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What Are Pediatric Podiatrists?

A pediatric podiatrist is a doctor who has specialized in caring for the feet of infants and children including diagnosing, treating and preventing disease of the foot.

  1. Function

    • A pediatric podiatrist knows how to diagnose and treat foot problems that afflict infants and children including flat feet; bowed legs, which an infant may be born with due to positioning in the womb; toe walking; in-toeing (pigeon toed) and knock knees, all of which are considered pediatric deformities, according to FootDoctorCenters.com.

    Requirements

    • After completion of medical school, a residency in podiatry is mandatory. Once the residency is completed, a podiatrist can work in a hospital or have a private or group practice.

    The First Year

    • Pediatric podiatrists consider the first year of a child's life to be a crucial time regarding the development of the feet, according to Dmgpodiatry.com. Children's feet grow quickly during the first 12 months of their life and reach nearly half of their adult foot size during that time. Because a child's foot is so pliable and soft, abnormal pressure on the foot can result in deformities.

    Considerations

    • Pediatric podiatrists often hear complaints among children and teenagers about heel pain, which is caused by rapid growth and because the heel bone, or the calcaneus, does not fully develop until your child reaches the age of 14 or even older. Too much stress on the physis, or the growth plate located the the back of the heel, can cause pediatric heel pain.

    Treatment

    • A pediatric podiatrist can examine your child's foot and may use X-rays to determine what is causing problems or pain. Sometimes a bone scan will be done or an MRI or CAT scan to establish what the issue is.

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