Flatfeet in Children: When Are They A Problem?
There are high arch feet and low arch feet and many different foot types in between. Many individuals have flatfeet, but do not have foot problems. All of us are born with flatfeet and some of the greatest athletes have flatfeet. But, flatfeet are a problem when the arch completely collapses in combination with excess inward rotation in the foot. This type of flatfoot causes excess stress on the joints, ligaments and tendons in the foot and ankle. If not treated appropriately, tendon and joint problems will develop. Flatfeet are normal in infants and the arch will not start to develop until between four and eight years of age. Up until this time, all children will have flatfeet. Many children under the age of 4 may have excessively flatfeet and excess rotation in their feet. How do you tell the difference? The following list may indicate that your toddler's flatfeet are a problem: 1. Your child is over 15 months of age and has not started walking. 2. Your child started walking around 12 months but seems to prefer crawling. 3. Your child is between the ages of 2-4 and complains of foot pain or leg pain. In many instances, this leg pain is confused with growing pains. 4. The wear on your child's shoe is uneven. 5. Your child's arch is touching the ground and the ankles look like they are rolling in, bringing the knees together. For toddlers, the typical treatment is a kiddie orthotic. This is a pre-made orthotic which comes in different sizes. It will fit into any of your child's shoes and should be comfortable for them. This will help stabilize their foot while they are walking. In severe cases, or in children ages 3 and 4, a custom made orthotic may be necessary. A custom made orthotic is a device that involves taking a mold of the foot, typically done with plaster, but sometimes done with foam. A device is made with specific corrections for your child's foot and looks like a plastic insert. This insert can slip into the shoe and can be switched from shoe to shoe. Children can wear the same insert for up to 2 shoe sizes, then a new pair must be made. Although the insert will not change the way the foot develops, it will support the foot and allow for a more normal walking pattern. In some cases, children only need the orthotic during the first few years, and after the arch develops, the orthotic is no longer needed. In most cases, children will not "outgrow" their flatfeet. As the arch develops between 4 and 8 years of age, the child's body goes through numerous changes. The bones grow in length while the leg and thigh bones are rotating. During these years it may be difficult to determine if the flatfeet will become a problem or not. One of best indicators of a problem is pain. Children should not have pain in their feet. They should be able to run around with their friends or in an organized sport without any pain. If your child is having foot, ankle or leg pain, make sure they see a podiatrist. Young children between eight and thirteen years may have flatfeet, but not complain of any pain. This is a common occurrence in this age group, especially if the children are not competitive in any sports. Look for the following: 1. The arch touches the floor and the ankles and feet rotate in. 2. The knees are very close together (knock-knees). 3. Shoes are worn out within 3 months. 4. Wear pattern on the shoe is toward the inside (big toe side). 5. Your child's gait is bouncy or looks awkward. 6. Your child seems slower than his or her friends or shows a lack of interest in sporting activities despite being athletic. If your child shows any of these signs it is necessary to visit a podiatrist to be evaluated. In many cases, small problems that are developing in this age group can lead to more severe problems down the road. Generalized ankle pain is the most common complaint in children this age with flatfeet. Typically, they will be able to run and play sports, but find that they have a deep, achy pain in and around their ankle when they are done. Children this age have a very difficult time expressing the type of pain they are experiencing and when they experience it. Writing down when the pain happens and where is occurs will help your doctor during the visit. Over fourteen years of age, the growth slows in girls and over the next few years the growth plates in the feet fuse. Boys will have continued growth until 16 to 18 years of age. Children in this age group will typically complain of pain. The most common problem in children with flatfeet in this age group is tendonitis. The pain is either at the back of the heel, or at the inside of the arch. Sometimes the foot and ankle are stiff and sore in the morning, when first stepping down. Walking up and down stairs or hills, squatting or walking on uneven surfaces will cause more pain in these tendons. Treatment of tendonitis involves rest, ice and immobilization for a minimum of two weeks, but two months can be a common recovery time. When these conditions develop as a result of flatfeet, it is necessary to be fit with orthotics to prevent the problem from occurring again. Not every foot needs a custom made orthotic. There