23 Feb 🥴Have you noticed that your child has a turned in foot affecting the way they are walking 😬Have you tried customised orthotics but it hasn’t improved your child’s foot posture for the past 2 years

 A clubfoot, also known as congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV), is a birth defect where one or both feet are rotated inward and downward. The term “clubfoot” refers to the way the foot is shaped, resembling the head of a golf club. This condition is one of the most common congenital deformities, affecting approximately 1 in every 1,000 live births. The exact cause of clubfoot is not entirely understood but is believed to involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors. In Australia, clubfoot can be diagnosed on ante-natal ultrasounds. Sometimes, for various reasons, an expectant mother did not have any ante-natal ultrasounds and baby’s clubfoot is diagnosed at birth. In rare cases, an Australian child could have a clubfoot that is missed until a child is 5 years or older.

Here at My Favourite Physio, our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists have met children as old as 13 years old who have a clubfoot that was misdiagnosed. Master J, was 13 years old when he presented to our clinic referred by his podiatrist because 2 years of wearing customised orthotics did not improve his foot posture.  In fact, the customised orthotics made his foot posture worse and after two years, Master J was struggling to walk properly that he was suspected to have Cerebral Palsy! On full examination of his foot posture and walking pattern, we were able to determine that Master J actually has an undiagnosed clubfoot! We carried out 13 weeks of serial casting to correct his foot posture and then a block of Physiotherapy intervention to help strengthen his foot and leg muscles to improve his gross motor skills, allowing him to play soccer for the first time ever!

So if you notice that your child’s foot is turned in, reach out to My Favourite Physio on (02) 9790 4233 or DM us @myfavouritephysio to speak to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists today!

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