Foot Problems

T., nice to see a mother out there that will try and help a child that has pegin toes.(that is what the older family called it) But I will tell you this I have a friend that her son was born with the same thing, and she had his doctor to break his legs to strighten them up and he was in a cast for 14 weeks till they went stright, so dont let a doctor tell you that it cant be fixed. look on the internet for a doctor, and like i said before the name of it is pegin toes. Good luck and keep putting his shoes on the wrong feet till you find someone that can help you.

T., I had the same problems as a child and still to this day my right foot turns in. My mom put me in the corrective shoes and they helped some, but not completely. the shoes on the wrong feet worked just as well and were cheaper. Does your son sit with his legs in a backward V position? That was part of what prevented me from getting better. That postion actually rotates the hips forward, thus turning the feet in. I sat that way so long that I ended up having knee problems when I got older from the pressure of my foot being turned in. If he does sit like that turn his legs around into a forward facing position. My girls will occassionally sit that way and i just tell them Criss-cross-apple-sauce and they know to sit forward with their legs crossed. I would work with him as much as you can to get his legs forward facing. I have had a good bit of pain from my hip rotation including back pain and i would not wish that on anyone. Even if you just take a little time each day to get him to practice walking forward it will help. My mom said she was able to correct hers when she was a girl, but that I was a little more stubborn and wouldn't listen when she would work with me. I really wish I had now. He may very well grow out of it, but if you can help him sooner why not try.

If you are in the Birmingham area - there are two groups of ped ortho phyisicians. The group at St Vincent's is AL Orthopaedic, and I strongly recommend Dr Sharon Mayberry. I have heard only good things about the group at Children's.

My son was born with bilateral hip dysplacia and for the first nine months of his life was in some type of brace, harness or cast. SUrgery at 3 months. It was a difficult time for all but you should see him now!! NO REGRETS!!!

Get an opinion from a specialist. If he will grow out of it, then great. But, if early intervention will give you a great outcome (like in our case)then what will an office visit hurt?

Shriners does offer assistance across the country so keep that in mind, too!

Speech - check with your school system and Easter Seals Pediatric Rehab. Your doctor has to write a prescription for an evaluation but once that is done, they can evaluate and offer therapy. We went to the location in Alabaster for our older son.

Good luck!

Hi T.
Its me again I would try my best to find a new doctor. Call around to some orthpedics and ask them if there is something you can do. A friend of mine went thru the Shriners. They have a program where they will come and pick you up for your appointments. They tried braces for a while which

does help most but they ended up having to break her feet and putting a bar between them but now her daughter is great and is a active beautiful teen

CALL THE SHRINERS!!!!!!! Orthopedic specialists may be able to help, but who knows at what cost. Besides, the doctors at the Shriner hospitals are the best. The number to call is 1-800-237-5055. It is absolutely a problem and these guys make it their life to make sure that the children get the help that they need. My father and brother are both Shiners and this year, I have been around more of the men because they are participating in the Christmas parades. If you will email me and let me know where you live, I will find out the local person that you need to talk to. The Shriners will take your entire family to the hospital to get your son evaluated. Don't worry; they will take care of everything. Just let me know how I can help and I will make sure that it happens.

My daughter was born with bilateral clubbed feet, and being "pigeon toed" is part of that particular problem. There are some stretches that you can do to help alleviate the problem, but I can't really describe them to you...someone would have to show you. My son is pigeon toed, too, and the surgeon that corrected my daughter's feet says he probably will grow out of it as most kids do. He is an excellent doctor, so I believe him, but he told me to go ahead and do the stretches that he taught me for my daughter. I would try to find a pediatric orthopedic surgeon or call the Shriners and see if they can help you. Good luck!

Hello T.,
My name is R..I am 34 yr old working mom of two kids a daughter 13 and a son 6.T. my feet did the same thing at that age.My mother was 16 at the time,she had very little resources,being so young and being a mother.She went to the local shriner and they paid for my braces for my legs at 100% and airplane tickets,travel expences,ect...I hope this helps you..

You should check out a chiropracter and have him/her do an evaluation. Usually the hip is rotated and the chiropracter can help things move in the right direction sooner. I took my oldest son to one when he was 11. I found out that his ankle and knee pain were due to a rotated femur and flat feet. She recommended buying quality shoes with really good arch support and so we started buying nike basketball shoes, his ankle and knee pain cleared up almost immediately. She also did one adjustment on him and since we were tight on money we didn't go back for a year or two. Wish I hadn't waited so long and gone ahead and found the money. He recently has had knee surgery to remove excess cartilage inside the knee joint. Probably due to overuse of an improperly fitting knee joint. I wouldn't rule out the ortho dr.s everyone else is recommending either, but the chiropracters are specialists in how the bones, cartilage, nerves and muscles work together as a frame for the body so they will see some things on an xray that an ortho surgeon won't.