How to determine the child's flat feet and at what age can it be done?

Due to their inexperience, fatigue or ordinary professional burnout, doctors sometimes do not notice symptoms that might indicate a specific illness of the child. Another thing is parents. They always pay attention to minor trifles, which can cause them to worry about the health of the baby. Therefore, if the parents noticed that their child has an unnatural gait, then they should know how to determine the child's flat feet.

Flat-footedness is ...

Flat feet called characteristic deformation of the feet, which can be congenital or acquired. The change in the shape of the foot affects the transverse and longitudinal vaults - they drop.

This disease is quite common. And many, complaining of pain in the back, joints, muscles, can not even suspect of it. Therefore, it is very important for parents to have knowledge about how to define a child's flat feet.

Types of flatfoot

According to the nature of deformation of the foot, the flatfoot is divided into the original, transverse and longitudinal. And if a person, for example, has a transverse flatfoot, this does not mean at all that in time he will not find a longitudinal one. All types of flatfoot well coexist with each other.

From the name, one can draw an absolutely logical conclusion that the transverse flatfoot is characterized by the lowering of the transverse arch of the foot, and the longitudinal one by the longitudinal one. Longitudinal flat feet, in turn, can affect the size of the foot. Therefore, if a person has changed the habitual 39th shoe size to the 40th, then this may be the reason for contacting a specialist. This applies to an adult. But with the way to determine the child's flat feet, things are a little more complicated.

By origin, this disease can be divided into: congenital and acquired. You can get a flatfoot in four ways:

1. Having had polio. Side effect of this disease - paralysis of the muscles of the shin and foot, which can cause paralytic platypodia.
2. Breaking the bones of the foot or ankle - the cause of traumatic platypodia.
3. Overexplored rickets in infancy. Rickets negatively affects the correctness of the formation of the bone system of the child, so it can become a fundamental factor for the emergence of rachic flat feet.
4. Purchasing uncomfortable shoes or high-heeled shoes. The bulk of patients with static flat feet are women. Because they most often sacrifice convenience and comfort for the sake of beauty.

Congenital flat feet are extremely rare - only 3% of cases.

Degrees of development of the disease

The degree of deformation of the foot can only be determined by a specialist. But the presence of the disease parents can independently notice already at an early stage of flatfoot.

In transverse flatfoot, as in longitudinal, there are three degrees of development of the disease. The first degree is characterized by mild symptoms and is visually virtually invisible. The reason for going to the doctor can be fast fatigue of the legs, swelling, changes in gait and other symptoms characteristic of the disease. The degree of development of the disease can worsen if no measures are taken to eliminate it. Therefore, in order to avoid serious consequences, you need to see a doctor at the first symptoms.

What affects flat feet?

Although the flatfoot itself seems quite harmless disease, it can bring a lot of trouble to the patient. When the child is sick, the situation is much worse. A baby can not just ask about symptoms and anxieties, so parents do not know how to determine the flat feet of a child for 1 year and can it be done at all?

Platypodia affects the wear rate of the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, the earlier the start, the faster the patient will overtake problems in the future. In addition, it contributes to the curvature of the spine, and as a result, the occurrence of pain in the back.

Patients with flat feet usually give their characteristic gait. Because of the incorrect distribution of the load on the feet, a person may have pain in the muscles, ligaments, joints. The presence of flat feet also affects the formation of the so-called bone, which with age will bring even more problems in everyday life.

Causes of flat feet in children

Since flat feet, as an innate pathology is extremely rare, parents should carefully monitor those factors that may affect its occurrence. The reason for the development of flat feet in a child can be:

• excess weight;
• Uncomfortable, cramped shoes;
• Lack of vitamin D and, as a consequence, rickets;
• Low mobility;
• Incorrect load distribution on the feet;
• Trauma of the foot and lower leg.

To avoid the development of this disease, you need to take preventive actions that do not require special skills. Bone tissue, muscles and ligaments of small children take time to get stronger. In this case, the role of parents is to create favorable conditions for this.

At what age do flat feet in children?

Flattening is a fairly common disease among young children. Especially evident signs of this disease in 2-3 years. Therefore, parents often ask themselves how to determine the flat feet of a child for 2 years?

In fact, the manifestation of flat feet in children at this age should not cause parents special fear. The fact is that the child at birth still does not have bone tissue. Mostly its skeleton consists of cartilages. And only in time these cartilages begin to strengthen, saturated with calcium, fluorine, phosphorus, etc.

