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SN children

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Original poster

Dd1's feet again .......

15 replies

Marne · 02/05/2011 17:35

A year ago i posted about dd1's feet turning inwards, i had taken her to the GP's reg her feet and possible hypermobile joints and dyspraxia (she also has a dx of Aspergers), anyway GP eventually referred her to a paed for the dyspraxia traits but has done nothing about her feet . She has been wearing snadals at home and i have noticed that her feet have got worse, her ankles have turned outwards and the heels of her feet seem to stick outwards, her ankles are almost knocking when she walks. Should i take her back to the GP? or wait for her appointment with the paed at the end of the month?

I'm worried that she will end up having to have surgery to straighten them , is there any way of correcting her ankles and feet without surgery?

Should she be wearing more supportive shoes? (which may be tricky with fussy 7 year old).

I know theres not much i can do about it right now but im slightly paniking as i hadn't really looked that closely at them (for a while) until today and they look really bad .

OP posts:

HelensMelons · 02/05/2011 17:50

If you are worried about them take her back to the GP, it certainly won't do any harm and he may be able to help - we started off with the GP and then were referred through to Orthopaedics. DS2 has had 2 ops on his foot to straighten it up which have been very successful but I kwym when you get those "tummy knot" moments!

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 02/05/2011 17:51

You can get orthotic inserts which help, the physio can orovide them

Original poster

Marne · 02/05/2011 17:52

Thanks Helen - Surgery is my worst fear, dd1 is such a whimp, if it was her sister i wouldn't be as worried.

OP posts:

Original poster

Marne · 02/05/2011 17:55

her feet look like this

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TheNinjaGooseIsOnAMission · 02/05/2011 18:01

that's just what dd3s do, except hers roll in a little more than that, she's hypermobile and hypotonic. She wears piedro boots that hold her foot and ankle in position, we get them through her physio but started off with kickers before she got her first pair. Never been any mention of surgery, guess that would depend on the cause?

Original poster

Marne · 02/05/2011 18:06

I have some kickers here in her size (as i stocked up on them as dd2 wears them as she also has odd feet), i might see if i can get her to wear some (wish me luck). Reading thet link it would explain her week legs (tight calf muscles) which is one of the reasons we got referral to paed, her legs have always been extra stiff (doesn't really bend her knees when she runs) and she complains of pains in her legs and feet.

OP posts:

TheNinjaGooseIsOnAMission · 02/05/2011 18:10

the waiting is so hard isn't it! Good luck getting her in the boots

madwomanintheattic · 02/05/2011 18:15

ask for a referral to an orthotist.

dd2 has long history of similar issues (cp and associated tone ishoos) and has been a piedros/ kickers kid. you can get neuro insoles which you can wear in different shoes/ sandals too. and there are some really cool colourful european brands which give lots of support.

oddly, ballet has helped, but you need to find a teacher who will keep an eye on the ankles. does she have a physio?

a very sensible orthotist explained that some time in 'normal' shoes was good - too much support (ie wearing supportive boots/ splints all the time) would actually mean that the child would become reliant on the supports and not strengthen the ankles themselves... so she'd still be able to wear other stuff too. (this was once we had actually got her upright and walking, mind - there was a long period when support was essntial). there is a balance to be drawn.

chocjunkie · 02/05/2011 18:54

marne, DD's (3) feet look like this. we are seeing the podiatrist about it and DD is wearing insoles. podiatrist says the insoles won't change her feet as such but give her much more support whilst wearing them (i.e. a bit like glasses - as long as you wear them your vision is fine and once you take them off it isn't).

her running has been much better since wearing the insoles- she seems to be much more stable and balanced and doesn't fall over as much anymore.

Original poster

Marne · 02/05/2011 19:31

Thank you
madwoman- she has not seen anyone, so no physio or orthotist, i'm so angry because i have been back and forth to the GP sinse she was 4 (after her AS diagnosis) and its taken this long just to get a ped appointment (first appointment was cancelled), i'm tempted to change GP's. We have seen no one sinse her AS diagnosis so no check ups with CAHMS or paed. Dd2 also has funny feet and has been seen by physio who said 'nothing they can do as its caused by her ASD' (her feet are also flat and physio said her knees and hips have turned), dd2 has been wearing kickers for a year and they deffently help her walk better (falls over less). We have been waiting so long for an answer to her problems, the feet is just a small part of it.

