Kids Foot pain – Growing Pain is not a diagnosis!

It’s common for parents who take their children with foot or leg pain to a practitioner that the pain is simply growing pains and that the only thing that can be done is to wait for the child to grow out of this pain.

No time limit is given for this pain. No solution just wait till the child grows and the pain will somehow go away by itself, time for this? Months or maybe years ! With a vague diagnosis of “growing pains”

Kids DO NOT need to wait to grow out of growing pains! There is definitely treatment and more importantly a more Rigourous reasoning for many kids than simply the fact that kids bones are growing!

We need kids to develop a love for activity so that they grow into adults who have a positive outlook on this. Let’s face it there are lots of adults out there who could do with a more active lifestyle.

If like us it’s important to you as a parent that your kids stay happy healthy and active, and your child has pain - then we would LOVE to be able to help!

There are multiple ways kids can be assisted with lower leg, foot or ankle pain. Our team help parents and kids every single day with this pain.

Video Transcript

So, as a parent of a newborn or a little kid, it can be super confusing. There's stacks for us to know. One of the really confusing things that lots of parents ask me about is when do you need to start worrying about your kids’ feet? Is there a magical age? Well, first of all no, there's actually probably not. In this video, I'm going to run through a little bit of history about kids’ feet and how they develop, and then I'm going to talk to you about some really simple things that you can look for to make sure that your kids develop properly. But also, if they present with these signs or symptoms, you know to take them to see a qualified podiatrist and get some answers or some help straight away.

So, some brief history of how kids’ feet develop. When kids are born, they're really cute, chubby little feet. Around about the age of seven or nine is when we expect kids’ bones to ossify or harden and develop an arch. So, before the age of seven or nine, it' pretty normal for kids to have flat feet. So, you don't have to worry about flat feet until around about seven or nine. However, to make things tricky, because that's what we like to do to you parents out there, there's one caveat. And that is, if your child has flat feet and they have one of the following signs or symptoms, even before the age of seven, you should take them to see a very well-qualified foot doctor podiatrist that deals with children.

The first one is pain. Your child should never have pain in their feet. I
personally don't believe in growing pains, and there's a great video that I've done on exactly why I don't believe in growing pains. You can check it out in the link below. But no child should have pain in their feet or while they're growing.

The next sign or symptom that you should be worried about is if your child trips, falls or is clumsy or, often said by Dads to me in kind of whispering: they're a little bit unco. If they're any of those things guess what? Again, you should take them to see a qualified podiatrist who has experience dealing with kids. Again, we've got a video talking about why that happens and what you can help do about that, so check out the link below.

Next, we talk about not wanting to do activity. If you've got pain in your feet or legs and often as kids we don't know how to express that or how do tell Mum and Dad that, and we often just find kids baulk or stop doing activity, so they might not want to walk with you at the end of the picnic when you guys are going for a long walk as a family, or they might not want to join their brothers and sisters in playing soccer in the backyard or at pre-school playing with the other kids. If they complain about that, want to be put in a shopping trolley, those sorts of things are all signs that there may be something else going on, and you should see a qualified podiatrist.

Now they're the signs and symptoms that you should look for if your child has problems. Growing pains or pain in their feet, tripping, falling clumsy, complaining about activity, any of those things, take them to see someone like me, a qualified podiatrist, a foot doctor who sees stacks of kids. That's right.

Again, we've got oodles of videos with links down below talking all about kids feet. Everything from how to choose the right school shoe, to choosing the right school shoe size, to heel pain, to growing pains and everything in between.

So, join me there and check it out. If you've got a question, post down below and we will get back to you. Remember, let's keep our kids happy, healthy and active.

Bye for now.

Do all kids with flat feet need orthotics by Dr Brenden Brown – Podiatrist

Blog, Growing pains

Transcript
No, not all kids with flat feet actually do need orthotics.

I think that it's important to understand that many flat feet will resolve by the age of approximately nine in most kids.

When I see kids with flat feet, I only use orthotics if they've got a structural problem that I don't think will actually resolve naturally by itself.

The other reason I use orthotics is if the kid has flat feet, and they have some form of pain in their foot, ankle, or lower limb.

I think that's when it's important to actually see a foot doctor or a podiatrist, who actually has stacks and stacks of experience helping kids out of pain and back into activity.

Taking care of common kids’ foot complaints

Blog, Kids Feet, Uncategorized

Taking care of common kids’ foot complaints

While most parents worry about the health of their child’s eyes and teeth, many overlook the state of their kids’ feet. Feet are amazing; not only do they enable us to stand tall and move, they support our body weight and act as shock absorbers, in turn protecting our ankles, knees, hips and spine.

