February 27, 2025 • 17 mins
Welcome to a pivotal exploration of children's foot health, where we tackle some crucial aspects that all parents should be aware of. Did you know that foot deformities can begin as early as birth? In this enlightening episode, we're joined by Dr. Lauren, a seasoned podiatrist who shares compelling insights about foot development in kids and the sometimes overlooked importance of proper shoe choices.
We delve into the common concerns parents have, such as toe walking and flat feet, and the critical signs to watch for during those early walking years. Dr. Lauren stresses the necessity of an active role for parents in monitoring their child's feet, advising that while pediatricians can provide valuable referrals, awareness is key in catching potential issues early. Understanding what is normal for children's feet can empower parents to seek help proactively rather than reactively.
Not only do we cover the signs of foot issues that might arise, but we also explore the often underestimated role that proper footwear plays in a child's foot health. The quality of shoes can profoundly impact your child's foot development, making it essential to invest in the right pairs. By considering sturdy, supportive options, parents can help prevent future complications like flat feet from taking root.
As we wrap up, we encourage every parent to prioritize foot health from the start, ensuring that their little ones are set on the right path towards a lifetime of healthy movement. Don't wait for problems to become apparent—take action early and foster awareness about your children's foot development! Subscribe, share, and engage with us as we continue uncovering vital health information for you and your family!
To learn more, visit: LMDpodiatry.com or contact (954) 680-7133
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the LMD Podiatry Podcast.
Trust us to get back on yourfeet.
Here's your host, Dr LaurenDeBakeroff.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hello, hello everyone , and welcome back to the LMD
Podiatry Podcast.
We've got a fun one today.
We're going to talk about what?
Health in children.
A fun one today we're going totalk about foot health in
children.
And I myself, I have a 10 yearold and a 12 year old actually
soon to be 11 and 13.
And, if I'm being honest withmyself, I really haven't given
much thought at all to theirfoot health.
I really haven't.
Thankfully, knock on wood, Ihaven't had any issues.
(00:37):
Dr Lauren is there an age whereparents should start paying
closer attention to theirchildren's foot development
where parents should startpaying closer attention to their
children's foot development.
Yes, as soon as the baby comesout of the womb.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Oh, okay, I'm 12 years behind then, apparently.
So foot deformities start at avery young age and they're
mostly genetic and there aredifferent things that you should
look for.
And typically the pediatricianpicks up on things.
When the baby is born, you knowthe first couple of months, but
when a lot of the things reallystart you start to notice it is
(01:13):
when the baby starts walking,so when usually an average
between the average start forinfants to start walking is
usually between 12 to 18 to 17months, something like that.
So when they're like a year,year and a half old, when they
start walking and they slowlygain their balance, you can kind
(01:33):
of see what happens to theirfoot as it develops.
And the number one thing thatyou should really look for is if
the foot is straight or not.
There are different curves tothe foot that are natural, but
there are significantabnormalities that can happen to
a kid's foot at a very youngage.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Aside from looking aesthetically at the shape of
the foot, are there any othersigns?
Because I think most parentstend to neglect something like
that where, just like me, Iwouldn't really think to look at
it unless I had a problem.
And even if I was looking at it, I don't know I'd be sure if it
was normal or abnormal, Likewhat are some more, I guess,
more specific things you couldlook for.
Or is there a point where youshould take your child to a
(02:18):
podiatrist just to get a checkup, or is that something that
should be looked at by your maindoctor to see?
Speaker 3 (02:24):
if you're-, so, the pediatrician is usually the one
that does the referral.
The pediatrician will notice it.
But in my experience I don'tknow why a lot of pediatricians
they say that the kids will growout of it and it's not true.
A lot of, like you know,in-towing and pigeon and uh toe
(02:45):
walking and um.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Hold on, I want to stop.
I want to stop you there, causeI want to forget.
When you say toe walking,you're talking about a child
that walks around on their tippytoes all the time.
Yes, could you?
You put my interest you pick myinterest because my son has a
friend who walks around likethat and I always ask myself,
like, like I've never looked itup, I'm just curious what is
going on there?
Talk a little bit about thistoe walking, because it is an
(03:11):
interesting phenomenon.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Toe walking is very common, so it could be
congenital, meaning there's adeeper line issue that's causing
it.