In 2-3 years the process of formation of the bone system is still at an intermediate stage. Its more or less finished form of bone tissue takes only 5-6 years, then it is possible to put the child a correct diagnosis. Therefore, to search for an answer to the question of how to define a flatfoot in a child of 3 years, makes sense only when the flat foot is accompanied by a flat-valgus deformation of the foot.

Flattening in children: how to define?

Photos posted on the network, with the image of children's legs are unlikely to help you independently put the right diagnosis. Therefore, if you suspect that your child has a flatfoot, note the two external symptoms of this disease:

• Incorrect gait;
• Character of wear of shoes.

How to determine if there is a flat-footed child's gait? The first thing that should cause caution in parents is clubfoot. By "clubfoot" is understood such a nature of gait, in which the toes of the foot when walking are turned outward. This is due to the fact that the muscles of the baby's feet during walking are in a relaxed state and can not support its correct position.

Just pay attention to how the child's shoes wear out. If all the boots are deformed, in particular, their inner side, this indicates an incorrect position of the foot when walking.

When parents are not in a hurry to seek advice from a specialist, you can use the folk method to determine flat feet. To do this, you need to smear the baby's foot with a fat cream and put a footprint on a white sheet of paper. If the notch on the print is not large enough or not at all, then this is already a serious reason for contacting a qualified doctor.

Which doctor determines flat feet in children?

Many parents are looking for information on how to determine the child's flat feet, simply because they do not know to which doctor you need to seek advice. The diagnosis of flat feet can only be performed by an orthopedic physician.

When registering with a children's polyclinic, the district pediatrician should detail the schedule of visits to the orthopedic doctor in the first year of the child's life. As a rule, the visit is scheduled for 1,3,6 and 12 months of the baby. After the child learns to walk, doctors recommend to visit the orthopedist once a year.

Treatment

Depending on the origin of the disease, the method of its treatment is also determined. If the child is in the same 3%, in which flatfoot is a congenital disease, plaster casts will be used to change the shape of the foot. Each pair of dressings is superimposed for a period of not more than 10 days, with their subsequent replacement. If the child was born with a severe form of flatfoot, the pathology will have to be corrected surgically.

With the acquired form of flatfoot, other methods of treatment are used, which include:

• massage;
• Physiotherapy;
• Exercise therapy;

The diagnosis of acquired flatfoot can be made only after the child reaches 5 years, so treatment procedures before this date are not carried out. If you want to save the child from this disease, then it is best to take preventive measures for this.

Orthopedic shoes

When the orthopedist still makes a verdict that the child has a deformity of the foot, he must necessarily write out an appointment for the use of special orthopedic shoes.

Many parents purchase such shoes without a doctor's order just because they consider it safer for the child. But this is not so. Orthopedic footwear by and large is a medical device for the treatment of flat feet. But to answer the question how to determine the flat feet of a child whose year of birth says that his foot is still at the stage of formation, it is impossible. And how can you treat a disease that, in fact, the child does not have? No way. Therefore, orthopedic doctors agree that orthopedic footwear for a child up to three years old is absolutely unnecessary.

Nutrition with flat feet

Of course, a special diet does not help get rid of flat feet, but experts have yet developed the daily diet of a person with this disease. This development is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of therapeutic measures for the speedy recovery of the patient.

For young children, the best food is mother's milk. When a child already begins to eat "adult" food, it is very important to ensure that it is rich in vitamins and minerals. In particular, calcium, phosphorus, collagen and vitamin D. Most of these substances are found in dairy products (calcium), fish (phosphorus, vitamin D) and chill (collagen).

Prophylaxis of flat feet in children

In order not to wonder how to determine the flatfoot of a one-year-old child, it is sufficient to observe a number of the simplest rules that completely exclude the probability of the occurrence of this disease.

The most important factor in the proper formation of the foot in a child is properly selected footwear. Aesthetics in this case should go to the background. First of all, the baby's shoes should be of suitable size. You do not need to buy shoes for your child "to grow" or wear out almost new shoes for older brothers or sisters, as this can cause an incorrect load distribution on the foot. And this, as you and I remember, is one of the reasons for the appearance of flat feet.

If the child does not have medical indications, for which he needs to wear shoes as often as possible, then try to keep the kid moving barefoot most of his time. This is especially true for children aged 1 to 3 years. If at one-year age parents do not yet attach special importance to the correctness of the child's walk, then at the age of 2 they begin to look more closely at it. Therefore, the question of how to determine the flat feet in a child of 2 years, arises much more often than others.

In natural conditions, the baby's foot is formed most correctly. The surface on which the baby walks should have a different texture - smooth, relief, rough and other. In the summer, you can walk with your child barefoot on the grass or embossed soil, and in winter you can use special rugs.