Treatment of flat feet in children

Very often, parents do not fully understand the whole danger of a flatfoot developing in a child. "Well, you'll think, the imprint of the legs is slightly flattened," say poorly informed adults. But flat feet is a very insidious disease. With apparent ease, the baby is not disabled, what else is needed, this pathology does not go away on its own, but with time only gets worse. Leg deformity - this diagnosis is affected by statistics over 65% of preschool children, and on exit from secondary school this indicator is even more frightening. Therefore, the treatment of flat feet in children - not the whim of orthopedists - is an urgent recommendation to parents who want to see their offspring healthy.

Exercises for flat feet in children

All the measures used to treat flat feet in children are aimed at one thing: to lower the level of the arches of the sole and tilt the heels of the baby forward. Over the years, certain therapeutic complexes developed based on the features of the structure and mechanical work of the muscular and ligamentous tissues of the lower limbs. Mainly, the therapy is complex. It often includes: wearing special orthopedic shoes, exercises and massages aimed at raising the arch of the feet.

Therapeutic exercises with flat feet in children, which are attributed to a small patient at the initial stage of therapy, are performed, mainly, from lying or sitting. This approach makes it possible to exclude from weight the body weight of the baby, which is necessary in the starting period.

The therapeutic complex is not limited to the load of only the problem zone. Exercises usually alternate, forcing the muscles of the foot area to work directly, then there is a general strengthening and developing load of the muscular tissues of the whole organism of the child. The necessary final result is to get the muscular balance of the foot, allowing to keep its arch in the right, physiologically sound position. This approach will automatically improve and coordinate the movements of the child's body. The main thrust of the exercises is to improve the outflow of the lymphatic fluid, stimulate blood circulation and produce intra-articular fluid, which leads to better mobility of the joints.

And that the classes were not like forced, received through force, with hysterics from the side of the baby, the load, they can be turned into a fun game. Take a topic and beat it. For example, "treasure island" or "pirate party". Think of each exercise the appropriate name, and the kid will be happy to perform everything that is required of him, just to get to the treasure chest.

Exercise "log". We represent with the child that we are making our way through the impenetrable jungle: the baby starts with a foot at first one, and then another leg rolls a log, a rolling pin, a small ball or scores.

"We consider piastres": we begin with the position sitting on the rug. In this case, the baby's legs are bent in the knees, the heels are well supported on the surface. During the whole exercise they should not break away from the floor. The toes slightly cover the lying on the floor towel or napkin. On the towel a handful of small pebbles is filled (you can show your imagination and replace stones with other objects). Now the baby begins to move the phalanges of one leg so that the weighted towel is pulled to the heels. Do the same with your fingers and the other leg.

Exercise "sharpen the dagger": a small pirate must sit on the rug, stretching his legs, knees are not bent. With the thumb of the right leg, we begin the contact movement from the big toe of the left leg to the knee. Repeat these strokes three to four times. Then the position of the legs is reversed.

"The collector of tribute": the child is sitting on the rug, his legs are bent at the knees. On the floor beside are scattered various configurations and invoices items (rubber elephant, pine cone, linen clothespin and others). Kid the fingers of the lower extremities, you need to collect all the items from the floor and fold them into one place. Work on both legs alternately, trying to ensure that the captured object does not fall during the transfer. Without using your hands, move the toys from one pile to another.

Exercise "black mark": the baby can be planted on a small stool. A piece of paper lies on the floor. With one foot the kid holds it, and the other, with the pencil between fingers, begins to "write" or represent various figures. After a certain time, the action of the feet is reversed.

Exercise "robber": Position sitting on the rug, knees bent, heels densely on the surface. Movement done at once with two legs. We begin to bend the phalanges of the fingers of the lower limbs, while the heel is pulled up to the fingers (the baby tries to repeat how the caterpillar crawls), fix the heel in one place - the fingers are stretched. This progress is done until the moment when the fingers stop touching the surface.

Exercise frigate: the kid sits on the rug, legs are bent, the toes of the baby are connected to each other. We smoothly try to unbend our knees until the fingers and heels are still able to touch. Try to get the shape of the ship from the pressed feet.

Exercise "storm": sitting on a rug with straight legs, the kid should try to describe the feet of the circles in one direction or the other. If this can not be done with two legs together, you can first make a left and then a right limb, the result of this will not worsen.