Or it could be idiopathic,meaning like the kids just feel
like walking like that.
So a lot of kids they just liketo walk on their tiptoes and
it's just you know.
They're just, you know thesegirls that are like they have
(03:33):
ballerina feet and they like towalk on their tiptoes.
And then there's these boys whoyou know because they play and
run around a lot, so they alwaystend to be on their tiptoes.
So when they do they walknormally and have a normal gait
pattern.
You can see that they kind offavor walking on their toes.
If they're constantly walking ontheir toes and they can't stop,
(03:54):
then they need to go see aneurologist to see if there's
something wrong with their spineor some type of something that
we're born with, like likecharcoal, marie, tooth, spina
bifida.
All these types of things thatare wrong with your spine as a
(04:16):
baby can affect you and make youwalk on your toes and that's a
neurological problem.
So when do you know if it needssomething a neurologist or not?
You go to the podiatrist andthe podiatrist, like me, I watch
them walk for a while.
I do a very full, lengthy gaitexam.
(04:38):
I just watch the kid walk for awhile and if they're always at
some point planting their heelon the floor, then I know that
they just do it because theywant to do it and probably their
calves are too tight, and thenI fix it with a couple of a
couple ways that I fix it, andit's not something more serious.
If every step they take they'realways on their toes and they
(05:00):
can't put their heel down at all, then it's time to refer to a
neurologist and check them forother issues.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
So there's a distinction there, when it comes
to the toe walking, betweenlike almost doing it,
subconsciously, without evenlike it's just happening, versus
doing it because you want to doit or you're trying to avoid
some discomfort that you haveright correct.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Correct.
Now kids, they usually don'thave pain, they just, they just
walk, they're playing it's hard,you know, just becomes natural.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
What you mentioned, gait, I was going to ask about
gate abnormalities in children.
What is that term, gate?
Speaker 3 (05:37):
I think it's G-A-I-T right G-A-I-T gate is the
pattern in which you walk.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Okay, so I do for kids in particular, and adults.
Sometimes I do a gate exam andbasically I just watch them walk
in my hallway up and down, upand down, up and down, until
they get into their naturalrhythm of how they walk, and
then I can see where their footlands, if their heel is reaching
(06:07):
the floor, if they have anin-toe, if they walk on their
toes, if they're flat foot, ifthey're high arch their toes, if
they're flat foot, if they'rehigh arch.
Even when I watch people, watchkids or adults walk, I can see
if the issue is coming from thefoot, ankle, knee or hip.
So that's kind of, the more youwatch them walk, the more you,
kind of you can see.
And then I do a biomechanicalexam to see what's tight, what's
(06:28):
excessive, what's limited,what's abnormal.
You know there's, it's inorthopedicsics, it's just
there's a bunch of angles that Ilearned in school and if you
don't fall within normal anglesof the foot, ankle, toe, knee,
except you know, etc.
Then there's something elsegoing on orthopedic deformities,
etc.
Um, there are simple thingsthat can be fixed with, like
(06:48):
change of shoes and customorthotics, and then there's more
advanced things that needsurgery yeah, I was gonna, was
going to get to that or to apediatric orthopedist or a
podiatrist that's morespecialized in pediatrics.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
I had my own experience with flat feet.
I don't remember how old I was,but I was probably, if I had to
guess, approaching teenageyears or maybe even in the
teenage years.
And I remember going and Istill have flat feet.
I don't wear orthotics anymore,aside from the obvious right
(07:21):
Wearing orthotics and shoes.
Are there any other treatmentsor is there any way to kind of
prevent getting flat feet in thefirst place?
Or is that just something thatis a genetic you mentioned
earlier?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
there's a lot of this genetic component.
Flat foot is genetic.
But if you really if, like ifdaddy has a flat foot and then
you're watching your kid kind offlat, you want to prevent your
kid from having, you know, fromhaving a progressive like a flat
foot that progresses over theyears and basically as long as
(07:48):
he's, the kid is always in sometype of orthotic.
As he grows up he's going tohave a lot.
He or she will have a lesssevere flat foot, right?
So basically what the orthoticdoes is kind of helps mold the
foot a little bit better andyour kid is probably still going
(08:09):
to have a flat foot.
It's just not going to be asbad as they age over the years.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Fascinating.
I'm thinking in my head.
