Should I be concerned about my toddlers curly toes?

[MrsRabbitsBus]

DD (3yo) has always been either barefoot or has worn properly fitted shoes, yet her toes are all scrunched up. The GP said curly toes are nothing to worry about unless they are causing problems, but they look much more curly than pictures I see on the internet We have a family history of slightly wonky knees and feet in our family, so I don't want to ignore any problems. She is also overpronating. Can anyone shed any light, do I need to go back to the GP?

My daughter is the same and we have been told same as you.

She is hypermobile as well, makes me wonder if any connectiom

Same here. I requested a second opinion via the hospital and was told to leave alone unless it caused problems. At around 10 years old if there are issues they can break the toes and reset

My DS had this and it was over-short ligaments behind the toes. His toes started to curl and cross each other. He had an operation when he was 8 to snip those and it was quite straightforward. Only worked on one foot but that's common.

as soon as I saw this post I can on to say my DS had this as a baby and toddler and he has hypermobility syndrome! when he was born his toes stuck out in different directions, it looked really weird. He toe walked all the time until very recently (he's 7) and he can bend all his fingers and thumbs right back.

he has been having physio for the toe walking and his toes do seem to have straightened out as he's got older and not toe walking all the time. His brother who is 4 has the same thing I think and does a really weird thing where he curls all his toes right over an walks on them bent forward like a ballet dancer but even more so, so he walks on the upper surface of his toes.

none of this seems to cause them any issues.

I had this! I had cotton wool put between my toes daily to help with the direction of growth! They still have a slight curl now, but they are much better!

Thanks everyone. DD is quite bendy generally and has crunchy joints (shoulders, wrists), so maybe she is slightly hypermobile. She walks normally though.
Breaking the toes sounds horrific

Queenofknickers - was that under the nhs?

No it was private but in an NHS hospital. But GP would have referred us anyway, we would just have waited longer. Just to emphasise there was no breaking of bones just snipping of tissue under GA.

Good to know, Queenofknickers. How did curly toes affect your DS? And what can they do for the foot that hasn't worked?

www.gosh.nhs.uk/medical-information/search-for-medical-conditions/congenital-curly-toes/congenital-curly-toes-information/

I think I'm going to go back to my Gp! Second opinion needed!

It mainly affected them as they play a lot of sport and rugby boots etc were uncomfortable with toes crossing. Plus as soon as nails grew a tiny bit they dug in and hurt. I'm not currently sure what to do about the foot it didn't work on - they said at the time it either works or not so doubt they'd try again.

Not to worry! My 2 children both were born with Curly Toes ( just like Dad's). Not only are they both star multi-sport athletes, but soccer(the ultimate foot sport) is their best sport! (Dad was also a terrific athlete with his curly toes ). No problems at all. I say their curly toes hv served them well! If your child experiences foot/toe pain and/ or she is feeling self-conscience of how they look when she is older, I would look into interventions. Otherwise, don't fix what ain't broke!

Hi. I stumbled on this as I was searching for something. I can help all of you though. These toes are due to ehlers danlos syndrome, which is a connective tissue disorder. It's genetic. It causes hypermobility, along with many other issues.

@Lydiasmom thanks for posting! I've just seen your update, not been in for a while.

This is interesting, I'd like to know more. Do curly toes always indicate EDS or only some people with curly toes have EDS?

In my experience, it's due to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. In my family, you will see them on the people that have EDS. My mother, myself, my daughter (5), sister and nephew all have them. Mine are the worst. My daughter was born with them. I'm pretty certain that we all were. Hers were noticeable. My daughter and I were also born with swan neck deformities on our fingers, but that's less common.

Honestly, if your child isn't currently experiencing issues, ignore it. If your child starts experiencing issues such as excessive hypermobility, "clumsiness", feet that turn in or out, pain, bowel issues, etc. Then find a geneticist that can diagnose EDS. The toes alone won't cause any issues until the 20's or 30's. At that point they stop being "flexible" and become fixed in place, which causes pain. My mother had surgery to remove the joint that causes the curving. I don't recommend that. She still has pain.

I've just been googling and there seem to be a few other things that would fit too. It's the feet I'm most worried about because it doesn't sit right and looks like mine and my DMs (apparently her DF has it too) - we have both suffered with joint and foot problems as a result that only appeared in our 30s onwards and I want to avoid my DD having the same issues, if that is possible.
I'm going to do more reading!

@MrsRabbitsBus The photo looks exactly like my feet. I do not have EDS. It's a simple genetic deformity (Dm has it, dbro has it, and dd1 has it) as confirmed by doctors.
I only get pain if I try to straighten the toes, only issue any of my relatives have had is my dbro threw his ankle badly (which is when this was picked up). The throwing the ankle badly was due to a high instep rather than the toes.

Apparently the Russian Royal family had it too.

Hello!! Made an account just to reply to this haha. I am currently 17, was born with the same “problem” & mine still look just like this! Nothing you should be worried about, may just be prone to more foot cramping, have a few every week.