of the foot to the incorrect one. In a lying position, your whole body is relaxed; by changing the position of your foot, you will feel which muscles work especially hard. You should find these muscles in your child and begin to relax them. From my practice, I can say that most often these are the back muscles in the lumbar region. In untrained children, the problem muscles are especially tense, and you can easily feel them.
5. And most importantly, consult an orthopedic doctor. Clubfoot can be congenital or acquired. A massage therapist can deal with congenital clubfoot, but acquired clubfoot must be dealt with comprehensively, using the work of a massage therapist, trainer, and psychologist. But you, parents, will remain the main ones in this fight.

How to correct clubfoot

The diagnosis of “clubfoot” is not a death sentence from which there is no escape. To prescribe a course of treatment, you must visit an orthopedic traumatologist. The doctor, based on the general clinical picture (type of clubfoot, form, concomitant diseases), must make a diagnosis and choose the optimal course of treatment. In case of congenital clubfoot, you should immediately consult a specialist, since in the first three weeks of life, ossification in the baby is still incomplete. The tissues that form the tendons and ligaments in the legs remain elastic, so you can quickly move your feet into the correct position and correct the defect. Treatment of clubfoot in children under one year old is statistically much less likely to cause relapse. The older the child, the more serious the problem becomes. Four main methods are used to treat clubfoot:

• Massage
• Exercise therapy (physical therapy)
• Orthotics.
• Surgical intervention.

Foot deformity is detected during the first examination of the baby, so massage sessions are usually carried out in the maternity hospital. It should be understood that any type of clubfoot treatment is a complex of methods. Massage is usually combined with fixing the feet in the correct position using elastic bandages and splints. Using massaging movements, the doctor stretches the posterior muscles of the lower leg and the muscles of the plantar surface. When the positions of the feet are corrected, in case of mild forms of clubfoot, special splints are applied to them.

In more severe cases, the feet are brought into the correct position in stages. Massage sessions alternate with the use of soft bandages or special removable devices, plaster splints, which provide more rigid fixation and keep the baby’s foot in the correct position. In this case, the ligaments and muscles “get used” to it. In severe forms, treatment must be continued after discharge from the hospital. The baby needs special care, which cannot be provided at home.

Specialists repeatedly apply splints to the legs, which keep the feet in the correct position. These procedures alternate with massage sessions. Splints are removed every week to correct the position of the foot. Often, at least five sessions are needed for the child’s feet to return to normal, but the effectiveness of combination therapy directly depends on the severity of the clubfoot and the time of its discovery.

The later parents turn to specialists, the longer the treatment will be.

Massage Massage for clubfoot in children is used only for mild to moderate pathology. For sessions, special warming compounds are usually used, which can increase the effectiveness of the technique. During the massage, the posterior muscles of the lower leg and the muscles of the plantar surface, where increased tone is observed, relax. The masseur strokes them and delicately stretches them using vibrating movements. If the muscles are already stretched and weakened, then they are kneaded, rubbed and lightly tapped with the fingers. Massage for clubfoot is prescribed by an orthopedist. The course of treatment includes several sessions. The method is also effective for acquired pathology in adults.

Examples for understanding

Let's say a child has myopia, because of this he develops a whole series of unconscious habits. Looking closely, the child stretches his neck forward. Now try to stand up straight, straighten your back and repeat the actions of a myopic person, namely: stretch your neck a little forward. With a normal stance, you will begin to lose your balance and fall. And in order not to lose your balance, you will be forced to change the position of your legs - turn the toe of your foot inward. This is the classic stance of a clubfooted person.

The same applies to scoliosis and other curvatures. The point is not that the child does not want to place his foot correctly and keep his back straight - he simply cannot do it. Indeed, for a number of reasons, his muscles are already developed in such a way that they do not give him the opportunity to sit, stand and walk differently.