I'm trying to figure out why itis that some folks have a
genetic predisposition to thesecertain things like flat feet or
many other different thingsit's interesting to think about.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Epigenetics.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
A whole nother conversation for a whole nother
day.
What would be, I guess, a pieceof advice you'd give to parents
out there.
Maybe they just had their childand, again, just like me, this
is not on their radar, right?
Nobody's really thinking abouttheir kid's foot health.
What advice would you give to aparent as their child starts to
grow up?
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Invest in a really good pair of shoes for your kids
.
Don't buy the cheap stuff.
That's hard, they go out ofthem so quickly.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Dr lauren, can I?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
can I?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
just get the chip they'll get a new one soon
enough.
Come on.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
No, it's just a feet, a good kid's shoe.
You know ranges between 30 to50, it's not that bad.
So invest in a good shoe, and agood shoe for a kid is.
I always recommend fix likehard sole shoes, um, and high
tops.
So hard sole shoe with a hardsole, chew with the high top is
(09:29):
probably the best for most kids,um, and if they do have, if you
see that they're in towing ortippy towing, have them see a
podiatrist right away.
If they're flat footed, alsorecommend seeing some type of
foot doctor or orthopedist.
They need to start inserts alittle early, because if you
don't, if like, how flat is yourfoot, jeremy?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I mean it's not great .
I mean, when I if I mean if Iconsciously try to create some
arch, I'm okay, but if I'm juststanding around, yeah, they're
pretty sunken down there Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
So you could have probably had if your parents got
you a new pair of orthoticsevery year as you grew until you
reached your adult bones.
So you were like, let's say, 13.
You, your foot, wouldn't havedone what it's doing right now.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
It'll start to take, take shape.
Basically, you're likere-correcting the issue through
infants.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
They're all cartilage , most of the bones have not
really developed yet.
So if you could help mold thebone, like mold, the ligaments
and cartilage, into the way youwant it to be, which is not flat
, then the patient, the kids,they're going to have a future
of much less flat feet.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
It's not that they're not going to have it at all,
but they won't be pancake flatlike yours, not that they're not
going to have it at all, butthey won't be pancake flat like
yours.
So can you look at let's justsay hypothetically, an adult or
a parent brought their child inwhen they started walking and
are you able to look at theirfeet and determine at that early
age that they arepredispositioned to having flat
(11:13):
feet?
And if so, have you ever donelike a custom orthotic at a very
, very early age, like from whenthey start working?
Because it seems to me like theearlier you address this like
anything else, the easier it'llbe to remedy the problem so at
an early age.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
If okay, I'll give you an example.
I went to, uh, I went to a kidsuh.
I took my kids to a birthdayparty and it was like at a kid's
gym and there was this babythat was crawling around at the
kid's gym and I was like I couldnot not notice her feet and
basically her she must have beenmaybe 13 months.
(11:48):
Her feet were like C-shaped,like they were completely
in-toed C-shaped, they werecompletely intoed.
I held the baby just becausesomeone handed me the baby, and
I took a look at the feet.
I was like this kid, she'syoung, she needs serial casting,
(12:09):
she needs to go to a pediatricorthopedist and she needs to
have weekly casting to help moldthe foot into the right
position, the foot and the leg.
And then they were telling methat they're already seeing a
doctor and that she has a verybig problem with her hip.
And you know, basically whathappened was when she came out
of the birth canal, her leg waskind of yanked out, so the ball
(12:31):
kind of the hip went out of thesocket and but besides her hip
issue she also has a foot issue.
Um, that could be fixed withserial casting.
The kid's still crawling, soshe's not walking yet.
When she starts walking, Iwould put her in like a brace
with an orthotic.
It's called an SMO or supermalleolus orthotic.
There are a lot of differentdevices that you could make for
(12:53):
children to help them, you know,come out of those horrible
deformities, because they areall cartilage.
So, yes, if you see something alittle off with your kid, you
have someone needs to evaluatethem, and I really hate when
pediatricians say, oh, they'regoing to grow out of it because
they don't.
They really don't, they don't.
You have flat feet, you're avery advanced adult that's a
(13:18):
kind way of putting it you'reover the age of 40,.
Jeremy, how old are you?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
No, you're in your 30s.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Okay so you have adult feet and they're only
going to start hurting if youdon't wear orthotics.