are many prefabricated orthotics that work well. A prefabricated orthotic is not the same as an insert. An insert slips into the shoe and will provide comfort, cushion and a little support. In some cases, inserts purchased at the drugstore will help alleviate some arch or heel pain and give relief to sore, tired feet. But, an insert is not an orthotic. Orthotics are devices which fit into the shoe and aid in foot function. The most important difference is an orthotic controls abnormal motion and corrects foot function, while an insert will only provide cushion and comfort. Pre-fabricated orthotics can be found at your local sports store and will help many individuals with flatfeet. They are much cheaper than custom-made orthotics, but they will wear out in 1-2 years. A custom-made orthotic is custom to each foot and corrections are built-in to help the foot function. They are designed to keep stress off the ligaments and tendons in the arch and designed to distribute the pressure evenly while walking. The cover material on the custom-made orthotic may need to be changed every one to two years, but the orthotic itself will last ten years. As expected, custom-made orthotics are much more expensive than prefabricated orthotics or inserts. In summary, all infants have flatfeet, but more severe flatfeet in this group can become a problem. The arch develops between four and eight years of age and predicting long term foot problems in this group can be difficult. Many children, teenagers and adults have flatfeet, yet no foot problems. Therefore, not all flatfeet need to be treated. But, children with foot, ankle or leg pain and flatfeet should be evaluated by a podiatrist. For children with flatfeet and foot pain, custom made orthotics are essential to treatment of the foot problem and for prevention of problems in the future. Christine Dobrowolski is a podiatrist and the author of Those Aching Feet: Your Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment of Common Foot Problems. To learn more about Dr. Dobrowolski and her book visit http://www.skipublishing.com. For more information on orthotics visit http://www.northcoastfootcare.com.
Related News
Education plus medicine add up to a pilot program at an East ... - WBIR-TV
If Medicine Is So High-Tech, Why So Much Illness? - U.S. News & World Report
If Medicine Is So High-Tech, Why So Much Illness?U.S. News & World Report, DC -14 hours agoIt oversimplifies the theme of this book, but not by much, to say that it is about medicine as all of us—doctor and patients alike—want to see it in the ... |
Herbal medicine all-clear - Gulf Daily News
Patent loss fears delay medicine integration plan - Business Daily Africa
Patent loss fears delay medicine integration planBusiness Daily Africa, Kenya -17 hours agoThis fear is delaying the planned integration of traditional and conventional medicine in provision of primary health-care because Kenya does not have a ... |
UW School of Veterinary Medicine celebrates 25 years - WKOW-TV.com
Teen accused of stealing medicine - Bethany Beach Wave
Teen accused of stealing medicineBethany Beach Wave, DE -2 hours agoSALISBURY -- A Salisbury teenager is under arrest in connection with the alleged theft of prescription medicine and cash. Police said Jordan Paul Adams, 18, ... |
airhostesses get strong medicine - Times of India
airhostesses get strong medicineTimes of India, India -11 hours agoNEW DELHI: Going on sick leave to protest disparity of pay with their seniors has cost the Maharaja's young and fighting fit airhostesses dear. ... |
What's In Paula's Medicine Cabinet??? - Fashion.ie
What's In Paula's Medicine Cabinet???Fashion.ie, Ireland -20 hours ago... and she not only talks about living with Abdul but she reveals what she found in Paula's medicine cabinet when she went snooping around! |
New England Journal of Medicine Publishes Phase III Results of ... - MarketWatch
Stunning regenerative medicine study cited - United Press International
|
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Acid Reflux ? Symptoms and Treatment
Acid reflux (also known as GERD or heartburn) is a common condition -- Over 60 million Americans experience it at least once a month.
Protect Yourself Against the Flu Vaccine!
The vaccine industry insists that their vaccines against the flu serve as the key to a healthy winter. Although there has not been a serious flu epidemic for 38 years, their vaccines are prescribed to millions of people each year. You may wonder why perfectly healthy people are injected with a normally harmless bug whose strains mutate from year to year? Although flu vaccines can never be accurate, encouraged by their employers, millions of employees submit to a flu jab each year, trying to avoid the loss of working days.
Electric Wheelchairs
When you search online for Electric Wheelchairs, like any other things, you will face a situation, where you will need to choose a provider out of so many companies that offer the service. The search engines will bring you thousands and thousands of results when you type the phrase "Electric Wheelchairs." Which vendor or provider to choose? It is important that you make an informed decision.
