Toe walking on one foot

[jellycat1]

DS2 is 19 months old. He didn't crawl til 12 months and started toe walking at 17 months. In the last few days he's started walking flat with left foot but still tip toes on right foot. Took him to doc at 17mths and he said no apparent problems. If this persists I will of course take him back again, but would love to hear any stories of similar issues and the outcomes. Tia.

[jellycat1]

All other milestones hit and he's at pre school 4 mornings a week.

[Daffodils07]

I would ask for a referral for an xray, walking on tip toes on one side only can indicate hip dysplasia.

[jellycat1]

Thanks for the reply. He was scanned for that a couple of months after he was born as he was over 9lbs and all was as it should be. Unless it can happen later?

[kooshbin]

@jellycat1 - My DD had a similar problem, but that was a very long time ago, so advice could very well be different now.

My HV pointed out that there's a heck of a lot that needs to go on for a toddler to coordinate what's needed for walking. Back then, DD couldn't go into "proper" shoes because reputable shoe shops wouldn't do that if toddlers couldn't demonstrate a standard walking gait independently. But the HV recommended proper shoes for a couple of reasons:

Standard shoes impede tip-toe walking, because the rigid soles don't bend enough. The problem with that is that DD kept tripping over, so I had to hold her hand until she learned to rotate her ankle upwards enough to do the heel-toe gait.

The heel-toe gait requires enough stretch in the calf muscles/tendons to enable sufficient ankle rotation. Many women who habitually wear high heels find it difficult to go back to flats, because their calf muscles/tendons have become shortened.

Then there's proprioception, where you know where your various limbs are and what they're doing. Goodness knows how toddlers figure all that out - parachutists and astronauts have to go on special courses.

DD did eventually get her act together. I can't remember how long that took, but probably a matter of a few weeks. Of course, the shoes might not actually have made any difference at all - just DD catching up with herself.

I'd recommend just going with the flow, and supportive footwear, for the next couple of weeks or so. If the problem doesn't then resolve, ask your GP for a paediatric physio referral. If one-sided tip-toe walking goes on too long, I would think that can throw out the muscles/tendons higher up in the hip and spine and so on. Good HCPs involved with young children would prefer to catch a problem earlier rather than later.

[flutterby77]

Please get him checked again for hip dysplasia. My daughter toe walked on one side and we had her investigated and she was diagnosed at 3. It's a strong indicator for hip dysplasia. It's developmental so can start to happen at any time, not just birth.

[isthistoonosy]

I never got medical advice on this so may not be the right approach but we just called tiptoes dancing feet and told dc2 no dancing feet when walking and specifically danced with dancing feet sometimes. Its a yr later and its prob once a month she needs reminding now.

[Ikeameatballs]

I would definitely go back. Out of interest is your dc displaying any hand preference and if so is the preference to the hand on the opposite side to the tiptoe?

[flutterby77]

The issue with it being one sided is it's less about preference and more about compensating for something. In my daughter's case it was because the hip dysplasia caused a significant leg length discrepancy. Hopefully that's not the case but it should definitely be checked by an ortho.

[MrsJamin]

Definitely go back, GPs aren't good at detecting this and you should have him checked out by a specialist.

[flutterby77]

I agree. My daughter was seen by 2 GPs who didn't detect it.

[RemoveAllPicturesOfRon]

Echoing what others have said: please get an X-ray. My DD was not diagnosed with hip dysplasia until she was two. Hopefully it isn't this, but if it is, it needs sorting out asap. Sending good wishes to you.

[flutterby77]

Additionally even if it's not hip dysplasia my friend has a daughter who toe walks at 4 and she's being casted in a few weeks for up to 6 weeks to try to correct the tightness in her calves and Achilles which it has caused. Ask GP for a referral.

[jellycat1]

Thanks everyone. He actually seems to be flattening the right a bit more now so given he's only done the one sided walk for a couple of days, we will watch closely over the next couple of weeks and if it doesn't start to correct we will take him back to the consultant. Hope all your DC are fit and healthy and running marathons now!

[jellycat1]

I really appreciate the detailed replies - thank you.

[Marias5]

Hi Jellycat1! I was curious to know how your son is doing now? My daughter is 15 months and she walks fine on her left but tiptoes on her right foot...

[Charemma]

Hi, my little girl has started tip toe walking on her right foot! Did your little ones resolve?