So imagine how much your childcould have benefited from you
just progressively putting himin orthotics every year and you
could help mold the cartilage sothat they don't have such
severe flat feet as the years goon, all right, all right.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Well, I may have to come back and see you again and
get this checked out.
One more thing I wanted totouch on before we wrap this up.
I'm curious.
I've seen before in the pastthat obviously different
cultures have different thingsthey do.
I've seen certain cultures thatwill actually like
intentionally restrict footgrowth for certain reasons,
Obviously.
I would imagine that's probablynot a good thing.
(14:08):
Do you know anything about thatin different cultures?
I'm just curious.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
So I mean, are you talking about the foot binding
in China?
That?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
they.
Yeah, like I guess, like incertain cultures they have small
, constricted feet.
I just couldn't imagine why youwould want to subject yourself
to that torture.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
I mean that's a cultural thing, that's just
cultural.
Women.
They would bind women's feetbecause men thought it was
horrible, and their waists?
I mean, those foot werehorrible, I mean the women had
horrible foot pain and they werewalking in these little tiny
shoes with no support.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Yeah, they banned that.
That I'm pretty sure theybanned for binding in china.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
No, no, no good medical reason for any.
I didn't think so, I was justcurious.
But you can't there.
There are orthopedics andpodiatrists that they we do
plaster casts and help remoldpeople, like kids with really
bad feet, like kids withcerebral palsy, or like if
someone has a club foot.
I don't know if you know what aclub foot is.
(15:14):
A club foot is someone who theirfoot is like completely turned
in with their hip and their kneeand their ankle in with their
hip and their knee and theirankle, and basically you slowly
mold it weakly and then it comesout and you mold it in the
right position because if youdon't do it when they're babies,
when they're adults, they'regoing to have messed up feet and
then they need a lot of surgeryand it's not worth it.
(15:37):
Interesting, okay surgery.
So if it could be avoided,bring the kids in when they're
young so we could help fix itbefore it gets bad you hear that
parents don't do what I did.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Take notice of your children's feet from an early
age and get them checked out,ask the pediatrician and, if you
notice any issues, call DrLauren.
She's great, she can help you.
So, parents out there, ifyou're watching this and you've
had any issues with yourchildren's feet good, bad,
indifferent, whatever it is Iwant you to drop a comment below
(16:13):
.
Tell us about what happened,how you fixed it, any pieces of
advice.
We'd love to hear your feedbackand, as always, don't forget to
like and subscribe if you likethis content.
Everyone, take care.
Thank you so much for tuning inand we will catch everyone next
time on the next episode, theLMD Podiatry Podcast.
Bye-bye.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Thank you for listening to the LMD Podiatry
Podcast For more information tothe LMD Podiatry Podcast.
For more information, visitlmdpodiatrycom.
That's L-M-D-P-O-D-I-A-T-R-Ycom, or call 954-680-7133.
Welcome to the LMD Podiatry Podcast.
Trust us to get back on yourfeet.
Here's your host, Dr LaurenDeBakeroff.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hello, hello everyone , and welcome back to the LMD
Podiatry Podcast.
We've got a fun one today.
We're going to talk about what?
Health in children.
A fun one today we're going totalk about foot health in
children.
And I myself, I have a 10 yearold and a 12 year old actually
soon to be 11 and 13.
And, if I'm being honest withmyself, I really haven't given
much thought at all to theirfoot health.
I really haven't.
Thankfully, knock on wood, Ihaven't had any issues.
(00:37):
Dr Lauren is there an age whereparents should start paying
closer attention to theirchildren's foot development
where parents should startpaying closer attention to their
children's foot development.
Yes, as soon as the baby comesout of the womb.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Oh, okay, I'm 12 years behind then, apparently.
So foot deformities start at avery young age and they're
mostly genetic and there aredifferent things that you should
look for.
And typically the pediatricianpicks up on things.
When the baby is born, you knowthe first couple of months, but
when a lot of the things reallystart you start to notice it is
(01:13):
when the baby starts walking,so when usually an average
between the average start forinfants to start walking is
usually between 12 to 18 to 17months, something like that.
So when they're like a year,year and a half old, when they
start walking and they slowlygain their balance, you can kind
(01:33):
of see what happens to theirfoot as it develops.
And the number one thing thatyou should really look for is if
the foot is straight or not.
