Any Info on Club Foot?

hey C.

I have not delt with this my self but my son (then 1 day before his 3rd birthday) was at a bowling birthday party when another kid tripped him and the ball landed on his hand breaking 2 fingers and fractering a bone in his hand. I think I freaked out more then he did do to the fact that all the er personel was acting like i was the worst mother ever. He had x rays which my husband had to do with him(i was pregnant) and the doctor said he laughed the whole time. He had to wear a cast that went to his elbow for 7 weeks and it didnt bother him at all!! he did all the same things as before. when we had to get it taken off the doctor couldnt beleive the sand that was in the cast!! my son wanted it back on so he could keep drawing on his arm. you would be amazed how much better kids adapt then adults do!! I hope this makes yopu feel a little better.

I haven't gone through this personally, but I used to work for a group of Podiatrists. One speciallized in club feet in children. I have seen some pretty bad cases that had the casts, surgery and PT. They are all doing VERY well. I think kids adapt to this stuff SO much more that we adults do.

The most important thing, in my opinion, is do your homework on the doctor. Make sure that he/she has experience with this and what the outcomes are. Are you comfortable with him/her? Is he/she good with your son? Is there a way to get a hold of him/her after hours if there are questions or problems? The man that I used to work for was awesome! I would not have had any problems taking my angels to him if they need it.

My husband was born with a club foot (turned in). He had a cast when he was about 2-4 months old and he's perfectly fine today. My friend also had two club feet and actually turned out to be an actress and a fabulous dancer. Don't worry:)

Both my dad and little brother have a club foot. When Nat was young he had to wear a brace on his shoes, it was a metal bar that would keep them oriented a certain way. (I don't know if they still do this, we're talking the 1970's) He was pretty deadly with it once he started crawling.

Neither of them had to have surgery. The club foot caused the calf muscle on the affected leg to be smaller than the opposite one. My brother played tennis in high school. My dad played rec basketball. While neither of them were what I would call "jocks" it didn't slow them down at all.

C. - The only experience I have is that I was a nanny for 10 years before starting a family of my own and took care of 2 different children from different families that had casts for different reasons. The little girls situation was very similar to the sounds of your son. She was born with 2 broken legs due to a difficult birth. They doctors didn't know they were broken until 6 months of age as her leg started to grow crooked. They put both of her leg into a cast for 2 months. This is when I started working for them. It was interesting to see how little it bothered the little girl. It's good that she had it done they too said the same thing for her that it would prevent her from walking until she was 2 or 3 years of age. She was walking by her first birthday. We never treated her as if there was something wrong. I encouraged her to move and scoot around just as she would with out a cast on her legs. One thing that I do remember was that it was hard to get used to changing her diaper and making sure that the big diaper blow outs were contained without reaching her casts. Bathing her was not as often... we did fun sponge baths every day. Not sure that I am of any help! But know that you have support!

I had club feet and had to wear casts as a baby. I don't remember a thing, and my legs and feet are perfectly fine. It is good that you are going to get it taken care of, I am sure he will do just fine.

A friend of mine has a son who's almost 1 that has club foot. He wore a cast for months that was changed every week or two to try to turn it. At about 6 months old he did have surgery and has a brace he wears quite a bit now. Last I talked with her he was getting a new brace that had a joint at the ankle so he could try to do more walking. They have done a lot of stretching exercises along the way too.

She's now pregnant with #2 and the ultrasound appeared to show everything was fine with this one.

They see a doctor(s) at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis I believe and have been very happy with them.

My Son was born with club feet and had surgery at six months. He never let it hold him back. Was a state wrestler, Is in the marines and served in war. He is now fulfilling his dream to become a cop. He does have pain because of over use. I was wondering, because we as mother carry the gene is there a muscle sypmtom that causes pain to us? Since I turned 30 my muscles are in pain anytime i do anything. I use to do be very active and now it hurts later if i do most anything. Is there any connections. I know my friend which has a son who has a mucular disease has similiar symptoms because she carries the Gene. Is there anyone experiencing this?

Hi C.,

While I have not gone through this as a mother, I have as an older sister. If the foot only turns inwards, usually casting for a length of time can help. One of the things you need to know is whether your son has a functional ankle. My younger brother had both feet turned in at birth and pretty much no ankle on the right leg. The Dr. casted both of his legs, for several months before any surgery was done. He did learn to crawl on time and while casts aren't alwasy comfortable, he was still a very happy baby. He needed surgery on the left for straightening and surgery three times on the right. he also wore casts and braces to help the healing before and after surgery. Both feet are now functional for running and walking like most other 13 year old boys. He's also played soccer and t-ball on teams, and has done just fine.
His case was an extremely severe one, so please don't think I am suggesting that your son will have to go through all of that. At times the solution was difficult, but he made it through like a trooper and now he has two functional feet.
If you want to talk about this or want any more information about waht it's like, or just need to let off steam about it, I'll be available. Good luck to your son and to you and Dad.

E.