2404 N. Courtenay Parkway
Merritt Island, Florida 32953
Need Help?: Call: 321-452-1327
Fax: 321-454-9208
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6549 N. Wickham Rd. Ste 103E Melbourne,
FL 32940 Located in Brevard Medical City -
Our Trusted Pediatic Podiatrists Specialize In Children’s Foot Care Serving Merritt Island & Melbourne, FL
CHILDREN FOOT HEALTH
EXPERT PEDIATRIC FOOT & ANKLE CARE INCLUDING DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT & SURGERY
If your child is not participating as often in sports or in other physical activities or is complaining of foot pain, don't think it's caused by "growing pains". Your child may have a common developmental foot condition such as flat feet that could be simply treated with a custom molded orthotic (shoe insert).
In addition, you may observe that the child is often falling or tripping and not able to keep up with normal activities. This may be due to a condition called in-toeing or out-toeing.
Many childhood foot conditions can be helped with custom orthotic which is an insert that fits into the shoe that keeps the bones in the feet in their proper alignment. This can eliminate their foot pain and allow normal development as your child matures into adulthood.
Our Podiatrist treats a wide variety of pediatric foot & ankle conditions including:
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In-toeing or Out-toeing
CHILDREN’S FEET SHOULD NOT HURT
If your child is complaining of foot pain, please schedule an evaluation with Merritt Island Foot & Ankle and learn all your treatment options.
CLUBFOOT
WHAT IS A CLUBFOOT?
Clubfoot is one of the most common non-life threatening major birth defects. It affects your child’s foot and ankle, twisting the heel and toes inward. It may look like the top of the foot is on the bottom. The clubfoot, calf and leg are smaller and shorter than normal. Clubfoot is not painful, is correctable, and your baby is probably otherwise perfectly healthy.
Approximately one in every 1,000 newborns has clubfoot. Of those, one in three have both feet "clubbed". The exact cause is unknown. Two out of three clubfoot babies are boys. Clubfoot is twice as likely if you, your spouse or your other children also have it. Less severe infant foot problems are common and are often misdiagnosed as clubfoot.
The goal of treating clubfoot is to make your newborn’s clubfoot (or feet) functional, painless and stable by the time he or she is ready to walk. Podiatrists start by gently stretching your child’s clubfoot toward the correct position. They put on a cast to hold it in place. One week later, they take off the cast and stretch your baby’s foot a little more, always working it toward the correct position. They apply a new cast, and one week later you come back and do it again.
This process (called serial casting) slowly moves the bones in the clubfoot into proper alignment. Your physician will use X-rays to check the progress. Casting generally repeats for 6-12 weeks, and may take up to four months. About half the time, your child’s clubfoot straightens with casting. If it does, he or she will be fitted with special shoes or braces to keep the foot straight once corrected. These holding devices are usually needed until your child has been walking for up to a year or more.
Muscles often try to return to the clubfoot position. This is common when your child is 2-3 years old, but may continue up to age 7. Sometimes stretching, casting and bracing is not enough to correct your baby’s clubfoot. He or she may need clubfoot surgery to adjust the tendons, ligaments and joints in the foot/ankle.
Please schedule a comprehensive evalution with our Merritt Island Foot & Ankle’s Foot Doctor.