There are different curves tothe foot that are natural, but
there are significantabnormalities that can happen to
a kid's foot at a very youngage.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Aside from looking aesthetically at the shape of
the foot, are there any othersigns?
Because I think most parentstend to neglect something like
that where, just like me, Iwouldn't really think to look at
it unless I had a problem.
And even if I was looking at it, I don't know I'd be sure if it
was normal or abnormal, Likewhat are some more, I guess,
more specific things you couldlook for.
Or is there a point where youshould take your child to a
(02:18):
podiatrist just to get a checkup, or is that something that
should be looked at by your maindoctor to see?
Speaker 3 (02:24):
if you're-, so, the pediatrician is usually the one
that does the referral.
The pediatrician will notice it.
But in my experience I don'tknow why a lot of pediatricians
they say that the kids will growout of it and it's not true.
A lot of, like you know,in-towing and pigeon and uh toe
(02:45):
walking and um.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Hold on, I want to stop.
I want to stop you there, causeI want to forget.
When you say toe walking,you're talking about a child
that walks around on their tippytoes all the time.
Yes, could you?
You put my interest you pick myinterest because my son has a
friend who walks around likethat and I always ask myself,
like, like I've never looked itup, I'm just curious what is
going on there?
Talk a little bit about thistoe walking, because it is an
(03:11):
interesting phenomenon.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Toe walking is very common, so it could be
congenital, meaning there's adeeper line issue that's causing
it.
Or it could be idiopathic,meaning like the kids just feel
like walking like that.
So a lot of kids they just liketo walk on their tiptoes and
it's just you know.
They're just, you know thesegirls that are like they have
(03:33):
ballerina feet and they like towalk on their tiptoes.
And then there's these boys whoyou know because they play and
run around a lot, so they alwaystend to be on their tiptoes.
So when they do they walknormally and have a normal gait
pattern.
You can see that they kind offavor walking on their toes.
If they're constantly walking ontheir toes and they can't stop,
(03:54):
then they need to go see aneurologist to see if there's
something wrong with their spineor some type of something that
we're born with, like likecharcoal, marie, tooth, spina
bifida.
All these types of things thatare wrong with your spine as a
(04:16):
baby can affect you and make youwalk on your toes and that's a
neurological problem.
So when do you know if it needssomething a neurologist or not?
You go to the podiatrist andthe podiatrist, like me, I watch
them walk for a while.
I do a very full, lengthy gaitexam.
(04:38):
I just watch the kid walk for awhile and if they're always at
some point planting their heelon the floor, then I know that
they just do it because theywant to do it and probably their
calves are too tight, and thenI fix it with a couple of a
couple ways that I fix it, andit's not something more serious.
If every step they take they'realways on their toes and they
(05:00):
can't put their heel down at all, then it's time to refer to a
neurologist and check them forother issues.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
So there's a distinction there, when it comes
to the toe walking, betweenlike almost doing it,
subconsciously, without evenlike it's just happening, versus
doing it because you want to doit or you're trying to avoid
some discomfort that you haveright correct.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
Correct.
Now kids, they usually don'thave pain, they just, they just
walk, they're playing it's hard,you know, just becomes natural.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
What you mentioned, gait, I was going to ask about
gate abnormalities in children.
What is that term, gate?
Speaker 3 (05:37):
I think it's G-A-I-T right G-A-I-T gate is the
pattern in which you walk.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Okay, so I do for kids in particular, and adults.
Sometimes I do a gate exam andbasically I just watch them walk
in my hallway up and down, upand down, up and down, until
they get into their naturalrhythm of how they walk, and
then I can see where their footlands, if their heel is reaching
(06:07):
the floor, if they have anin-toe, if they walk on their
toes, if they're flat foot, ifthey're high arch their toes, if
they're flat foot, if they'rehigh arch.
Even when I watch people, watchkids or adults walk, I can see
if the issue is coming from thefoot, ankle, knee or hip.
So that's kind of, the more youwatch them walk, the more you,
kind of you can see.
And then I do a biomechanicalexam to see what's tight, what's
(06:28):
excessive, what's limited,what's abnormal.
You know there's, it's inorthopedicsics, it's just
there's a bunch of angles that Ilearned in school and if you
don't fall within normal anglesof the foot, ankle, toe, knee,
except you know, etc.