Antibiotics and Bowel Flora
The word Antibiotic is constructed from Greek words anti, which means "against" and bios, meaning "life", is a phrase used to describe an antibacterial substance made from micro-organisms, all though nowadays most are made synthetically. Antibiotics inhibit the growth or destroy other micro-organisms; penicillin, cephalosporin, amino-glycosides, streptomycin and tetracycline are all examples of common antibiotics. Penicillin is the largest group of antibiotics to be used in modern clinical medicine. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics has caused a lot of bacteria to become immune to them. This is why nowadays many hospitals are having problems in combating strains of bacteria such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, other wise known as MRSA.
Tempest in a Tea Cup, Wisdom in a Sake Cup
What an oxymoron the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has turned out to be. This vegan organization has one colossal ax to grind with their archrival, Darth Atkins. This is an old score that they've unfairly flung in front of the public before, all in the effort to squash the low carb idea and its adherents.
Rheumatoid Arthritis : the time bomb
The beginning is very much hard to spot as we migh just wake up in the morning and feel that the fingers on our hand do not function as they should. A little of bit of movement and everything is fine. However, this morning exercise keeps prolonging as we get to a point where the exercise lasts for the whole day and the joints begin to ache. The walk is not a pleasure anymore and we are not able to hold a cup of coffee without shaking it out.
Living Migraine Free
Don't treat your migraines, prevent them. A life without migraines is obtainable, I know. I was a migraine sufferer for 12 years and have been treating... preventing them for my patients for 15 years. The 95+% success rate achieved at my office comes from a combination of research, common sense and the hard work of my patients.
Lunesta Memory Problems
Lunesta may be the only sleeping pill that is FDA approved for long-term use, but it still has some of the same effects as other sleep aids. Ambien, Sonata and others have all been known to cause this problem. It can make life strange and difficult for some of us.
Aleve, Vioxx, Celebrex, and Bextra: What You Need To Know About Arthritis Pain Medications
Recent controversy about the safety of pain medications for arthritis has left patients and health care professionals alike confused about which medications are safe to use. In fact, a recent survey by the Boston-based Rippe Lifestyle Institute indicated that many people with arthritis are suffering unnecessarily because they have stopped or reduced their use of pain relievers due to confusion about which drugs are considered safe.
Top Ten Things You Should Know About Contact Lenses
1. Soft lenses are perceived by most patients and practitioners alike to be more immediately comfortable while adequately correcting vision. They come in all formats - even toric and
bifocal. Disposable soft lenses take minimal but important care to maintain their safety and usefulness.
Orthotics: Prefab or Custom-Made?
If you take a simple stroll down the foot product isle at your
local drug store you will find an array of foot products and
inserts. You will find inserts for cushion, for comfort, for
support and for control. Many questions may cross your
mind. What are the differences? Is the $15 insert better than
the $7 insert? Are these orthotics? Will they help my foot
pain? You may take the time to study the package details
closely, but in most instances it doesn't really matter which
pair you grab. Most of the inserts at the local drug store are
essentially the same.
?So? Which One Do I Use Doctor? Heat or Ice?
Heat has long been used to provide temporary relief of arthritis pain, and is used in many different forms. Contrast baths, whirlpools, electric pads, microwaveable gel packs, hydrocollator packs, infrared lamps, and hot showers are some of the different techniques used. Even warm tap water probably will meet some of your needs for heat therapy at home.
Bee Propolis: Synergisitc Health Care for the 21st Centruy
For well over a century modern science has progressed at a startling rate. With this increase in knowledge has come medicinal and healthcare benefits that have seen ages peak and diseases eradicated. These medical advances were based around the paradigm of the "magic bullet", isolating the active ingredient and using it to alter the chemistry of a single molecule/protein to elicit a change of state in the patient. Success however has turned to obsession as cracks appear in the armoury of disease fighting drugs at our disposal. MRSA is rifling through our hospitals as antibiotics become ineffective and severe side effects of modern drugs are becoming common place now years after their introduction. A direct consequence of a one dimensional strategy, it is maybe the time to acknowledge the synergistic health benefits of natural medicine.
