In the foot are many small bones, joints and tendons that can cause trouble in the feet and lower legs of children. It can be anything from flat feet that do not need treatment, to deformities that require multiple surgeries and plaster adjustments. Pain in the heel is common and usually transient.
When and where should I seek care?
Pain in the heels
Heel pain is very common, especially in boys between 11 and 14 years. It is most common in children who are very physically active, especially in those who play football or basketball.
It usually hurts in the back of the heel, mostly in the evening after activities, but sometimes the child can also hurt in the morning and have difficulty walking.
Heel pain is rarely a sign of something serious. You can try to look over the baby’s shoes and try to find out what triggered the problems.
Football shoes with dumbbells are usually not built up inside the shoe and the foot is then loaded even when standing still. Training shoes are better because they usually have a certain build and shock absorption for the heel.
Treatment of pain in the heels
Symptoms can be relieved by using silicone heel inserts. It can also reduce the strain on the sore heel to wear shoes with a small heel.
The symptoms can be quite intense but gradually go away on their own, even if the child may have problems for two to three years to a greater or lesser extent. The condition does not lead to any complications in the future.
Low foot arch – flat foot
Many children have low arches, but it usually disappears during childhood. The arches are often not visible until the age of three, but it is not until the teenage years that the foot has taken its final shape
The arches are checked on bvc. The doctor can check the mobility of the foot to see if there is any problem that needs to be corrected if the foot arches are abnormally low.
Treatment of low foot arch
Low foot arches often cause shoes to wear more. Hollow-foot inserts are not needed for children with low foot arches, however, you should choose shoes with a sturdy heel cap to keep the heel in place. Training shoes are usually good. They usually have a well-formed heel portion and some structure inside the shoe.
Complications and sequelae
Low foot arches do not lead to any future problems if the child does not have pain or any other problems with the feet. On the contrary, children with low foot arches tend to have fewer problems with their feet than those with high foot arches.
High arches
High arches are to some extent hereditary. Often, one of the parents also has high foot arches. Another cause is that the child has a neurological disease that affects the nerves or muscles of the lower leg. For example, it may be cerebral palsy or spinal hernia.
The child’s feet are routinely examined during the medical examinations at BVC. The doctor checks that the child’s high foot arches are not due to a neurological disease, especially if the high foot arches have developed afterwards.
People with high foot arches often have more pain in their feet than people with flat feet, ie low foot arches.
Treatment of high arches
In most cases, hollow-foot inserts that support the entire foot arch relieve the symptoms.
Hallux valgus
Hallux valgus means that the child has a protruding lump at the big toe on the inside of the foot. It makes the big toe point towards the other toes. The tuber usually causes discomfort in teens and is most common in girls. It often causes problems with shoe patches and the lump may feel sore.
Treatment hallux valgus
Hallux valgus does not grow away by itself. An operation may be needed if the child has major problems and it is difficult to find shoes that fit.
A common procedure is that the protruding tuber is removed and that the leg where the tuber sits is angled. It is not enough to just remove the tuber.
After the operation, the child usually has a small plaster rail that holds the big toe in place. After three to four weeks, they may be drywall, but sometimes a special bandage is needed to use at night. It takes about six weeks before they can use the foot as usual. The foot is usually fully restored after two to three months.
Crooked toes
When a child has crooked toes, it is usually the fourth and fifth toes that curl inward and lie below the adjacent toe. It can cause problems with pressure, abrasions and hardening.
Crooked tears can already occur in newborns but usually, in infancy, they do not cause any problems. As the child gets older, the crooked toes can limit the choice of shoes and cause pressure.
Treatment of crooked toes
Straightening the toe and taping it to the toe next to it usually doesn’t help. The error position is sometimes reduced by itself.
Sometimes a minor operation may be needed where the toe bends are extended with a small incision. As a result, the error position is reduced by half, which is usually sufficient for the problems to disappear. A new operation is done when the child’s foot grows a little if the crookedness continues to cause trouble.
Overlying little toe
Overlying little toe means that the little toe is bent inwards and lies on top of the toe next to it. The misalignment is congenital and, like crooked tears, can cause problems with pressure and abrasions.
Treatment of overlying little toe
The mistake can be adjusted with an operation if the child has a lot of problems. The surgery is usually done first at school age, in order for the result to be as good as possible.