Then there's something elsegoing on orthopedic deformities,
etc.
Um, there are simple thingsthat can be fixed with, like
(06:48):
change of shoes and customorthotics, and then there's more
advanced things that needsurgery yeah, I was gonna, was
going to get to that or to apediatric orthopedist or a
podiatrist that's morespecialized in pediatrics.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
I had my own experience with flat feet.
I don't remember how old I was,but I was probably, if I had to
guess, approaching teenageyears or maybe even in the
teenage years.
And I remember going and Istill have flat feet.
I don't wear orthotics anymore,aside from the obvious right
(07:21):
Wearing orthotics and shoes.
Are there any other treatmentsor is there any way to kind of
prevent getting flat feet in thefirst place?
Or is that just something thatis a genetic you mentioned
earlier?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
there's a lot of this genetic component.
Flat foot is genetic.
But if you really if, like ifdaddy has a flat foot and then
you're watching your kid kind offlat, you want to prevent your
kid from having, you know, fromhaving a progressive like a flat
foot that progresses over theyears and basically as long as
(07:48):
he's, the kid is always in sometype of orthotic.
As he grows up he's going tohave a lot.
He or she will have a lesssevere flat foot, right?
So basically what the orthoticdoes is kind of helps mold the
foot a little bit better andyour kid is probably still going
(08:09):
to have a flat foot.
It's just not going to be asbad as they age over the years.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Fascinating.
I'm thinking in my head.
I'm trying to figure out why itis that some folks have a
genetic predisposition to thesecertain things like flat feet or
many other different thingsit's interesting to think about.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Epigenetics.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
A whole nother conversation for a whole nother
day.
What would be, I guess, a pieceof advice you'd give to parents
out there.
Maybe they just had their childand, again, just like me, this
is not on their radar, right?
Nobody's really thinking abouttheir kid's foot health.
What advice would you give to aparent as their child starts to
grow up?
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Invest in a really good pair of shoes for your kids
.
Don't buy the cheap stuff.
That's hard, they go out ofthem so quickly.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Dr lauren, can I?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
can I?
Speaker 2 (09:03):
just get the chip they'll get a new one soon
enough.
Come on.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
No, it's just a feet, a good kid's shoe.
You know ranges between 30 to50, it's not that bad.
So invest in a good shoe, and agood shoe for a kid is.
I always recommend fix likehard sole shoes, um, and high
tops.
So hard sole shoe with a hardsole, chew with the high top is
(09:29):
probably the best for most kids,um, and if they do have, if you
see that they're in towing ortippy towing, have them see a
podiatrist right away.
If they're flat footed, alsorecommend seeing some type of
foot doctor or orthopedist.
They need to start inserts alittle early, because if you
don't, if like, how flat is yourfoot, jeremy?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I mean it's not great .
I mean, when I if I mean if Iconsciously try to create some
arch, I'm okay, but if I'm juststanding around, yeah, they're
pretty sunken down there Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
So you could have probably had if your parents got
you a new pair of orthoticsevery year as you grew until you
reached your adult bones.
So you were like, let's say, 13.
You, your foot, wouldn't havedone what it's doing right now.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
It'll start to take, take shape.
Basically, you're likere-correcting the issue through
infants.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
They're all cartilage , most of the bones have not
really developed yet.
So if you could help mold thebone, like mold, the ligaments
and cartilage, into the way youwant it to be, which is not flat
, then the patient, the kids,they're going to have a future
of much less flat feet.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
It's not that they're not going to have it at all,
but they won't be pancake flatlike yours, not that they're not
going to have it at all, butthey won't be pancake flat like
yours.
So can you look at let's justsay hypothetically, an adult or
a parent brought their child inwhen they started walking and
are you able to look at theirfeet and determine at that early
age that they arepredispositioned to having flat
(11:13):
feet?
And if so, have you ever donelike a custom orthotic at a very
, very early age, like from whenthey start working?
Because it seems to me like theearlier you address this like
anything else, the easier it'llbe to remedy the problem so at
an early age.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
If okay, I'll give you an example.
I went to, uh, I went to a kidsuh.
I took my kids to a birthdayparty and it was like at a kid's
gym and there was this babythat was crawling around at the
kid's gym and I was like I couldnot not notice her feet and
basically her she must have beenmaybe 13 months.
