My Child Has Flat Feet – What Should I Do?

With the start of a New Year and the end of all the holiday parties and family get togethers people start to focus on getting themselves in shape and healthy for 2010. Keeping your feet healthy in 2010 will definitely help to keep you happy for the year. Below are ten facts you should know about your feet in 2010 in order to keep your body health and happy the entire year. Your feet are the base that supports your entire body. Make sure that you keep your feet healthy in 2010 in order to ensure that your can do all the activities you are looking forward to this year. Calcium deposits can be extremely painful and can develop in any part of the body from the neck to the toes, causing hardening of bones and soft tissues. Calcium deposits are most common in joints and areas of previous injury to bones or muscle. They first develop as a substance similar to toothpaste then eventually dry into a chalky substance. The result is pain when moving the body part where the deposit has settled. There are several ways to handle and treat calcium deposits. A cyclops lesion is a complication of an ACL reconstruction surgery where there is scar tissue that inhibits full range of motion of the knee joint. Deep infrapatellar bursitis presents with fluctuance and swelling that obliterate the depression on each side of the patellar tendon overlying the tibial tuberosity. Loss of full flexion and extension generally is observed. The adventitious cutaneous bursa may be palpable as a swelling over the tibial tuberosity (adventitial bursae are those formed later in life through degeneration and do not have an endothelial lining). Semimembranosus tendonitis also can occur with running or cutting activities. This tendonitis is characterized by swelling over the posteromedial aspect of the knee and tenderness with resisted flexion or valgus strain. An insertional enthesopathy of the semimembranosus muscle also has been described. Congenital vertical talus — Although surgery usually can correct poor alignment of foot bones, many children with congenital vertical talus have underlying disorders that cause muscle weakness or other problems that interfere with full recovery. Tarsal coalition — When shoe modifications are not effective, casting may help. When surgery is necessary, the prognosis depends on many factors, including which bones are fused, the specific type of surgery and whether there is any arthritis in the foot joints. Have the athlete sit, extend their leg, bring their foot and toes towards their head. Peel backing off one end and apply first strip to the balls of the foot with no tension. The term flatfoot is not a medical term, but is often used to describe a foot with a flattened or lowered arch. The arches of normal feet can be of varying height, so it is possible to have a relatively normal foot with a low arch. A normal foot with a low arch rarely requires treatment. Pes plano valgus is the medical term that refers to an abnormal foot due to a flattened arch, a rolled-in appearance of the ankle, and a heel that appears to be rolled-out from under the ankle. Pes plano valgus feet may require treatment – more on this later. The examination varies according to the age of the child. For the first four to five days after birth, the foot lies in an acutely dorsiflexed position with the top of the foot in contact with the anterolateral surface of the leg. The heel is in dorsiflexion, and the forefoot is markedly abducted. When the foot is plantar-flexed, a concavity appears in the sinus tarsi area with the overlying skin becoming taut with attempted plantar-flexion. In more severe cases, the foot cannot initially be plantar-flexed much beyond neutral. Overall, however, the foot is flexible and both the heel and the forefoot can be passively corrected into varus. Sclerotherapy is a medical procedure that treats unsightly varicose veins and so-called spider veins by shrinking them. Patients commonly wear compression stockings following sclerotherapy to promote healing. In June 2007, the "Journal of Vascular Surgery" reported that healing with compression stockings worn for three weeks after sclerotherapy achieved greater masking of veins than without stockings. Range of motion determines how far your joints can be moved in a particular direction. Having your patient perform range of motion exercises every day can increase flexibility in his or her joints, and reduce stiffness. Some patients can perform range of motion exercises without help, while others will need the assistance of a caregiver. Recreational runners tend to have a lower cadence of 165 steps per minute compared to 180-192 of more experienced runners. If you find yourself at the lower end of the cadence spectrum, shorten your stride and increase your cadence. To determine your optimal cadence consider a gait analysis by an experienced physical therapist, coach or running shoe sales person. Proper technique is important and can be learned with any movement or sport. Because a tight calf can overstretch and thereby inflame the anterior tibialis (muscle), one solution to alleviate medial tibial stress syndrome is to stretch the calf so that it stops putting permanent stress on the anterior tibialis.