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Club Foot Problems

A child is born with a club foot in approximately every 1,000 births. Boys are more likely to have this condition than girls although no one seems to know why. There are surgical and non-surgical procedures that can be done to help straighten and stretch your child's club foot so that he can be ambulatory.

  1. One or Both Feet

    • A perfectly healthy baby can be born with a club foot. A club foot is not an indication that there are other physical abnormalities lurking. Club foot is a common birth defect, according to Mayoclinic.com and may affect one or both feet. It is not a painful condition until the child starts to walk and then it can create all kinds of problems.

    Appearance

    • This condition was given its name because the foot resembles the head of a golf club. The foot is twisted and turned at a sharp angle. Some cases of clubfoot are mild while others are severe.

    Effects

    • When a child has a clubfoot, his leg, as well as his calf and foot, will be smaller and shorter than the unaffected leg. The typical clubfoot features toes that point downward as well as an inward turning of the front of the foot. The foot will rest on its outer border. There won't be much flexibility in the foot and the foot will be abnormally shaped in addition to turned inward. The Achilles tendon, the heel cord, will be tight.

    Limitations

    • It's imperative that your child's clubfoot be corrected, as much as possible, because trying to walk on it will prove difficult and painful. Clubfeet can lead to arthritis, another health issue. In addition, the foot isn't going to look "normal" and this may create body image problems for your child as he gets older. Because of the twist of the foot, your child won't be able to walk on the soles of his feet so he will walk on the balls or even on the outside of his foot or, in a worse case scenario, on the top of his foot. Walking this way is going to stunt the natural growth of your child's calf muscles. Your child's style of walking will be an unorthodox gait and your child is likely to develop sores and calluses on his foot or feet if he walks in the above described manner.

    Vasoactive Agents

    • The medical community has not yet determined what causes clubfoot; however, Boston Medical Center is conducting a study to see if there is a link, which is suspected, between vascular disruption during early pregnancy and a club foot developing. Vasoactive agents, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, decongestants and cigarette smoke have been associated with other malformations that are believed to be the result of vascular disruption, according to Researchresources.bumc.bu.edu.

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