At The Foot Practice, our paediatric podiatrist helps to educate you – and your child – with the correct information and treatment plan for your child’s foot care. One particular issue in paediatric orthotics is that children’s feet continue to grow, unlike adults. The rapidly changing shape and size of children’s feet means that routine assessments and follow-ups are critical to treatment. Children’s orthotics necessitate an ongoing outgrowth strategy to prevent future foot conditions before they become serious problems.
To help control a flexible developing foot in young children or to address musculoskeletal conditions in older ones, podiatric modifications such as customised insoles Singapore, deep heel cups, medial heel skive, and high medial and lateral sidewalls may be required. Our podiatrist will explain the functions of these modifications to you and your child.
Treating Biomechanical Abnormalities in Children’s Feet with Orthotic Therapy
When young patients come into our paediatric podiatry clinic, they have either been referred to us by a specialist or are looking to address an acute injury. A paediatrician or specialist often has already diagnosed the condition if the condition is a deformity.
Children and adolescents’ most common musculoskeletal disorders include metatarsus adductus, flexible flatfoot, clubfoot, and other deformities. We also see a lot of young patients who require treatment after a sports injury. Their conditions could be acute injuries, like one related to falling, or a chronic condition, like flat feet.
This is why it is essential to find a podiatrist who specialises in children’s foot conditions so they can conduct a thorough biomechanical and gait assessment. With the proper clinical knowledge and leading technologies, our podiatrists work to understand the root cause of your child’s foot pain or abnormality, Different types of paediatric orthotics — whether custom-made orthoses, insoles for kids, or store-bought inserts — can work to improve coordination, ease painful symptoms, and develop strength in the growing foot.
Would Your Child Benefit from Custom Orthoses, Insoles, or Over-the-Counter Inserts?
Podiatrists provide optimal care to improve foot and ankle function in children and reduce pain symptoms. One unique condition of children’s feet is that they continue to grow, which can affect determining the best type of treatment for your child’s condition.
The best type of treatment is usually customised orthoses for your child, which we offer at The Foot Practice. However, if cost is a limiting factor, custom orthotics for kids may not be possible due to financial considerations. Our team can recommend testing your child’s prefabricated devices or store-bought inserts. If using these prefabricated or general children’s shoe inserts shows signs of improvement for the condition, we will continue monitoring your child’s condition to ensure their growth is healthy.
If prefabricated children’s insoles are used and the symptoms return within a few months, we know that the insoles or inserts are not providing the necessary support. Plus, if your child experiences discomfort while using a prefab or over-the-counter device — whether outwardly in the form of blisters and calluses or simply discomfort — it’s time to reassess the treatment plan and discuss custom-made orthoses.
The Foot Practice’s paediatric podiatrist aims to understand your child’s complaint and work with parents and children to craft the most appropriate and cost-effective plan to address the condition.
Children’s Flat Feet and Orthotic Insoles
Sometimes, children’s flat feet may indicate a more serious foot condition.
If your child’s feet are causing problems, our paediatric podiatrist may decide to treat the foot dysfunction with, for example, a kid’s arch support. In many cases, treatment for paediatric flat feet is quite simple; it may just be a question of buying the right pair of shoes or allowing your toddler to walk barefoot as they’re just learning how to walk.
Suppose those solutions don’t resolve the issue. In that case, our kid’s foot specialist may recommend strengthening exercises or paediatric insoles for a child’s flat feet or shoe inserts to slip into their shoe for additional support.
Outgrowth Plan, An Essential Part of Your Child’s Future Foot Health
Ongoing follow-ups are critical to your child’s foot health. Our podiatrist’s goal is preventative care and not just treating the symptoms alone, as these may lead to future biomechanical imbalances that often lead to injuries. This treatment can vary as the child’s foot grows and develops in new ways.
An outgrowth plan typically requires a parent’s expectations to be managed. Every case is different, and it isn’t easy to provide a blanket solution for every foot or estimate an accurate end date as the child’s foot develops. If orthotics for children’s feet are required, whether prefab or custom. In that case, we’ll discuss a longer-term orthotic therapy plan for your child until they reach skeletal maturity to help strengthen the foot and correct deformities.
We work with parents to monitor outgrowth through follow-up visits, typically between one to two shoe sizes growth.
Orthotic Therapy and Sports-Related Conditions in Children
At The Foot Practice, our experienced paediatric podiatrist considers the mechanics of the foot and understands the scenarios of how the foot functions in different sports activities.
If you’re dealing with sports, children’s orthotic insoles often address the rear root. For example, sprinters’ footwear is often just a rounded heel with spikes at the end. Knowing the function of the orthoses is vital in selecting which device will work best. In this case, the therapy would improve heel strength.
On the other hand, it’s almost physically impossible for dancers to have a biomechanically sound insert or orthoses in something like a floor ballet slipper, pointe shoe, or jazz boot. For dancers, our podiatrist will focus the treatment plan on proper biomechanical control outside of the dance studio.
We will look at their everyday footwear and work to control the abnormality in their regular school shoes or sneakers, treating conditions like posterior tibial tendon dysfunction. Then, in addition to addressing their condition outside dance practice, we may consider adding features such as an arch cookie or metatarsal pad to offload a digital neuroma.
If you are a parent and think that paediatric orthotics for sports might benefit your child, make an appointment with our paediatric sports podiatry clinic today.
Make an Appointment to Discuss Orthotic Therapy Options for Your Child
The Foot Practice offers a range of kids orthotic therapy to improve your child’s foot function, whether it’s a deformity, gait abnormality, or acute injury. Our flexibility and adaptation at our podiatry clinic, especially regarding children’s foot care, is a unique service we provide to our young patients and their parents.
Ultimately, it is essential that children feel comfortable using the orthoses. For this reason, The Foot Practice can produce a more cost-effective insole by addressing factors such as the reduced need for durability.
