DS 16 Months AFO Splint Problems Please Help

[chinchi]

DS was born 10 weeks premature at 29+5. He is now almost 17 months, and Im worried about his development.

He has a small cyst on the right side of his brain which has affected his left hand (although this has almost corrected itself), and his left leg. He has a tendancy to cruise on his tip-toes (both feet), and his left foot goes out to the left slightly when he applies pressure and tries to walk.

His consultant referred him to a physio who suggested that he be fitted for AFOS splints in order to correct the problem. He received the splints last week, ans has not taken well to them at all. He cries when we put them on him, they are affecting his crawling as they make his legs seem to bend inwards when he is on the floor, and the left splint keep coming off of his foot. We were also advised to buy soft trainers for him to wear over them as he would slip without, yet the only thing Ive been able to find for him to wear are slippers as everything else is too heavy for him to be able to lift his legs.

I bought him some shoes today from Clarks that have helped put his right foot flat on the floor, yet he is still on his tip-toes on his left foot, and again, the shoe keeps falling off. The physio has been away for the past week, but I will be speaking to her tomorrow regarding what else to try.

To cut a long story short, I just wondered if anybody has experienced similar problems with children? Its upsetting me seeing him stuggle as he desperately wants to walk, but this muscle inbalance isnt letting him

Hi Chinchi, my ds2 is 6 but was born at 28 wks.
He started with piedro boots but then moved on to splints which he still has.
I'm sure they told you but it is important to break them in gradually, starting wearing them just for short periods & gradully building up. He will get used to them, honest!
It does feel very different for them with the splint on & your ds's movement will feel much more restricted to him but hopefully the splints should hold his feet in a good position for future walking.

I have always gone for trainers with velcro as they tend to open low down the front. After ds2's last lot of splints I went to JJB & bought 2 pairs of trainers & a pair of plain black trainers for school, all in the sale.
I try to get trainers wiht thin outer soles, so that they are not so chunky & less to trip over & I always take the inner sole out so that his foot sits further down in the shoe, they seem to stay on better then.
DS2 is actually wearing football socks at the moment becuase I can't seem to find any long boys socks now woolies have closed.

trying to think of anything else we tried yrs ago.
Good luck

hiya,
my dd also wears splints and has done since the age of 2 so i hope that my little bit of advice may be helpful to you, as i didn't know about this site when dd was younger.

for trainers/shoes- as your ds is so young try and find a pair of trainers to go over the splints(asda/brantano-woolworths were also good...do not worry if they are the cheapest pair in the shop as the splint is providing the support for your childs feet not the shoe.
if the splint is long then i would suggest long socks as it is more comfy.
'break' the splints in and praise for co-operative behaviour to start with
(try putting the splints on and then put your ds staight in the pushchair and go for a trip to the park??- he won't be weight bearing immediately he puts them on and the distraction of a play in the park may encourage him to try and take steps/gain his balance)
remember-baby steps, don't compare your child to what others are doing, he will get there but just needs a little more support and that's what the splints will hopefully do

hope this doesn't come across as too patronising....eek(apologies if it does)

Hi Chinchi, my Ds was born 29 +2 and has also worn splints from just over 2, we started with night splints but now have both day and night splints. I don't really have any other advice as the other 2 have said what I would do, but just want to offer my support. He will find it difficult at first and his legs will be heavy however this only helps to 'anchor' his feet to the floor and is quit good for building up muscle strength!
If the left one keeps coming off and that is the one with more problems then try to do some stretching before you put the splint on. Go back to orthotics though if it continues to do this.
My DS is now 3.10 and still crawls most places, his AFO's do affect that and to be honest we have Piedros and AFOs to mix and match and if he is having a day at home where I know he will be playing on the floor I put the boots on and only swop to AFOs when we go out.
Hope some of this helps

Thankyou to you all for taking the time to reply.

I have phoned the physio twice today but am still waiting for her to get back in touch.

I put the splints on DS lastnight before bed, and to be honest he did adapt much better. The main problem at the moment is that he is forever wanting to cruise along the furniture and as the splints have very slippy soles and I have only been able to find big clumsy slippers to cover them (which are proving to be a big problem), what else could I try?

Will the splints affect his ability to learn how to walk with his foot being in a set position when he wears them? Also how will the splints correct his foot going outwards, as it seems his full lower leg seems to turn outwards when pressure is applied?

Many thanks for all the great help

Chinchi,
what about trying a cheapy pair of sandals (if you can get them yet?) - the ones with the velcro fastening at the toe and the heel, next size up if need be. Won't look pretty, but will stop him sliding about.

I did answer on the other thread but just in case you didn't read it - speak to physio about oversplint boots (honestly, they are lovely) and also she may have some more ideas about what else you can try.

doodles style shoes/pumps from clarks? but check that the velcro fastens well over the splint