Anyone know about bendy ankles / corrective shoes or boots?

[Sausagis]

DD previously diagnosed as hyper mobile and had physio for some issues. Recently she has started rolling on her ankles as she walks (hopefully see photos!). I have been referred back to the physio but this will take time. Is it worth buying boots, or more substantial shoes?

(If the later, any tips? I asked my local independent kids shoe shop for more supportive trainers and they just shrugged and looked confused )

Wow, that is a massive amount of rolling in. A podiatrist would be able to make some shoe orthotics and advise on best shoes/boots. Would you be able to find a local one to go to privately?
Otherwise, I would try a specialist sports footwear shop where they have a treadmill and video to see how different trainers affect walking. You can get trainers that help prevent over pronation etc but I think your dd's case is so extreme she would probably need inserts as well and possibly some kind of splint.

Yes shoes with good ankle support can really help. A lot of Geox are good for this. She may also need specialist orthotics, the physio should be able to refer you for these.

Short term look into some shoes with ankle support. My 8 year old with hypermobility loves hers from Decathlon, so not breaking the bank. Agree that podiatry/physio is the route to go for orthotics or other devices, but something more supportive needed in the meantime.

Thanks. As it happens her school shoes are Geox ('boy' shoes for lack of a better description since of course they are just as much for girls) and she does walk better in them. I might have to be mean mum and make her wear school shoes all the time until we can see the physio.

How is her walking when she's barefooot?

&BridgetInHerBravery good question! No idea - I'll check tomorrow.

My dd did this when young, I bought her doc marten boots, really helped. She doesn't have the strongest ankles even now but no rolling - unfortunately I think it's my fault as I do rolls bit on mine and I wear stiff leather boots most the time to help

@Sausagis

&BridgetInHerBravery good question! No idea - I'll check tomorrow.

I ask because there's a growing number of us with hypermobility and foot (plus linked knee/leg/hip/back problems) who are finding that minimalist and barefoot shoes are helping our feet strengthen, reduce pain/joint instability, and generally just work better for us. It's not for everybody and does require some thought, but just bear in mind that supports and orthotics aren't the only option for bendy feet.

Kickers boots while you are waiting for the physio assessment

are those shoes memory foam?
they offer no support at all.
ask a physio.
but more stable shoes, like hiking shoes, might help.

I think they are memory foam, and super-cheap Asda ones at that. But her previous pair were Clark's trainers and weren't much better.

DD's hospital physio recommended shoes with a strong heel cup - could be shoes or trainers, as long as the bit that encapsulates the heel is solid. We didn't find Clarks great.

Boots could be a good temporary measure, but you wouldn't want to rely on them for support. She's really leaning quite an extreme amount so I'd recommend seeing a podiatrist if you can afford, as they could make special insoles, and also physio exercises to strengthen ankles. As a temporary measure a specialist running shoe shop would be able to look at her gait and recommend a trainer for that type of issue, but obviously it wouldn't be as good as a proper podiatrist appointment.

You can buy things like a 'sit-fit' or even foam pads to stand on for a few minutes a day and strengthen ankles. However, it would really good to get advice from a physio first to make sure you're doing the right exercises for that particular problem.

With hyper mobility generally the key is to train the muscles to do the job the ligaments and tendons are too flexible to do.

She needs to see a podiatrist to get some bespoke orthotics asap.

My DS wears karrimor mount mid which are high ankle walking shoe / trainer. He has them in all black which school allow him to wear instead of school shoes when his ankles are bad, but he wears then a lot out of school as well. He combines them with insoles from the hospital.