Exercise "studying the pirate card": the young man is sitting on the rug, the legs are bent and slightly apart (the distance between them is about 20 cm). Pegs are fixed in one place, and bent fingers begin to approach each other gradually, then vice versa to breed in different directions, "scrolling" on the heels. Repeat crescent movements several times.

Exercise "pump": a small person sits on a rug with bent legs, while it rests on the floor only with socks, the heels are raised above the surface. Begin to move the foot down and up (the heel does not touch the floor - "pumping water"). Gradually, in the process of performing the actions, the legs in the knees are straightened.

Exercise "sentry": The kid "stands on the post." We begin to reduce and dilute the heels while the fingers remain in place. The soles do not come off the surface, the legs are straight.

Exercise "attack, or running on rough terrain": The carapuse for a certain time just walk on the rug on the heels (the sole and fingers should not touch the surface).

Daily exercises are very useful (it is even advisable to perform them twice a day), should bring the baby and emotional pleasure. Such games are very popular with preschool children. Older child can play these simple exercises a little differently. But it is compulsory for the adult to ensure that all exercises are performed correctly and with the proper amplitude. Otherwise, all classes lose their meaning. Each exercise should be done 10 to 15 times. In total, the implementation of the entire complex should take about 15 minutes. You should not load the baby any more - it can bore him and force him to do something again will be problematic.

Subsequently, you can add and known to all exercises: walking on the heels, on the socks, on the outer edge of the foot. It will be useful to change the coverage of different textures. For example, first a bare floor, then a pebble, then a sand, a rug and so on (everything depends on the imagination of the parents). In the summer, it is advisable, if the kid will walk barefoot on the ground - the best massage can not come up. The main thing is that adults should be sure that there are no glasses, nails and other things that are dangerous for the delicate skin of the baby on the ground.

But it's worth the patience. For a few classes to come to the expected result does not work. Sometimes it takes six months of daily training to get the desired effect. And one of the key moments of success - do not forget to praise your baby, even if he does not succeed. For him, the praise of parents is an extra incentive to try even harder.

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Treatment of flat feet in children

In the case of diagnosis of flat feet or suspicion of it, almost from the infants, soft-contact techniques for manual therapy and massage are used. Treatment of flat feet in children is aimed at stimulating the lymph drainage and circulation in the problem area, strengthening muscles and joints, which are the main load to support the arch of the foot. By affecting the joint and ligament apparatus, the massage is designed to correct the pathological deformities to which the ankle and foot of the child have been subjected.

Due to deformation of the foot, there is a redistribution of loads, which can subsequently affect the condition of the spine and the entire musculoskeletal system. Therefore, massage should capture all muscle groups, although, of course, special attention is paid directly to the pathological zone.

To speed up the stabilization process, it will be reasonable to combine the therapeutic gymnastics and massages that must be performed on a daily basis.

Consider the most common methods of massage:

• Back massage:
  • The child lies down on his tummy, his hands are relaxed along the body.
  • Massage begins with soft circular strokes of the backrest with the palms of the hands. Gradually, the pressure increases, and from stroking to rubbing, with the skin should be a little red.
  • We pass with the edge of the hand from one side and the other along the whole spine.
  • Then, with a slight tightness, he holds several times with the palm of his hand from the sacrum in the direction of the armpits. It is necessary to do this several times.
  • Then gently pinch the entire surface of the back. Now the skin is very warm.
  • With all phalanxes, grasp the skin fold. Going through the phalanxes, hold the resulting bump up all over the back, similarly walk down.
  • The end of the massage is similar to the beginning - stroking the back with soft hand movements.
• Massage the legs. The kid also lies on his stomach.
  • The sequence of actions is similar to the massage of the back. First, iron the surface of the legs from the hip to the ankles and feet.
  • Then we begin to rub, gradually increasing the pressure. We rub to make the skin turn pink.
  • Legonchko pinched, working through the entire skin of the baby's legs.
  • We finish again with strokes.
• We begin to work with the foot and the shin of the baby. The starting position, too. The sequence of loads is similar: stroke - grind - knead - pinch - rub again and finally pat again. It is worth only mentioning that with special care it is necessary to knead the muscular tissues of the shins. When massaging the foot, you need to pay attention to each finger, work with it, carefully stretch every joint and all the pads. There is also a recommended sequence of kneaded and rubbed places: we begin with the gastrocnemius muscle, then we pass to the Achilles tendon. After finishing its careful processing, we take the outside of the shin, then go to the inner side. Next, we begin to massage the foot from the back side, focusing on the sole. Again, we return to the gastrocnemius treatment and again reach the foot. And so several times.
• Now turn the child back (or he does it himself) and do the same thing and in the same sequence, only with the front skin and the muscles of the baby. It only needs to be recalled that the faces of the movement should be easier, the pressure is less. It is worth to reduce the force of kneading and tingling.