(11:48):
Her feet were like C-shaped,like they were completely
in-toed C-shaped, they werecompletely intoed.
I held the baby just becausesomeone handed me the baby, and
I took a look at the feet.
I was like this kid, she'syoung, she needs serial casting,
(12:09):
she needs to go to a pediatricorthopedist and she needs to
have weekly casting to help moldthe foot into the right
position, the foot and the leg.
And then they were telling methat they're already seeing a
doctor and that she has a verybig problem with her hip.
And you know, basically whathappened was when she came out
of the birth canal, her leg waskind of yanked out, so the ball
(12:31):
kind of the hip went out of thesocket and but besides her hip
issue she also has a foot issue.
Um, that could be fixed withserial casting.
The kid's still crawling, soshe's not walking yet.
When she starts walking, Iwould put her in like a brace
with an orthotic.
It's called an SMO or supermalleolus orthotic.
There are a lot of differentdevices that you could make for
(12:53):
children to help them, you know,come out of those horrible
deformities, because they areall cartilage.
So, yes, if you see something alittle off with your kid, you
have someone needs to evaluatethem, and I really hate when
pediatricians say, oh, they'regoing to grow out of it because
they don't.
They really don't, they don't.
You have flat feet, you're avery advanced adult that's a
(13:18):
kind way of putting it you'reover the age of 40,.
Jeremy, how old are you?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
No, you're in your 30s.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Okay so you have adult feet and they're only
going to start hurting if youdon't wear orthotics.
So imagine how much your childcould have benefited from you
just progressively putting himin orthotics every year and you
could help mold the cartilage sothat they don't have such
severe flat feet as the years goon, all right, all right.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Well, I may have to come back and see you again and
get this checked out.
One more thing I wanted totouch on before we wrap this up.
I'm curious.
I've seen before in the pastthat obviously different
cultures have different thingsthey do.
I've seen certain cultures thatwill actually like
intentionally restrict footgrowth for certain reasons,
Obviously.
I would imagine that's probablynot a good thing.
(14:08):
Do you know anything about thatin different cultures?
I'm just curious.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
So I mean, are you talking about the foot binding
in China?
That?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
they.
Yeah, like I guess, like incertain cultures they have small
, constricted feet.
I just couldn't imagine why youwould want to subject yourself
to that torture.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
I mean that's a cultural thing, that's just
cultural.
Women.
They would bind women's feetbecause men thought it was
horrible, and their waists?
I mean, those foot werehorrible, I mean the women had
horrible foot pain and they werewalking in these little tiny
shoes with no support.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Yeah, they banned that.
That I'm pretty sure theybanned for binding in china.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
No, no, no good medical reason for any.
I didn't think so, I was justcurious.
But you can't there.
There are orthopedics andpodiatrists that they we do
plaster casts and help remoldpeople, like kids with really
bad feet, like kids withcerebral palsy, or like if
someone has a club foot.
I don't know if you know what aclub foot is.
(15:14):
A club foot is someone who theirfoot is like completely turned
in with their hip and their kneeand their ankle in with their
hip and their knee and theirankle, and basically you slowly
mold it weakly and then it comesout and you mold it in the
right position because if youdon't do it when they're babies,
when they're adults, they'regoing to have messed up feet and
then they need a lot of surgeryand it's not worth it.
(15:37):
Interesting, okay surgery.
So if it could be avoided,bring the kids in when they're
young so we could help fix itbefore it gets bad you hear that
parents don't do what I did.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Take notice of your children's feet from an early
age and get them checked out,ask the pediatrician and, if you
notice any issues, call DrLauren.
She's great, she can help you.
So, parents out there, ifyou're watching this and you've
had any issues with yourchildren's feet good, bad,
indifferent, whatever it is Iwant you to drop a comment below
(16:13):
.
Tell us about what happened,how you fixed it, any pieces of
advice.
We'd love to hear your feedbackand, as always, don't forget to
like and subscribe if you likethis content.
Everyone, take care.
Thank you so much for tuning inand we will catch everyone next
time on the next episode, theLMD Podiatry Podcast.
Bye-bye.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Thank you for listening to the LMD Podiatry
Podcast For more information tothe LMD Podiatry Podcast.
For more information, visitlmdpodiatrycom.
That's L-M-D-P-O-D-I-A-T-R-Ycom, or call 954-680-7133.
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