Even if the child, with your help or independently, monitors his legs and corrects their position, this is not enough. As soon as he gets distracted and thinks, his muscle memory will immediately destroy all your efforts. But this does not mean that you have lost, not at all. You need a very strong motive, incentive. Cure a clubfooted child - how to win a battle with an unequal opponent and win beautifully, cunningly. Let's start getting crafty! Let's break habits and together develop new ones, and develop and train muscles.

Prevention

It should be understood that there are no methods that would give a 100% guarantee of preventing clubfoot in children and adults. If one of your relatives had this pathology, then no preventive measures can affect the person’s gene code. Nevertheless, the mother herself can reduce the risk of developing clubfoot in children if she follows a number of simple rules:

• No stress during pregnancy.
• Eating only healthy foods and foods that are rich in calcium. This microelement takes an active part in the formation of the fetal skeleton.
• Complete abandonment of all bad habits.
• Carrying out regular examinations by a specialist.
• Take care of your own health, promptly consult a doctor if you suspect an infection.

It is useful for a child to carry out regular massage sessions and therapeutic exercises as preventive measures.

Game of attention

The child must be involved in the process of hobby. He must understand that first of all he needs to be healthy and beautiful, and for this he must watch his gait himself. I offer the child an attentive game, for example, as soon as he sees a red car, he immediately looks at his feet. If at this moment he is walking or standing incorrectly, the position of his legs must be changed to the correct one. And you join this game. The child will know that you also watch the cars, and therefore his legs, this will discipline him.

If you make a mistake, please do some push-ups!

You explain to your child that you will help him ensure that the exercises are performed correctly. As soon as the child makes a mistake, you clap your hands and he must, for example, do five push-ups. But, if he himself noticed the mistake and slammed, the push-ups are cancelled. In this simple way you can wean your child from slurping, squelching, saying the word “damn”...

The technique is very effective, just don’t give up. A bargain is a bargain. Explain to your child that push-ups are not a punishment, but additional exercises that will help him become stronger, but the child does them only for inattention.

Dream is a serious motive

As a child, I also had a clubfoot and I remember how my parents took care of me. Like many boys, I wanted to serve in the army. I had a helmet with a star and a machine gun from a domestic toy factory. I was proud of all this and amused the adults by marching around the room with a clubfoot. I completely ignored my parents’ comments and stubbornly put my feet where I wanted. And then my father seriously stated that I could hand over my machine gun, because they don’t take club-footed people into the army. I became seriously motivated to improve my gait, and within a few months I was walking correctly. I wanted to be a soldier, and some clubfoot couldn't stand in my way.

Massage

It is advisable to relax the problem muscles that you have already learned to find before starting home exercises or training in the gym. By purchasing literature on massage, you will become familiar with the techniques and the correctness of their implementation. 15 years ago I was taught according to V.I. Vasichkin. I massage children's backs and legs, focusing on relaxing problem muscles. Irina Krasikova’s books “Children’s massage” and “Flat feet” will also help you, where you will find not only massage techniques, but also a number of exercises.

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Treatment in Naberezhnye Chelny

Clubfoot is a pathology that can be successfully combated. In this situation, it is important not to waste time and consult a doctor at the first suspicion of the development of the disease. Clubfoot in its early stages in both children and adults can be treated with traditional methods. In Naberezhnye Chelny, at the Center for Restorative Medicine for Clubfoot, an experienced specialist, Damir Nadirovich Uzarov, conducts massage sessions. An orthopedic traumatologist will help diagnose the disease in a timely manner and create an individual correction program. To make an appointment or clarify all your questions, you can call the following phone numbers: +7 (8552) 78-09-35,.

Exercises to correct club feet

It's good if you have the opportunity to work out at the gym, but this is not a requirement. You can practice on the street, in the forest, in the country and, of course, at home. You must develop exercises, systematize them and gradually increase the load. You can talk to the physical education teacher at school and he will suggest some exercises for your child.

When you understand what needs to be done and explained it to your child, start doing the exercises with him. For the second lesson, take a video camera and film your child’s awkward movements.