Do not forget, the sooner you start to fix the defect, the less effort you need to apply and the less time it will take to obtain the desired result.

Treatment of valgus platypodia in children

Valgus platypodia - such a phrase orthopedics determine pathology, when the stone of the heel zone has deviated from its normal position outward. In the people such a defect is called a "clumsy". If the deformation affects the transverse muscles, we obtain a transverse valgus flatfoot, if longitudinal - then the corresponding name. Hence, a comprehensive but more targeted treatment of valgus flatfoot in children is carried out.

At the same time, it is quite simple and self-determining whether the legs are normal or with pathology. To do this, we need to mentally draw a line from the interval between the toes of the limbs (we take the gap between the two inner and three outer ones), draw it along the middle of the kneecap and to the hip joint. Any deviation from this line is a confirmation of the deformation present. At the same time, the valgus curvature is distinguished: the shin sinks inward, the legs visually look like the letter "X". Varusnoe curvature, respectively, the shin drops out, visually the legs form a bagel.

With any of these pathologies, the baby very quickly gets tired, he has pain in the lower extremities. Timely and complex treatment of valgus platypodia in children will allow to completely restore the lost muscle tone, correct the curvature, normalize the condition of the arch of the foot. After a comprehensive examination, the attending physician-orthopedist will select the therapy that will be most effective in a particular case.

• The first rule of therapy is in standing position, the legs of the baby should close with each other - this will reduce the burden on the lower limbs, and, accordingly, on the feet, connective tissues and joints.
• Reduce the duration of walking.
• A good contribution to stopping flatfoot will be visiting the pool, running barefoot on various soil textures (grass, sand, pebbles), riding a bicycle. Playing with the ball, walking on the log and climbing the stairs - all this is an excellent contribution to the treasury of success.
• To correct the defect, the orthopedist prescribes orthopedic shoes and special insoles for the patient, which are selected or made directly under the child's foot.
• You can not do without daily therapeutic exercises with its health-improving exercises.
• Not the last role in the recovery play and massages, which are conducted according to the scheme, special courses. The intervals between sets of occupations about a month. The number of procedures in one course is prescribed by a doctor individually and can range from 10 to 20.
• In case of ineffectiveness of the therapy, the doctor can decide on the need for surgical intervention. A varising osteotomy is prescribed. The meaning of the operation: a wedge-shaped fragment is excised in the femur, and the remaining bone tissue is connected by means of screws. After the end of the operation, a special device is used, which allows to fix the bone outwardly. Such a procedure has a naming - osteosynthesis by the method of Ilizarov.

Treatment of transverse flat feet in children

In a normal, natural state, the sole of a person is provided with two notches (vaults). The first or longitudinal, is located on the inside and is the most noticeable. The second is located at the base of phalanges and is called transverse. Depending on where the arched subsidence is observed and the longitudinal or transverse flatfoot is diagnosed. Both of these notches work for normal cushioning, which is necessary for walking, and they also take part in the functioning of the vestibular apparatus, which helps maintain balance. If the ligaments and muscles in the child are weakened, then they can not support the necessary form of the foot. The sole loses its spring characteristics. In this case, there is a redistribution of the load: it partially passes from the foot to the joints of the lower extremities and the vertebral column. Constant increased pressure on the organs, which are not adapted to such loads, and the deformation of the joints and spine is gradually beginning to appear, pain symptoms appear.

Treatment of transverse flat feet in children begins with the diagnosis. Pain is stopped by medicines, and the situation is being tried by physiotherapy procedures.

• The orthopedic doctor, most likely, will advise the patient to wear orthopedic shoes, which can be purchased in specialized stores or customized, individually under the patient's foot. Sometimes it will be enough and orthopedic stolechki. It has a special thickening (supinator) on its inner side, a small depression should be present on the spot of the heel, and a phalanx is at the base of the phalanx. The presence of wedge-shaped inserts makes it possible to adjust the angle of the foot.
• Treatment of flat feet in children is always complex. Therefore, in addition to special shoes, the baby is assigned a massage, which allows to activate blood flow in the problem area and improve the outflow of lymph. This increases the tone of muscles and ligaments, which should be earned normally, correcting the situation that has arisen.
• In each case, a specific set of exercises is selected, which, in addition to increasing the overall muscle tone, should work purposefully to restore lost functions.