Propolis is a unique natural medicine because of its breadth of action. It has antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and immunomodulatory effects, it could help treat asthma, allergies, arthritis and joint disorders, eczema and dermatitis, ME, viral infections including HIV and even cancer. This medicine could help treat an illness or keep you fit and healthy.
Propolis: Defender of the City
Propolis is a mainly resinous substance that bees collect from trees and plants. Being made up of waxes, resins, fatty acids and even amino acids. Aristotle reputedly coined the name Propolis meaning "defender of the city". This is exactly what Propolis is for the hive, it acts as a bee population's external immune system keeping the hive sterile and free of microbial invaders
Evidence Based Medicine
In the following paragraphs I will describe to you the pharmacological properties of Propolis. Before I do so I must explain where this evidence comes from. All the properties and actions of Propolis have been witnessed and detailed in scientific studies which have subsequently been published in journals. The bulk of these scientific studies have been performed in vitro (i.e. in a test tube) or in vivo (i.e. in a host animal for example rats), a much smaller proportion of these studies are clinical trials tested on humans. The abstracts of these papers can be found on the Medline and pubmed databases on the Internet.
Propolis: A natural antibiotic
Propolis is probably best known for its antibiotic properties. Even as early as 1960 French1 research demonstrated the bacteriostatic action on Bacillus subtilis, Proteus vulgaris and Bacillus alvei. The results have been replicated many times and Propolis has even been shown to be effective to MRSA2, the same antibiotic resistant bacteria that has infected up to 70% of our hospitals. A 1997 study by Calder et al. at the University of Oxford concurred with these results and found that the cinnaminic acids and flavanoids present in Propolis in particular show bacteriocidal action. This action believed to be as a consequence of Propolis uncoupling the bacterial energy respiratory chain. Interestingly this action may be involved in a synergistic action with antibiotics when used together, boosting the effectiveness of the drugs.
Anti-Viral and immuno-stimulatory
Viruses present a unique dilemma in the quest for good health, they are not affected by antibiotics and mutate so frequently that vaccines are hard to produce. They also cause illness by hijacking cells and using the cells machinery to replicate. Modern drugs aim to slow or stop the virus from the replicating and subsequently because they are attacking host cell machinery they have certain side effects. Viruses perhaps pose the greatest threat to humans' health, we are currently in the middle of a HIV pandemic with "39.4 million" people infected world wide. With a Flu pandemic overdue and certainly on its way and predictions of world wide casualties and chaos, a solution is needed.
The bioflavanoids in propolis have a unique approach to combating Viruses, instead of trying to combat them once they have infected a cell, they lock the virus in its protein coat. This means that the dangerous machinery and DNA/RNA of the virus is nullified and the infection stopped.
Propolis has been shown to be more effective than the pharmaceutical anti-viral acyclovir in treating genital Herpes in a clinical trial conducted in the Ukraine4 and there is growing evidence that Propolis could help treat people with HIV5.
Propolis also works hard as an immunomodulator which is of interest for all of us. It does this by altering the way cytokine production and release is managed. Cytokines are the chemical messengers that allow immune system cells to communicate. By altering the cytokine system, it primes the immune system to be ready to react to antigens quickly and effectively.
As well as this, bioflavanoids within Propolis stimulate the production of interferon which can help people recover from ME, stimulating their immune system. This alteration of the cytokine and interferon systems means that your body is ready to fight off infection and keep you healthy, making a case for using propolis as a supplement for good health, like vitamins. Prevention is better than the cure.
Anti-inflammatory and anti-allergen
A survey of Propolis consumers showed that arthritis was the health problem that Propolis was used to treat the most. This is because of the potent anti-inflammatory properties of the propolis constituents in particular CAPE (Caffeic acid Phenyl ester), CAPE has been shown to suppress T cell activation. A paper by Marquez et al in 20046 evaluated this to mean that since T-cells play a key role in the onset of several inflammatory diseases, CAPE is important because the this phenolic compound is a potent inhibitor of early and late events in T-cell receptor-mediated T-cell activation. Results like this have led other researchers to propose that CAPE is a worthwhile agent for reducing the severity of conditions associated with inflammation.
