14 Oct Paediatric Podiatry
By Trent Baker
Podiatrist, footinjuryclinic
Just like adults, children can have issues with their feet or legs, with many conditions that are specific to the development of their lower limbs. If you notice your child is: complaining of pain, pulling away from physical activities they once loved, limping, toe walking, walking with their feet turned severely inwards/outwards, tripping or falling consistently or just have any general worries about their hips, knees or feet your child should come in and see one of our friendly podiatrists.
Common paediatric conditions include but are not limited to, Sever’s disease, growing pains, heel pain, knee pain, hip pain and other conditions that typically relate to a child’s growth and development of the soft tissues and bones.
Does your child have heel pain?
Children grow rapidly from the age of nine to their early teens, forcing their muscles and soft tissue to become tight. This in turn places additional forces on the back of the heel bone that then translate to the calcaneal growth plate. For kids, this pain often becomes worse when walking or running and differs from adult heel pain in that it does not settle down after some movement to loosen up the area.
If your child plays a high-impact sport such as soccer, netball, football, dancing, or gymnastics, they are at the highest risk of calcaneal apophysitis. The good news is that this condition is definitely treatable and will resolve over time with appropriate management. Find out more about heel pain here.
Does your child have growing pains?
Due to children undergoing rapid growth spurts, the muscles can often not keep up with their growing bones. This has to potential to cause children intermittent pain during the afternoon or night, particularly in the large muscle groups (calves, quads), It can be important to complete a full biomechanical assessment to ensure there are no other contributing factors. The good news is, it is a very common condition which our podiatrists can help provide evidence-based management strategies utilising therapeutic treatments and area specific physical exercises to help you and your child get through the fast-growing period. Find out more about growing pains here.
What is Sever’s disease?
Sever’s Disease is technically known as calcaneal apophysitis. This foot pain is caused by inflammation of the growth plates and often affects tweens and early teens as kids go through a rapid growth spurt between around 9 – 12 years of age. If your child is complaining of a sore foot that is aching at the back or bottom of their heel area, particularly when playing sports or running, it could well be because of calcaneal apophysitis.
Children usually complain of pain in the back and bottom of their heel when they are active. Pain is often reported as a dull ache that makes it difficult to load their heel. It can be experienced in one or both feet and often causes children to walk on their toes in an attempt to offload their heels. They may limp on the playing field and report being tired.
Seeing our experienced podiatrists will give you the treatment options your child needs to continue their happy, active and pain-free childhood. Simple and non-invasive treatments such as temporary heel lifts inside the shoe or custom orthotics usually bring children great relief. With the addition of targeted physical therapy and a small period of reduced activity, this common condition typically resolves relatively quickly. Find out more about Sever’s disease here.
If your children seem to be affected by any of the above issues, contact our podiatrists at footinjuryclinic now for a full assessment and a paediatric podiatry treatment plan.