This combination of techniques will allow for more effective treatment of transverse flatfoot in children, significantly reducing the symptoms of the disease. If the therapy was started at an early stage of the disease, then it is realistic to get rid of the pathology once and for all. In the case of a severe degree of disease, a complex approach, the disease can be inhibited or suspended. In especially difficult cases, it will not work without surgery.

Treatment of longitudinal flat feet in children

Most often in children of school and preschool age, flat feet of the longitudinal arch are observed. Such a pathology is quite well-managed today. With all the doctor's instructions, it turns out to be effective enough to restore the longitudinal arch. Treatment of longitudinal flat feet in children does without surgery, as the child still continues to grow and develop, which gives good chances to conservative techniques to affect the ligaments, muscles and bones of a small patient, leading them to normal.

To correct the pathology, the doctor assigns a small patient a physiotherapy exercise and special massages designed to correct the situation. Therapeutic physical training is a complex of exercises, including walking on the heels and fingers, on the outer and inner sides of the foot. The kid needs to do the fingers of the lower extremities of the action, which in everyday life we perform by hands: by the phalanges of the fingers of the lower extremities to collect and shift various objects. Used and various exercises in the form of "mill", "sickle". The entire necessary complex will be shown by a specially trained medical worker, who works at every clinic where there is an exercise room.

If you have a dacha or a piece of land in the village, the kid, and even the adult, it will be useful to walk on the ground barefoot. And the more diverse the structure of the soil, the better: grass, then small pebbles, sand, log, ladder. The main thing is to be sure that there are no glasses and sharp stones in the grass that can injure the legs of the baby. A similar "plot of nature" can be created in your apartment yourself.

Wearing orthopedic accessories directly depends on the age of the baby. The karapuz visits the kindergarten, then the orthopedist will recommend him to walk in special shoes, which is provided with a hard surface and a low heel. Special orthopedic stolechki at this age is not recommended. After the age of seven, the load on the lower limbs increases: physical education lessons appear in the school, many parents record their children in sports sections, the child leads a more lively lifestyle: playing football with peers and so on. In this situation, the orthopedist will advise the child to purchase orthopedic insoles, which can be bought at a pharmacy or a specialized store. This product is selected individually for each stop.

If the child complains of pain in the legs, increasing with walking, the orthopedist will perform manipulations to remove the foot to the desired position and fix a langette or plaster bandage, which will have to be tolerated about two to three weeks. After that, the langet is changed to another, with a weaker fixation. This state of affairs lasts three to four weeks. After the compression bandage is removed, the child is recommended a set of therapeutic exercises, massage, walking is necessary, using orthopedic stolechki.

Operative intervention is resorted only to particularly difficult cases.

Treatment of congenital flat feet in children

Doctors - orthopedists differentiate flat feet, acquired after birth, and congenital cases of pathology. The variant of the congenital disease is quite rare, but they do happen. Predominantly deformational changes occur even in the womb, for reasons of different genesis. Treatment of congenital flat feet in children begins with the removal of the foot and joints in a normal position and the application of a fixative bandage from gypsum. After seven to ten days, the plaster is removed and, corrected, is applied again. The therapy is rather painful, burdensome and takes from eight to ten weeks. After the compression bandage is taken off the baby, special toning massage and other physiotherapy procedures are appointed (a good tonic result is given by contrast baths for feet). To surgical treatment, in case of congenital pathology, resorted only in cases of extreme necessity, when it is not possible to achieve the necessary effect by conservative methods.

Parents need to carefully monitor the way their baby walks, how correctly he puts a foot. After all, the earlier the disease is recognized and the treatment is started, the higher the probability of complete recovery and getting rid of the disease forever.

The child is defenseless and can not always clearly state what is bothering him, and only on the attentive attitude of adults the health of their baby depends to a large extent. The treatment of flat feet in children is the more effective the earlier the diagnosis is made and adequate measures are taken: strengthening the muscles and ligaments supporting the arch of the foot, improving blood circulation and lymph drainage are the main milestones in the recovery of the little man.