Skraddarknuta
A tailor’s knot is a sore lump on the outside of the small toe. It is sometimes caused by the shoes pressing or by the child had been sitting very much with their feet underneath.
Treatment of skraddarknuta
Make sure the baby’s shoes do not press if they begin to get such a sore lump on the foot. Also, try to make the child not sit with his feet underneath.
Contact a doctor for an examination of the child is very sore and it is difficult to find shoes that fit without it hurting. The tailor’s knot can be operated if the child has a lot of trouble.
Köhler’s disease
In Köhler’s disease, the blood circulation to the boat leg in the foot is impaired, which causes the boat leg to collapse. The child starts to limp, aches in the foot and it hurts over the boat leg. Köhler’s disease is an unusual disease that usually affects boys at the age of five or six.
The diagnosis is made with an x-ray examination where the doctor can see that the boat leg is irregular and flattened.
Treatment of Köhler’s disease
The treatment means that the child avoids doing something that hurts. They may use a supportive hollow foot insert until the pain has passed.
The trouble disappears within six months and the boat leg usually looks on x-rays after a few years. Köhler’s disease does not lead to any future problems.
Complications and sequelae
A similar condition may also occur in other parts of the foot. It is most common in the inner toe of the second toe closest to the foot when the joint surface becomes uneven. It is most common in girls in their lower teens. Over time, the changes leak out but can lead to poor mobility in the toe.
Sometimes a bone can be formed on the top of the joint, which hinders movement upwards and causes problems when the child is running and walking. The bone bit can be removed if the problems become sufficiently troublesome. Then the ability to move becomes better.
Extra small legs in the foot
Part of the leg of the foot is formed by two separate bone cores. During growth, these two nuclei may not grow together into one whole bone. Then a small extra leg is formed that can sit at the back of the ankle or on the outside of the foot. Most often it sits on the inside of the foot near the foot arch. An extra joint is formed that can hurt when the baby moves.
symptoms of extra small legs in the foot
It hurts the hollow foot or the inside of the foot. Symptoms usually appear only at the age of ten to twelve. You can usually see the extra leg in the form of a strong protruding lump that aches as the child moves and when you press it.
Treatment of extra small legs in the foot
In the first place, the child usually receives a specially adapted relief post. The extra leg can be operated off and the leg next to it is evened unless it helps with relief posts. Plaster is often needed two to four weeks afterwards. The child can usually walk on the plastered foot as usual after a few weeks when the wound has healed.
There may be extra legs on both feet. One foot at a time can be operated or both at the same time, depending on the severity of the problems. It is the symptoms that determine whether the child needs surgery or not.
The concentration of the legs of the hind and middle feet
A congenital relationship between either the leg bones and the jump bones or the heel bones and boat legs in the foot usually give symptoms after the age of ten, especially if the child is engaged in sports and when body weight increases.
symptoms of concentration of legs of the hind and middle feet
On the outside, the foot looks like it has a low foot arch, but unlike the usual low foot arch, the child is in pain and mobility is limited in the joint joints. It hurts when the child is straining. The pains usually go over only after a longer period of rest.
Surveys
The diagnosis is made using X-ray or computed tomography. Initially, the joint between the legs consists solely of cartilage, but afterwards, the cartilage can be prone to bone and replaced with bone. The treatment result is usually better if the diagnosis is made early.
Treatment of concentration of legs of the hind and middle feet
The concoction is removed if the heel bone has grown together with the boat leg. Mobility is usually improved and the pain usually disappears completely.
If the heel bone and the fuselage bone have grown together, it depends on how much has been prone if the growth can be removed. The changes can cause the cartilage to be affected if the conjunction is not treated early. A surgical operation may be necessary if the cartilage is affected.
Since mobility is already severely restricted, the stele operation does not make the function of the foot worse than before, but the pain decreases or disappears completely. In some cases, treatment with hollow foot inserts or plaster of time can cause the child’s pain to disappear. In isolated cases, treatment with hollow foot inserts or time with a plastered foot can cause the child’s pain to disappear.
You should understand the information
In order for you to be involved in your care and treatment, it is important that you understand the information you receive from the healthcare personnel. Ask questions if you don’t understand. For example, you should receive information about treatment options and how long you may have to wait for care and treatment.