Clubfoot in children: the norm or anomaly?

Very often, some parents admire the awkward gait of their baby, affectionately calling him a club-footed bear. But they do not pay attention to this, because the key word in this case: "club-footed". And this is already an alarming signal to every parent that it is necessary to visit an orthopedist urgently.

First of all, it is important to know that clubfoot in children is a pathological deformation of the foot, visualized by its deviation inward from the longitudinal axis of the shin, and also that there is an innate and acquired form of a given physiological abnormality.

Congenital clubfoot in children develops in the womb of the mother and can be one of a complex of symptoms, characteristic of dysplasia of the skeleton and malformations. Such an anomaly is a deformation, which is pronounced from birth, and gradually begins to intensively progress. What is the dynamics of such a violation? The baby's foot is characterized by the flexion of the sole in the ankle joint area, visual fusion of the outer edge of the foot and elevation of the anterior part of the foot. There is also a pronounced clubfoot in children, in which the foot is turned inward, and its outer edge points downwards and upwards, and the inner concave margin is exclusively upward, with the back of the foot pointing down and forward, and the plantar side up and back.

Depending on the fixation of the foot joints in orthopedics, three stages of this anomaly are distinguished: mild (deformity can be passively eliminated), medium (partial passive correction of the foot) and heavy (passive correction is excluded) of the clubfoot form. However, regardless of the nature of the deformation, clinical processes are observed not only with the shape and function of the foot itself, but also with the entire lower limb, as the delay of ossification of the foot, often the formation of ossification nuclei, is often diagnosed.

As a progressive clubfoot disease in children, treatment should begin in advance in order to avoid the start of pathology, which in the future can affect not only the beauty of the gait, but also lead to a number of diseases. So, the productive treatment of congenital clubfoot is performed under the clear guidance of an orthopedist in outpatient settings, but in medicine there are also recorded cases when a clubfooted child had to be hospitalized in orthopedic sanatoriums or hospitals.

In principle, the treatment scheme is identical in all clinical cases, but its nuances are possible. The basis is a set of conservative methods, including correction of deformation and fixation of the achieved result. The success of such treatment depends entirely on the severity of the distortion of the foot, the correct treatment course chosen and the timely detection of the problem. Perseverance and perseverance also play an important role in recovery.

Today, the technique of early functional development is particularly in demand, including the complete elimination of deformity with the help of a corrective plaster bandage, therapeutic massage, gymnastics and water procedures, as well as the use of stop-fixing tutors made of polymer materials. To treat clubfoot in children is necessary from birth and to follow all instructions in stages, clearly following the detailed instructions of a knowledgeable specialist.

If the conservative treatment is unsuccessful or its late diagnosis, the clubfoot in children is eliminated by surgery with the help of a tendon-ligament apparatus, but it is necessary to perform such a procedure in early childhood.

It is important to remember the main thing that a potential problem should be identified as early as possible so that the treatment of the child does not prevent it from developing.