I hope they can give her some insoles, its so hard to find nice girls shoes that support the foot enough, she would love to be able to run faster, she gets picked on at school as she's so slow on her feet .

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madwomanintheattic · 02/05/2011 20:00

is the paed referral for the dyspraxic tendencies? (seems obvious that a child with unstable ankles might have issues with co-ordination etc ) sometimes gps can be a law unto themselves.

if it is the dyspraxia referral, i'd be pushing for ot, physio and orthotist referrals. in some places the physio can refer to orthotics, too. at least with some ankle support, you can work out how much is dyspraxic-type stuff and how much isn't.

there have been a few threads suggesting supportive shoes around, i think. we used to use elefanten but i've just had a look at their website and can't see anything particularly appealing (or indeed supportive)

www.orthopedicshoesforchildren.com has some quite cute boots (and some spectacularly hideous ones) but i'm a bit of a sucker for seeing girls in boots there are some cute red ones somewhere in there.

would add that the sandal type supportive shoes (piedro for example) can be vicious - and cause all sorts of bleeding toes etc if your child is one that stumbles/ trips/ stands on her own feet/ gets her legs tied in a knot underneath her etc etc.

if you do get an orthotist referral, it's worth remembering that if you are allowed one pair of support shoes/ boots through the system/ insurance etc, then quite often the orthotist can order you more pairs that you then pay for - their rate is often cheaper than making private purchase.

and however cute it looks, don't go for baby pink or baby blue suede. just don't. it looks cute for about a minute and a half, then forever disappears into grey dusty scuff.

Original poster

Marne · 02/05/2011 20:18

Yes ,the paed referral is for the dyspraxia and hypermobile joints (oh and low muscle tone) but GP did look at her feet but they were not quite as bad as they are now. Luckily with have managed to get OT to see her (in a few weeks) but not through the GP, the OT is already working with her sister and said she will see dd1 too after she has seen dd2 a few more times, the OT is great so i cant wait for her to start working with her.

I have trouble getting any type of boot on her, she wants to wear doodles but she cant walk in them, she's at that age where she wants to wear what everyone else is wearing (trainers and pumps) and she's a bit of a tom boy so they have to be blue .

OP posts:

madwomanintheattic · 02/05/2011 20:27

doodles how i loathe doodles

we had dd2 trying on wellies last week. at one point she fell over in the shop. we didn't buy that pair... (the wellies were ironically for riding, to improve her core tone)

wait until she wants flip flops...

piedro used to do a trainer type thing iirc - we didn't ever have them and i suspect they were butt ugly. tbh she's at the age where you could probably compromise though - if she wears the boots for half the day she gets to do the activity she wants to do and then she wear something of her own choice later in the day?

i remember despairing one day when dd2 could literally not stay upright, and dragging her into town to panic-buy kickers in whatever design i could find. she had very little choice in the matter

Original poster

Marne · 02/05/2011 20:35

I do have a pair of Lego kickers that she might wear (although i think they might be pink), she can hardly walk in doodles and doodles seem to have changed (for the worse) sinse last time she had some, she's been wearing birkenstocks in the garden which fit her well but i think have made things worse .

OP posts:

MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay · 02/05/2011 22:16

When you see the paed, do ask for a referral straight to orthotics.. probably they will start with inserts which will fit into most shoes (possibly not doodles tho!).
The next step up are 'heel cups' which are more supportive, then DAFOs, then sometimes if there are additional problems, even AFOs

My son started with Piedro boots, then Piedros+ insoles, then DAFOs then eventually AFOs..he's been in hinged AFOs since he was 6 . As he got heavier his poor flat hypermobile feet got more and more misshapen ..he's nearly 14 now and they are just horrible but without the supports they would have been even worse.
have a look at www.dafo.com/patient-groups/low-tone-pronation/

for an idea of what might be prescribed.. ok no one wants their children in 'splints' but IMO it beats the discomfort that gradual deformity brings.

Oddly enough tho my son still has utterly flat pronated feet he now has tight achilles and hamstrings and he walks so much better with his splints on (we leave them off at weekends) .

Chuck the Doodles....!

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