Sore Feet in Kids Tip #2

Don’t wear thongs or flip flops

Say what!! Are you crazy? Hell we may be!

So calm your farm kids ? We aren’t against thongs , flip flops, jandles Or slappers. We are Aussie as so they are Thongs to us, things you wear on your FEET. We are simply here to tell you that if kids wear them when they have sore feet there is a really good chance that these will make things worse.

Why, you scream! (breath deeply and slowly, see that’s better ) When you wear thongs, the small muscles in your feet have to work harder. In general when small muscles have to do More work they become overworked and this ends in pain.

If you look down at your feet when you’re in a pair of thongs next time look at how your toes are scrunching up, they appear like they are gripping into the ground, that’s because they are! They are trying really really hard to keep those suckers on!

Now a common argument is my feet feel better when I wear thongs ? The thing is that the Pain Thongs cause doesn’t generally occur on that day. It tends to occur that night and most commonly the following days.

When your kiddlets feet are better if they so choose they can wear thongs where ever there feet may carry them. But while in pain if it’s important to get your kids back to happy healthy and active then quit the thongs for now!

Have you read Tip #1? If not, head there it is a guide to what Kids can wear as an alternative

Kids Foot pain can stop healthy development to adulthood

Blog, Growing pains

Kids Foot pain can stop healthy development to adulthood - The answer? Kids need to be active!

Sounds simple right? How many times have you found yourself saying “just go outside and play”! There is something in us all that says our kids should be active, we just know it! Our team motto is "Happy Healthy and Active!"

If you’ve ever thought it well, guess what, the science says you’re right! There is more and more and MORE evidence that kids need to be active, and that being active helps them as adults.

A recent study showed that kids that played ball sports, particularly before the age of 10, HALVED their chance of stress fractures! Each year of playing reduced the chance by another 13%! Game of footy anyone?

Kids, in particular girls who jump or skip as children, have been shown to significantly (like stacks of benefit shown by oodles of research) decrease their risk of osteoporosis as they age!

Now that we know it makes muscles and bones strong and wards of health problems you can help, But also consider the social aspects of sport; Team work, developing an appreciation of winning and losing - no, everyone does not win a prize; effort and reward!

Kids also develop social skills such as friendship development, dealing with people that they don’t like and doing things they don’t like having to do. Ever had to do something for someone at work that you didn’t like and didn’t want to do? Yup, let’s all learn how to deal with that when kids or be unemployable as adults!

So, there is little argument that sport and making sure kids stay active is super Dooper important. Guess what you can’t do exercise or jumping with foot or leg pain.

We have covered in previous blogs the fact that kids do not have to wait to grow out of their pain this is a complete MYTH!!

Another myth is that a reasonable treatment for kids foot or leg pain is stopping activity. Now that we know the significant benefits of sport in kids telling them that they should simply stop because of pain is, in my opinion, at the very least irresponsible but possibly reprehensible! Particularly when we know there are therapies that can reduce this pain and get them quickly into sport

Foot and leg pain is a real problem for many kids stopping them doing activities that we know are essential for their development. Severs disease, Plantar fasciitis, shin splints knee pain are all treatable!

Let’s make sure we get on top of kids foot and leg pain and ensure that they grow up happy healthy and active !

Sore Feet in Kids Tip #1

Blog, Growing pains

Grab a pair of structured shoes.

What does that mean?

Most times kids with sore feet will benefit from shoes with features that provide support for the foot.

What does support look like?

Solid base – should not bend in the middle, wring out or twist
Should be firm at the heel counter – the part that cups the heel should be firm and not be able to flex in
Should have laces, if not laces Velcro , if not Buckle. (Laces best)
Should bend at the toes

This is not a treatment but will help most kids in the short term get out of foot pain.

Is there more you can do? YES and we’ll chat about that in future post so make sure you subscribe and follow us so we can help you stay Happy Healthy and active ?

Kids Foot pain – Growing Pain is not a diagnosis!

Blog, Growing pains

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.

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Sore Feet in Kids Tip #2

Don’t wear thongs or flip flops

ABOUT DR BRENDEN BROWN

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Sore Feet in Kids Tip #1

Grab a pair of structured shoes.

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Video Transcript

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