After 5-7 lessons you will get the first results. Show your child a video of the activity. Children usually like their successes, they are proud of themselves and strive forward with great zeal. But make no mistake, you are just at the beginning of the journey. Don't forget to praise and stimulate your child.

So, you started studying. It is advisable for the child to be as focused as possible on what he is doing. First, let's run a few laps, this will warm up the muscles, and most importantly, it will help you see the problem again, especially on turns. From this day on, your child will no longer run as he pleases. Now he will learn to run and walk in a new way.

When running, you don't need speed, the main thing is to place your feet correctly. In the next lesson, you introduce a system of “additional exercises” for inattention and incorrect leg positioning (remember those same claps and push-ups). For the first few weeks, you will have to carefully observe what the child is doing, rubbing his palms together in anticipation of clapping them.

When you notice that there are fewer mistakes, offer your child the following exercise: raise your arms to your chest, clench your fists and twirl your fists in front of you while running. To begin with, you can twist your fists only in one direction, for example, towards yourself, and after several lessons the exercises become more complicated and alternate - 10 times in one direction, 10 times in the other. At the same time, you will see that all previous successes achieved in the fight against clubfoot have sunk into oblivion. It doesn’t matter, a few lessons - and your child will cope with the task assigned to him - he is reluctant to do push-ups.

You dilute running and walking around the hall with jumping on your toes. The positioning of the legs should be in the style of Chaplin. In this position, the legs should come off the floor and land in the same position. It’s good to climb stairs with this gait, preferably higher and regularly. Add to the exercises goose-stepping, jumping from a squatting position, and the like. Or ask your child to imagine that he is carrying a large, heavy watermelon. The watermelon is so heavy and big that the child is forced to walk, as they say, “half-bent,” and he needs to carry the watermelon to the end of the hall as quickly as possible, but not run.

Include exercises to externally rotate the foot in any variation. An excellent corrective pose is “sitting between the heels.” The child is on his knees, feet spread apart with toes apart. You need to slowly lower yourself and sit between your heels.

It is necessary to include stretching exercises, as well as static exercises, for example, such as the “rider's stance”: the legs are placed slightly more than shoulder-width apart, and with a flat, straight back, the child lowers himself into a semi-sitting position, the arms can be extended forward, and the feet should be parallel to each other. Duration of the exercise: 15 seconds - freeze in the rider's position, 5 seconds - rest. We repeat five times. Anyone you know who has done karate or other martial arts will show you this exercise and stretching exercises.

It wouldn’t hurt to include exercises to stretch the spine, thereby relieving the back. Stand with your heels together, toes apart, back straight. Place your hands down, cross your fingers and turn your hands over so that your palms are facing down. Without unclenching your fingers, raise your arms up. Now imagine that you are a plant that strives for the sun, and, swaying slightly, without lifting your heels, begin to reach up. Stretch as far as possible. Then slowly begin to lift your heels off the floor and stretch further. Having reached the limit, lower your heels one by one, while your arms continue to reach up. We do all this leisurely, slowly. Try it yourself and include this exercise in your activities with your child.

I'll tell you my proprietary secret. Tie a plastic bottle to the frame of your child's bicycle so that it is at knee level. Then, when pedaling, the bottle will prevent him from bringing his legs together. Simple and effective.

Pay attention to the shoes the child wears; often these are the ones that cause them to place their feet incorrectly.

If you have the opportunity, get your child interested in skateboarding or snowboarding. These sports will not give you a chance of clubfoot.

So you've made progress. Now take your child to a sports section or dance club. Any result needs to be consolidated.

Clubfoot: Exercise therapy, conservative or surgical?

There are 4 degrees of clubfoot:

1. Mild clubfoot: exercise therapy, massage, orthopedic devices are effective, since deviations are minimal.

2. Medium: painful sensations occur, therapy is long and complex.
3. Severe: curvature of the feet, the addition of arthritis and arthrosis requiring surgical intervention.
4. Extremely severe is characterized by pronounced transformation of the affected area, involvement of the spine; manipulations in this situation are ineffective.