Orthotics for children - anyone?

[LilyandRose]

Does anyone have experience of orthotics for their dc, specifically buying shoes? DD is getting off the shelf orthotics as her feet are still growing. Given their shape (ie. that they are raised on the heel), how does this work with buying shoes and trainers? I plan to take her and them to Clarks for shoes but the Clarks sa has told me to be careful with trainers as they need to be high on the ankle to allow for her heel to be pushed up.

Surely all trainers are kuch of a muchness? Advice very welcome!

You just need to try them. We have found the geox trainers tend to work well but are pricey. It does end up being a bit restrictive but is possible.

My DD has bespoke orthotics for very high arches. We managed to buy a pair of Lelli Kelly shoes that the sole could be pulled out of and the orthotics fitted in. Some makes have removable soles it might be Richter? If you google. Trainers we have left as they are as she is not in those as much although we do slot in some other insoles if we are going a long walk or cycle day.
The Lelli Kelly school shoes are expensive but a really helpful assistant showed us they were deep enough for orthotics otherwise the foot is too high for the buckle to fit.

Ds has them, they are made by our local podiatry service and he tends to have new ones each year as his feet grow. Trainers we have found Hummel crosslite work well, geox weren't very broad where they contacted the ground so his ankles rolled, but if that's not your issue maybe not a worry? Tennis trainers tend to be fairly sturdy and offer good ankle support. We found some Wilson junior trainers which were excellent. I'm not sure they still do them but tennis trainers are designed to support lateral movement and consequently have good ankle support, I imagine that basketball and netball trainers would be similar?

We have 3/4 length orthotics in Clark's trainers and they fit well. I haven't tried them in her school shoes yet though!

Dd has them. I bought her Skechers trainers and dr marten Mary Janes for school

Both mine wear orthotics. It is mainly about trying things on.

They both have kickers boots as school shoes. Outside of school DD wears Dr Martens in winter which take the insoles fine. DS mostly prefers his kickers boots but has a pair of proper walking boots for muddier places. DS wore snow boots in winter when younger

For trainers: DS has a random pair trainers from Deichman, they just so happen to be more hightops and have removaable insoles so were perfect. DD has a growing collection of bulk standard nike's that fit the insoles fine.

Sandels are a problem. When DS was younger i had some success with sticking them in a pair of Clark's doodles and a pair of trainer Sandels crosses from geox. But they need to have a bit up the heel so the insole doesn't fall out the back. Physio said we could go for birkenstocks and not bother with the insoles but both of mine hate them. They have crocs flip flops if they arent walking much, however both prefer one of the earlier options for days that involve any walk (DD rocks DrM and shorts!!)

Good luck!!

Yes, we have off-the-shelf orthotics. It’s been a case of trial and error. I had to trim the outside edge of the last pair to get them to fit inside the school shoes. Those were full length. For trainers, she has the half-size ones and they are working well.

Ds has very deep cup insoles from orthotics, we have to go up a shoe size and remove the inside of the shoe. Even then they only fit in Geox and Kickers. It was easier when he had DAFOs!

Ds has insoles with a 13° correction on.

We found plenty of shoes would accommodate them but it was trial and error as some styles didn't.

Clarks were happy to try with inners and were accommodating with changing size or width to make shoes fit better with insoles.

John Lewis and Brantano were good too because of loads of styles and we found startright a better fit.

If your DD has a gait have a quiet word with the fitter to observe then walking without the shoes so they realise it's not due to the shoes being ill fitted.

I've found decathlon trainers have been best for ds with insoles. They seem higher on the heel (as in come up higher on the Achilles) and as he has mild CO this helps keep him from toe walking for ease!

Plae and Pediped both have removable insoles - Plae is good as you can buy longer Velcro tabs as well, so they close properly.

Both my sons have orthotics. Best advice I can offer you is to find a small independent shoe retailer, who stock a range of brands, and who have fitters who are trained to fit shoes with orthotics. Avoid Clark's and other high street retailers.

Highly recommend Recosta, Pod and Geox who all have removable insoles so that the orthotic can be comfortably accommodated without the heel lifting out of the shoe. Get your child to try lots of different styles on, even by the same maker, to find the best fit.

I used to travel 40 miles round trip to buy their shoes but recently the shop moved location, further away from where I live, so I will be looking at more like a 70 mile round trip now but even so it is so worth it. Been going there for almost 14 years now.

No independent shoe store near us. We use Amazon alot and i fit at home.

Wow! Thank you for so much advice - just fantastic! Gosh, this is going to be a geographical nightmare to find an independent retailer. The pnly one I can think of is a 95 mile drive ... each way. I do agree re trying on different styles and brands, it’s just finding a few in one spot which will be difficult.

Am off to do some googling now - had no idea that some manufacturers do removable insides!

Would never get all this info if it wasn’t for Mumsnet!

You can totally do it without an independent shoe retailer

Seriously worth looking at Amazon for shoe shoes and sports direct for trainers. Amazon have Geox Ricostta etc. Look for Amazon prime mark or dispatched by Amazon for free returns. If I want a variety tend to order 3 or 4 (or 15 last time i tried to do sandals) on credit card so the returns are refunded before the money ever actually leaves the bank account (a couple of days after the return bar code is scanned at the post office). Far easy on DS than dragging him round the shops and actually you often get a way better choice than in the shops.

Me & DD both use orthotics. I have custom ones & DD has NHS kids (non custom) ones. We also use off the shelf ones in shoes that can't take the custom ones. Try www.orthotics-online.co.uk. Their instore services are fantastic and their online store is very good too. Their small arch supports are excellent for occasional wear.