Club foot facts for kids

A clubfoot is a special condition that some babies are born with. It means one or both of their feet are turned inwards and downwards. Sometimes, the foot and leg with clubfoot might be a bit smaller. About half the time, babies have clubfoot in both feet.

If it's not treated, it can cause pain and make it hard to walk. This can really affect a person's life. Doctors don't always know exactly why clubfoot happens. They think it might be a mix of things from a baby's genes and their environment.

Clubfoot is quite common. About 1 to 4 out of every 1,000 babies are born with it. It's one of the most common birth conditions affecting legs. It's more common in boys and in firstborn children. It's also seen more often in Māori people and less often in Chinese people.

A Look Back in Time: History of Clubfoot

People have known about clubfoot for a very long time. Ancient Egyptian paintings show people with this condition. Even famous pharaohs like Siptah and Tutankhamun had clubfeet.

Around 1000 BC, ancient Indian writings talked about ways to treat clubfoot. Later, a famous Greek doctor named Hippocrates, around 400 BC, also wrote about treatments.

In 1823, a doctor named Delpech introduced a new way to help. This method, called a tenotomy, involved carefully cutting the Achilles tendon. This is a strong cord at the back of your ankle. While helpful, early surgeries sometimes led to problems like infections.

How Doctors Find Clubfoot

Doctors usually find clubfoot by looking at a baby's feet right after they are born. They do a full check-up from head to toe. Sometimes, doctors can even see signs of clubfoot before a baby is born using an ultrasound scan.

Clubfoot has four main parts that doctors look for:

• Cavus: This means the middle part of the foot has a very high arch, making it look caved in.
• Adductus: This is when the front part of the foot, near the toes, curves inwards towards the big toe.
• Varus: This means the heel is turned inwards. It makes a person walk on the outside edge of their foot.
• Equinus: This is when the foot points downwards, like someone is standing on their tiptoes. This happens because the Achilles tendon is too tight.

Helping Feet Get Better: Treatment

The most common way to treat clubfoot is called the Ponseti method. This method has two main steps:

• Step 1: Gentle Correction

* A doctor or therapist gently moves the baby's foot into a better position. * Then, a special cast is put on the foot and leg to hold it in place. * This process is repeated every week. Each week, the cast is removed, the foot is gently moved a little more, and a new cast is put on. This slowly stretches the foot into the correct shape.

• Step 2: Keeping the Foot in Place

* After the casting phase, if the foot still points down, a small procedure might be done. This is a tiny cut in the Achilles tendon to help it stretch. * To make sure the foot stays in the correct position, children need to wear a special brace. This brace is worn almost all the time at first, and then only at night, usually until they are about 5 years old.

Sometimes, about 20% of the time, more surgery might be needed later on. The good news is that clubfoot can be treated successfully even in places with fewer medical resources.

Images for kids

• 

  Clubfeet in the course of correction

• 

  A foot abduction brace type Denis Browne bar. Various types of foot-abduction braces are used to hold the child's feet in the desired position.

See also

In Spanish: Pie equinovaro para niños