How to ensure the correct body posture of your child?

31 March 2017

Foot defects are a significant factor affecting the posture and the overall physical condition of the body. In children, the skeleton of the foot and the shape of joint surfaces usually develop only up to the age of 10, and maximally until the age of 12. Meanwhile, up to 50 percent of children have postural disorders or deficiencies, including those affecting the feet. The most common lower limbs defects include pes planovalgus (flatfoot) and genu valgum (knock-knee).

Preventive examinations performed by orthopaedists in children aged 4 to 6 show that about 40% of the examined children have postural defects in the lower limbs (flat-feet, knock-knees). [1] We see increasingly more children with frail ligaments and decreased central or peripheral pressure. This group is particularly vulnerable to developing abnormal motor patterns - and consequently to the formation of pes planovalgus, which can lead to permanent bone deformation, such as longitudinal or transverse flatfoot, or hallux valgus

Postural deformities may be innate, but they can also be acquired. The causes of problems can be found in poor habits such as low physical activity, incorrectly fitted shoes, and even inappropriate lighting. Pen planovalgus is a defect that manifests itself as a lowered arch of the foot and an outwardly turned heel. Patients affected by this problem may experience calf and foot pain as well as tiredness. Genu valgum, or knock-knees can be recognised by X-shaped legs – with the knees resting against each other, and a noticeable gap between the ankles.

Grzegorz Kluz, an orthopodiatrist at Medicover

Orthopaedic inserts for children

Young patients between the ages of two and four years old are unable to self-correct their feet positions during daily activities. Walking barefoot, children have abnormal movement patterns because it is most comfortable for them.

Orthopaedic inserts are one solution to lower limb disorders and defects. In adults, orthopaedic inserts, improve walking comfort, eliminate pain, and even help correct uneven limbs. In children, inserts can reduce or stop further development of foot disorders.

With the right type of exercise, active correction of foot posture is possible in children between the ages of four and seven, which should eventually supplement or replace passive correction (inserts and corrective footwear). This will allow in subsequent years to gradually reduce the correction, abandon the need for orthopaedic footwear, and eventually also for orthopaedic inserts. Only in the case of significant defects, inserts that improve the comfort of life are usually used permanently

Grzegorz Kluz, an orthopodiatrist at Medicover

Podoscopic examination, or how to properly assess the advancement of defects

Successful treatment in children depends on the appropriate choice of footwear and the construction materials of the inserts. Appropriate orthopaedic inserts are made by an orthopodiatrist together with a properly trained orthopaedic technician. During the consultation, the specialist performs a digital foot examination using a podobarographic platform. A plantocontourogram, or a foot imprint, is used to design the inserts.

A podoscopic examination allows for the preliminary diagnosis and very accurate anthropometric measurements to detect and assess the severity of the defect, and assess the effectiveness of orthopaedic supplies or therapy. Collaboration between the physician, physiotherapist and parents is fundamental. It is the guardians who are responsible for the young patient's compliance with all recommendations and for regularly changing the supplies

Grzegorz Kluz, an orthopodiatrist at Medicover

In the case of children, replacing the supply and assessing its effectiveness should take place once every six to nine months. During this time, the child’s foot grows on average by one size. For adults, for hygienic reasons, it is recommended that supplies be replaced once a year, or when their effectiveness decreases At Medicover, orthopodiatry consultations are available at the Medical Centre located at Klimczaka 1.

[1] Source: EPIDEMIOLOGIA WAD POSTAWY U DZIECI I MŁODZIEŻY [EPIDEMIOLOGY OF POSTURAL DEFECTS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS], author: mgr Katarzyna Maciałczyk – Paprocka, Wrocław 2013.