As a set of foot abnormalities, the club foot shortens the tissues connecting muscles to the bones or tendons. Hence, one or both feet of the child appear rotated inwards and downwards. At the same time, the calf muscles in the affected leg remain underdeveloped, making it difficult for infants to walk. The parents cannot prevent clubfoot as congenital foot abnormalities.
But they can make the child walk normally by consulting a skilled orthopedic. The orthopedic decides the clubfoot treatment by observing the foot’s shape and positioning. They may even recommend an X-Ray to assess the severity of clubfoot. They can even treat clubfoot both surgically and non-surgically. But the seasoned orthopedic always start treating clubfoot non-surgically.
Nonsurgical Clubfoot Treatment
Normally, the foot and joints of infants are much more flexible than similar body parts of children. Hence, the orthopedic start clubfoot treatment immediately to make the child’s foot normal and enable him to walk normally. They even start nonsurgical treatment of clubfoot in the first week after birth. Nonsurgical clubfoot treatment normally includes stretching and casting.
While starting the treatment, the doctor places the child’s affected foot in a cast to rectify its position. The parents need to recast and reposition the child’s foot once or twice a week for several months. Once the child’s foot is realigned, they need to make his perform stretch exercise. They may even need to put the child in specially designed shoes and braces.
Surgical Clubfoot Treatment
The experienced orthopaedic treat clubfoot surgically if the nonsurgical treatment fails. Sometimes the doctors even perform surgery to treat clubfoot if the symptoms are severe. The surgery realigns the affected foot by lengthening the tendon. The foot further needs to be placed in a cast for one to two months. Subsequently, the child has to wear braces to prevent clubfoot from returning and walking normally.
On the whole, clubfoot can be treated both surgically and non-surgically. Experienced orthopedics always treat clubfoot non-surgically through stretching and casting. But they treat clubfoot surgically only if the non-surgical treatment fails. Hence, it is always important for parents to get clubfoot diagnosed and treated as early as possible to make the child walk normally.