Flat foot in children are a debatable subject between health professionals. The debate is based about if it needs to be taken care of or left alone as many of children grow out of flat feet. Flat foot or a lower arch is a very frequent finding in youngsters and children. A lot of them do grow out of flat feet and do not get any kind of problems. A few don’t grow out of it and subsequently develop symptoms. The controversy is concerning if they all be treated to make sure that they do grow out of it and if this particular over treatment is needed. Mothers and fathers are obviously concerned about the appearance of the feet and don’t want issues to develop for their little one later on.

What exactly is clear is that the flat foot ought to be dealt with should it be painful or causing symptoms. Such symptoms might not be only pain but can be things like increased regularity of falling. Kids who are at a higher risk of developing issues almost certainly be also treated. These would most likely include those who have an especially extreme flat foot and the ones whose both father and mother have flat feet and also have problems.

What exactly is much less evident would be the treatment, if any, that’s needed for those children with flat feet that don’t meet those criteria. Should those kids be treated based on the very low likelihood that they will not grow out of it and be a problem. Numerous health care professionals will make numerous arguments which they should and they should not. Most of these justifications coming from either side of this argument are often made passionately and with lots of conviction. Sadly, the current state of the evidence to help with this is simply not that good and much more scientific studies are required to help the clinical process.

For those that need to be treated there are a number of alternatives. For many it might just need to be some straightforward padding added in to the shoes that is simple and economical. For other kids a mass produced type of foot orthoses could be used. In the event the problems are more complex then a made to order foot supports may well occasionally be recommended. These types of interventions should be every so often replaced as the youngster will grow. Along with these kinds of interventions it is probably advisable that exercises be employed to strengthen the muscles that support the arch of the foot and help with coordination as well as normal growth.

An instalment of the Podiatry associated live stream and podcast, PodChatLive did an episode on the debate with the hosts speaking with the foot specialist, Helen Banwell. They talked about the problems of symptomatic as opposed to symptom free flat foot in children and talked about the subject of if this needs to be taken care of versus when it doesn’t need to be taken care of. They additionally discussed the potential significance of inquiring about family history and approaches to handle concerned and anxious parents. Clearly, a great deal more research is required concerning flat feet in children to figure out just which ones really should be dealt with along with what the right solution for flat foot in children is.

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Craig Payne Author
University lecturer, runner, cynic, researcher, skeptic, forum admin, woo basher, clinician, rabble-rouser, blogger, dad.