Many of the experiments performed on CAPE were done so in vitro, however the anti-inflammatory properties of Propolis have been documented in rats when treating rat adjuvant arthritis. A paper by Park et al in 19997 concluding that the ethanolic extract of propolis had profound anti-inflammatory effects on both chronic and acute arthritic inflammations. These anti-inflammation properties extend to other illness and disorders such as asthma and allergies reducing both smooth muscle airway contraction8 and allergic responses. Any disorder or illness related to inflammation could be helped by Propolis.
Anti-tumour/cancer
Propolis and CAPE have been shown to reduce the size of tumours and to selectively destroy and to curb the proliferation of malignant cells of many different types of cancer. As recently as June 10th 2005 Cancer researchers have been given a grant of a million dollars to investigate the therapeutic value of Propolis for cancer. Costas Koumenis the lead investigator for the study was quoted as saying, "a very interesting property of these compounds is that they have been shown to cause cell death in tumor cells but not in normal cells." This study along with other current studies promises to propel Propolis into the limelight in the field of cancer treatment.
Current Propolis Research in the UK
BVR (BeeVital Research) recently won a major government Research and Development Award, part of a £250,000 research programme looking at the chemical, biological and clinical properties of propolis.
These studies will focus on the:
1. Documenting the regional variances in chemical and biological properties, by HPLS, GC-MS and NMR. (Taking place at Univeristy of Strathclyde)
2. Futher investigating the role of Propolis in the Hive (University of Gloucester)
3. Dental trials ? looking at effectiveness of Propolis for Mouth Ulcers, Pericorinitis, Gingivitis and Sensitive Teeth. (Manchester University Dental school)
4. HIV/AIDS trials ? looking at the effectiveness of Propolis with anti-virals in Zambia and Tanzania
5. The effects of standardised propolis on mood, stress, fatigue and cognition at the Human Cognitive Neuroscience Unit at University of Newcastle.
6. To evaluate the use of local and non ? local propolis for wound healing and the treatment of skin and other dermatological problems. ( The Regional Teaching Hospital for University of Dar es Salaam)
Defective Heart Defibrillators Recalled by Guidant Corporation
On June17, 2005 Guidant Corporation recalled close to 50,000 heart defibrillators worldwide because of potential malfunctions that could cause injury or death. This recall comes in the wake of two recent deaths among patients who were implanted with Guidant defibrillators. It is believed that Guidant Corporation failed to inform doctors and patients that the defibrillators contained a defect that could cause them to short-circuit.
Lunesta Personality Changes
Lunesta is a newly released sleeping pill. Marketed as a revolutionary sleep aid, Lunesta is the only medication approved by the FDA for long term treatment of insomnia symptoms. Although Lunesta is a quality medicine that has already helped many people cure their insomnia symptoms and get a better night's sleep, there is something you should know before your buy Lunesta.
Utah Drug Rehab: Searching For A Therapist
Finding the right treatment for any person suffering with a drug abuse problem can be a difficult task - where do you start, how do you know what to look for, how do I find a good therapist or treatment center in my area? Thankfully, there are many resources to help you find the help that you or a loved one need - here are some tips to help you locate Utah drug rehab help.
Zyprexa - History of the Drug
Since the beginning of mankind, mental illness has played a role in our society. Victims of such illnesses have been outcast, stereotyped and often ridiculed. However, over time, medical and psychiatric science advanced and the medical community became more knowledgeable of these conditions.
Who Else Wants General Information on Arthritis?
Today there are about 70 million Americans with arthritis?that's one person out of every four who suffer both pain and the expense of this crippling disease. In one year alone, arthritis will be responsible for over half a billion dollars in lost wages. The economic consequences of arthritis are important to review because each year, arthritis takes a devastating financial toll on our society.
Implant Dentistry ? The Convenient and Safe Alternative to Dentures
If you are missing a tooth or a group of teeth, you may find that you are afraid to smile, you don't like to speak because you think you sound funny, or you may not be able to eat certain foods that you enjoy. Until recently, your only option was to replace these missing teeth with dentures. Patients often complained that dentures were uncomfortable and inconvenient.
After Viagra, Its Now a Premature Orgasm Pill for Women
Pfizer's exciting drug history traces back to the most popular Viagra drug, which treats erectile dysfunction in men. Now, they are gearing up to hit the bull's eye with a new premature orgasm pill for women.
|