In young children the foot is pliable to allow it to develop, which means taking care of feet during the first few years of a child’s life is vital.

Recognising common foot complaints can help ensure that action is taken to address the problem and ensure your child’s feet continue to develop in a healthy way.

Ingrown toenails

Ingrown toenails are common with multiple causes. Widespread causes can include clipping the nails too short, cutting or picking at the edges of the nail, trauma to the nail due to kicking sports, excessively sweaty feet and pressure from footwear. All of these events can create a sharp edge on the nail, which can pierce the skin and lead to an ingrown toenail.

The symptoms of an ingrown toenail (onychocrytosis) can include a sore toe, pain at one side of the toenail and, in severe cases, a pus-filled discharge. In most cases it’s usually the big toe that’s affected.

Closed-toe shoes are likely to increase the intensity of the pain and, if left untreated, it’s common for the toenail to become infected making it difficult to walk and particularly painful to play sport.

To treat an ingrown toenail start by soaking the foot daily in warm, salty water, gently patting dry and applying a topical antiseptic. If possible, refrain from wearing enclosed shoes.

If the issue does not resolve within a couple of days it may require treatment by a podiatrist. This is a simple procedure that involves removing the small, sharp portion of nail causing the grief and dressing the nail to protect against infection. It usually takes minutes.

In acute cases nail surgery may be required.

Flat feet

In infants flat feet is common because they have a fat pad under the foot that hides the developing arch. By about the age of eight, the foot arch becomes apparent. Yet some children never develop an arch and this is called ‘flat feet’.

Flat feet or pronated feet (foot and ankle roll inwards) can be hereditary or due to muscle length and tone. In some instances the condition causes no pain or discomfort but in other cases flat feet or over pronated feet can cause pain in multiple areas of the body including the foot itself, shins, knees, lower back and Achilles tendons.

A podiatrist can help treat flat feet using orthotics, which hold the feet in their correct position and help relieve the associated pain. A detailed biomechanical analysis is conducted to diagnose which type of orthotics is best (there are many!).

In addition to orthotics, a podiatrist can advise on other measures that can be taken as part of a multi-pronged treatment plan. This may include stretching, strengthening exercises or deep connective tissue massage. Bare in mind that being overweight or wearing poor footwear can contribute to the symptoms of flat feet.

Plantar warts

Warts can be the bane of a parent’s life because they are so easy to contract, yet notoriously difficult to get rid of.

Often mistaken for corns, plantar warts appear as small (less than 5mm) rough, flat bumps on the bottom of the foot—usually on the underside of the toes, heel or forefoot. Some plantar warts have little black dots in the centre. This is caused by small blood vessels.

Warts are the result of a virus, so they are easily transferred to other children and adults and are particularly common in swimming pools, gyms, communal showers and other places that involve water, warmth and bare feet.

There’s a plethora of treatments for plantar warts but many are lengthy and not always successful. If over-the-counter non-prescription medicines don’t work, you can try a prescription medication such as salicylic acid or cryotherapy, which involves freezing the wart with liquid nitrogen.

Alternatively, your local podiatrist can use laser treatment or a small instrument to remove the wart. To prevent future plantar warts, avoid letting your child go barefoot in high-risk places such as public showers and outdoor swimming pools.

Want to know more about taking care of kids’ feet? Visit: mykidsfootdoctor.com.au.

Got a question? Ask Dr Foot

A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle Care is one of Sydney’s leading foot and ankle clinics. Principal podiatrist and founder of A Step Ahead Dr Brenden Brown (AKA Dr Foot) has been taking care of people’s feet for more than 20 years. With a background in sports medicine and having served as a former president of the Australasian Podiatry Council, Brenden is a wealth of information when it comes to foot and ankle care.

Are growing pains causing your child discomfort?

When should I bring my child to see a Podiatrist?

Blog

His brother has very flat feet and wears orthotics, so I thought I’d get him checked too. He doesn’t get any pain though. I hope that’s okay that I’ve brought him in?

You wouldn’t believe the number of parents I see who are almost embarrassed to have made an appointment for their little one because they’re not sure if they should have.

