Tip toe walking - talk me down

[Fashion83]

Hi there

Our son is 3 and we have noticed from 2 he walks with a limp. Health visitor wasn’t concerned atoll. Roll on 9 months and we noticed it worse. Saw our GP who referred him to orthopaedics in April. Our first appointment is next week due to long wait lists. We’ve noticed he’s not a big time tip toe walker on the left foot only. I’m now utterly utterly prettied he has a serious condition and we will lose him. He walked at 16 months. no developmental delays. Very, very clever little
boy. Ahead of milestones otherwise. No spectrum concerns. Has anyone experienced anything similar with not so scary outcomes?

many thanks.

It's so hard when you know something is not quite right and are waiting to see a specialist. If he is reaching all his other milestones, it is probably nothing huge. And it is best to wait for a diagnosis and not consult Dr Google or listen to people saying I knew a child who walked on tip toes and they had X. I am not going to share my own experience because of this. Good luck for when you go to the orthotics clinic.

Loads and loads of kids walk on tiptoes. Sometimes there's a 'reason' (usually pretty innocuous such as tight ligaments/muscles), other times there's no apparent reason - it's just a thing they do.

If the health professionals who've seen him aren't particularly concerned and if there's nothing else concerning is at play (e.g seizures, spasticity in other parts of the body etc.) then you're catastrophising massively. Do speak to your GP about your anxiety as the way you've added two and two together and come up with 17,000 is symptomatic of an anxiety disorder and you would be wise to get this treated. Anxious parents cause anxious children and you'll be doing your son no favours to pass on your stresses to him

I’m 41, have two kids and have always walked on my tip toes.

No health issues and no concerns about long term impacts of doing this from physios/ doctors.

Sometimes it’s just tippy toes! Hopefully this is the case for you and this reassures you somewhat 🙂

My son has tip toe walked his entire life. He is a strapping 36 year old who runs a restaurant and has a lovely girlfriend!

@shockeditellyou - yes he can stand on flat feet but he has incredibly high arches Which puts my head into a spin again. He wears shoes a size bigger because he needs them
for width!

Exactly the same for my DC - feet so wide they are off the chart!

I'm a tiptoe walker I am in my mid 30s and have done it since learning to walk.
Its due to my ligaments. They are short and also slightly hyper mobile. My sister has the same and she rolled her foot instead and has damaged her ankles, knees and hips. So it's always worth asking for a medical assessment to make sure you aren't leading to longer term issues with how the legs align and walk. I saw the GP a few times as a child and as I can physically put my foot flat I just choose not to because it's more comfortable to be on my toes they didn't want to operate. I wear heels a lot as they are more comfortable. I walk on my toes even if I'm in flat shoes! I do pilates that has made it more comfortable to be on my flat foot. I do try and walk flatfooted to stop my daughter copying me. We do a lot of walking and my calves hurt when I have had a day in walking boots but this is better since being more mindful about walking flat footed and doing pilates. I also have high arches.

Step away from Google and have a chat with your GP to talk about a physio or similar referral to check how they walk and to get some exercises to make sure the way they walk doesn't lead to longer term issues

Thank you all for such comprehensive replies.

@Superscientist - did you ever fall over your feet as a child? He often falls which worries me!

Only when walking flatfooted, I'm very clumsy then and can trip over my shadow. I'm very stable on my tiptoes and fully extended so my heel is 4+ inches off the floor (size 4)

Thank you for letting me know. His orthopedic appointment is next Monday. I hope this week flies past!

DD1 tiptoe walked. This was before Google, and I was an arrogant 20ish year old who thought nothing of it. She's now 26 , has a degree, ft job, and no disabilities whatsoever.

I walked on my tiptoes since I could walk, properly right up on the very tips! Had orthotic inserts in my shoes as a teen and exercises for tight hamstrings. No problems at all except I often tripped out of shoes that didnt fasten high enough up! I imagine getting it sorted young will be even better.

My dd10 was a tip toe walker, still does sometimes! She's an absolutely healthy, happy 10 year old. Super clumsy mind you

Hi OP, I grew up a tip toe walker from 3 - 16! I gradually grew out of it eventually

My ds has just turned 7 and is a tip toe walker. He can walk with flat feet (when we remind him!) but tiptoeing is his default. He has no other health conditions and is neurotypical.
We took him to the GP about it when he was about 3, and they said not to worry and that he should grow out of it by 7/8. I think it’s just an ingrained habit now that we’re trying to break.
Im giving him a few more months and then we will go back to the GP.

Thank you all. When did they start tip toe walking? I’ve been looking back through live photos and videos. It has become worse over the last few months and is only one foot - his left foot.

Mine learnt to walk completely normally - we have videos of him at about 3 on "normal" feet. Sometime between preschool year and reception he started to walk on tip toes and our reception teacher mentioned it to us. Then COVID happened etc etc...

Hi all
I thought I’d update everyone. The orthopaedic consultant was 99% are it wasn’t a muscular degenerative condition like MD which I was so worried about however they can’t rule out mild cerebral palsy. I was shocked but calm as it can’t get any worse. He may however have nerve damage or ‘just’ be him. Either way he’s been referred to the pedestrian foe assessment and she’ll order an MRI or physio. Thanks for your help.

My daughter still does this & she's 22 ! Saw a physio when she was about 14 & given some exercises, only issue was she struggled to do breaststroke at swimming club ..

Hello @Fashion83 just wondering how your son has got on? We are currently going through the same thing now and being referred for an MRI. Thanks

Hi there
We had a muscle enzyme test done to rule out muscular dystrophy and that was all clear. Huge relief. Bloods on other fronts all fine. We are having regular physio and have another appointment in 8 months time to asses where he is at with physio and at that point we can discuss if we want to go for the MRI. As he’s only 3.5 it would mean putting him to sleep for the procedure.
How old is your child? Our DS is fine other than the wonky walk and I do think he tires easily.

One Achilles tendon might be shorter than the other. I walked on tiptoes until the age of 9 when I had an operation to lengthen both tendons. They're still shorter than most people's but I can walk on flat feet now. ETA just seen update, I hope he's OK. X

Ah I'm glad to hear it. I must admit I'm pretty nervous about it all. Same as our boy, he's 3 and a half but just walks one sided. We were told by all health professionals (atleast 4) 'it was just a phase' until the preschool key worker said it was definitely not and to get it checked by a gp. We've been fast tracked to hospital. Seen last week and he had bloods done. Being referred to physio and for an MRI for muscular skeletal. They did discuss possible sedation instead of GA. We do feel bad as he can't keep up with all the others and tires also and that I didn't just go with my gut and get it seen sooner. Does your son need the piedro boots? Or is it just exercises? Thanks

I think most of the previous posters have missed out the key detail that the tip toeing is only one foot. Yes, many kids tip toe and it is often completely normal but that is usually tip toeing with both feet. Asymmetrical tip toe is more likely to have an underlying cause, we're going through the same thing with our son. I can't believe that PP actually suggested you have been catastrophising/need to see a GP for anxiety 🙄

Thank you for the update on your son's situation. We're currently waiting for appointment for MRI and physio but it's so hard not knowing what the outcome will be 😔

I think in the absence of any other indications, an MRI is overkill for this tbh.

We’ve just finished serial casting for my son, which was a 6 week period and it’s totally sorted it. And yes, it’s not symmetrical across both legs.