When should I bring my child to see a Podiatrist? - 1

Little people get pain as well. DON’T wait till your child is in pain to look after them

After chatting to them about why they are uncertain, the most common thoughts floating through a parent’s minds tend to be:

• Is he too young to come in for an appointment? I’m not sure what a good age for this is.
• He doesn’t actually get any pain so I’m not sure if I need to have him looked at?
• I think I might be over-thinking this because it’s only a small thing I’ve noticed!
• This might just be a normal part of her growing, I’m just not sure what’s normal!

These are all very valid thoughts and concerns, and are completely NORMAL!

Unless you’ve undertaken a 4-year podiatry degree and then had at least a few years on top of that working particularly with kids, then there’s not a single person in this world that can expect you to know what is and isn’t normal and when to bring your little one in.

That’s PERFECTLY okay – we’ve taken care of that hard “qualification” stuff for you!

Let me quickly clear up a few of the burning questions:

1. There is NO such thing as too young. We see kids as early as 12 months old – from the moment that they start walking! You’re actually doing us a favour – firstly because the younger we start treating, the better (and faster!) the results tend to be, and secondly because if we have to wait before we start treating, we are able to see and track the progression and changes in your child’s feet. I often ask if the foot was like this a year ago and am often greeted with ‘I honestly don’t know’. The more pieces of the puzzle we have, the more specific we can get in our treatment plan.

2. Pain is NOT the only indicator that something’s wrong. Parental instincts are a powerful thing – if you notice that something is odd, or isn’t quite right, there may well be something going on that needs to be addressed. Don’t doubt yourself!

3. A small thing may indicate something bigger happening. You’re not over-thinking anything at all – everything has a cause, and sometimes something as seemingly small and resolvable as a little bit of in-toeing can actually be a result of a structural foot abnormality that needs correction before it gets worse or weakness in the core muscles that need strengthening to correct and aid normal development.

I think the BIGGEST thing that I want to emphasise here is that we LOVE that you bring your child in at an early age! We LOVE that you just want to get their feet checked to make sure everything is progressing normally. We LOVE that you want to be as proactive as us and prevent any problems from developing instead of having to fix a painful foot after the pain has already started. We will NEVER think it was a bad idea to bring your little one in.

Kids are at the centre of what we do – it’s WHY we come to work – and nothing makes us happier than seeing happy, healthy and active children running around our practice and tearing up our toy box (literally, we have a drawer filled with toys now).

Nina Lansdowne
A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle care
Penrith, St Marys and soon to come to a suburb near you!

A Step Ahead Foot and Ankle care have founded “My Kids Foot Doctor” a clinic specifically geared towards treating Kids feet. We see dozens of kids a day, unlike other practitioners who see your Grandma’s toe nails and the occasional kid we see these balls of fun all day every day.

Our clinics are set up with kids in mind we have big toy boxes, Ipads, TV’s coloring in and lucky dip boxes. Our practitioners are the kind that sit on the ground and chat to your child, who laugh, may wear silly glasses and love handing out chocolate WE LOVE SEEING KIDS!
What does this mean? It means we have built up an enormous amount of experience with kids because we get to see them ALL the time! If we can help you with your little one, if you have a nagging doubt or worry please call our helpful team on 96732987 we’d love to help!

In toeing , kids tripping, being a little uncoordinated and making kids smile!

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“I didn’t think it was a big problem, I mean she trips over but I thought she was just a bit uncoordinated. Her Dad wanted me to get her checked out so here I am!”

In toeing , kids tripping, being a little uncoordinated and making kids smile!

Wow, this is an all too common sentence we hear from mums and dads!
After a thorough bio-mechanical examination “walk, run, posture assessment”, and some experimentation with the clinic whoopee cushions, we popped young Jessy on our state of the art dart fish gait (Run / walk) analysis system and there it was.

“Wow I didn’t realise her foot turned in THAT much!” said mum.

As In-toeing and Metatarsus Adductus is something we see and treat daily (I saw it 3 times just yesterday!), we had to hide the smiles on our faces. We knew we could get Jess to comfortably run and play sport again without tripping! about 40 mins later, armed with some detailed footwear advice, and a copy of her 3D laser scan for her Orthotics/Insoles in her hands, mum and Jess left the clinic with some answers.

See you in 2 weeks for your Orthotic Fit Jess!

Brenden Brown (BB)

A Step Ahead Foot and Ankle Care,

Founders of My Kids Foot Doctor!

Next Entries »

Conditions

Heel Pain
Diabetes
Sports Care
Common Conditions
Corns and Callous
Cracked Heels
Ingrown Nails
Flat Feet
Plantar Warts
Fungal Nails
Tinea
Shin Splints
Other Conditions
Children

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