Prevention of flatfoot disorders in children

Prevention of postural disorders in children

Posture is the position of the human body and head in space when sitting, standing, walking. It is formed under the weight of the body, with the help of skeletal bones and muscle tissue. Posture is not only the position of the body in space, but also the location of the pelvis, feet, and head relative to the body.

A child is born with an absolutely straight spine, and the curves of the spinal column, which absorb shock during movement, form with age. The first curve to form is in the cervical spine; this happens when children begin to hold their heads up. By 12 months, when the child stands up, the thoracic region bends and a curve forms in the lumbar region.

Correct posture means moderate, symmetrical curves of the spine.

The bend in the thoracic region should vary from 20 to 40 degrees. You can judge by the correct position of the head if the earlobes are symmetrical. The shoulders are symmetrical, the body and legs are straight, and the feet are parallel. If the shoulders are skewed or the spinal column is curved, this is a violation of posture.

Types of incorrect posture

Types of incorrect posture are divided according to deviations from the norm in the location of the spine in different planes.

Lordosis. The posture is bent forward, most often found in the cervical region and lower back. If the deflection is stronger than normal, then this body position is considered pathological.

Kyphosis is a deflection of the spinal column towards the back. It is usually expressed in the chest area. Many people have a slight curvature, but with a strong deviation it is considered a pathology.

Scoliosis. Curvature of the spine to the left or right relative to the norm.

Incorrect posture can be classified into the following types:

Stooping is a pathology caused by excessive deepening of the kyphosis of the thoracic spine. Such people have wing-shaped shoulder blades and a bent head.

Round back. Older children (usually teenagers) are susceptible to this disorder. Usually the reason is incorrect posture, which was not corrected at an earlier age.

Flat back. It begins with thickening of the anatomical curves of the spine. With pathology, the human spine loses its shock-absorbing properties during movement and vibration.

Scoliotic posture. Caused by a violation of the position of the spinal column relative to its axis in the frontal plane. As a rule, this is a curvature of the spine to the left or right.

Correct posture should be developed from childhood, so it is important to prevent scoliosis, lordosis and other pathologies from the birth of the baby. Points that you should pay attention to so that your child develops correct posture and does not develop pathologies:

Availability of active loads and daily routine. Prevention of poor posture in preschool children falls entirely on the shoulders of parents. They are advised to place babies on their stomachs so that the baby reaches for toys and bright objects. You can organize fitball classes. Do not abuse walkers and jumpers. This is a prevention of disorders in the spine. After all, if a child does not yet walk or is poorly on his feet, then his muscular corset and spine are not ready for vertical loads. It is recommended to include walks in the daily routine, and the baby should sleep on an orthopedic mattress of medium hardness. Until 12 months he is put to sleep in a crib without a pillow. From the age of one year, the pillow under the head should have a small height, and the material of the pillow should be selected as elastic, slightly springy.

Sport. Doctors recommend preventing postural disorders through gymnastics and swimming. Good for correct posture and equestrian sport.

Prevention of postural disorders in preschoolers and schoolchildren depends a lot on the organization of a workplace for studying, modeling, and drawing. Position at the table is important here. How to sit correctly? Correct body position: feet on the floor, back leaning against the back of the chair. The light in the workplace must comply with lighting standards. Otherwise, the child will be drawn to the light source, and his spine will be curved day after day.

For children starting to walk, the best shoe option would be boots (sandals) with soles made of dense material. The back of such shoes should be hard. It must have an instep support and Velcro fastener.

The main measures to prevent postural disorders are massage and sets of exercises aimed at improving it.

Exercises with babies

Prevention of postural disorders in children begins in the first months of the baby’s life and can be done independently, but only after consultation with a pediatrician. The first exercises for babies should not be too long (just a few minutes).

We lay the child on his side, fix the legs with our hand, carefully with the left hand, using the thumb and index finger, draw along the midline of the spine from the lower back to the back of the head. We turn the child to the other side and do the same. The essence of the exercise is the reflex extension of the infant's spine. This reflex in children continues until they reach 3–4 years of age.

After the baby is 3 months old, you can perform the following exercise: we lay the baby down so that he uses the adult’s stomach as a support. We take the baby by the hands and slowly lift him up.

We give the child the finger of our right hand, and with the other hand we hold his ankles and shins. We slightly help him turn his pelvis, and the child turns his body on his own. The same is done when turning the baby over to the other side.

This type of exercise, aimed at preventing postural disorders, is done 60 minutes before or after a meal.

Exercises for preschoolers and schoolchildren

Prevention of postural disorders is carried out using a gymnastics complex. For preschool children, doctors recommend exercises near a vertical plane. They are easy to do while standing against a wall.

• To do this, the child needs to stand next to her, touching his heels, buttocks, the back of his head and both shoulder blades. This will be the correct location of the body in space. It is worth remembering and observing it when moving or standing.
• Walking with a book on your head will also be a useful exercise. Walking while balancing on a log can be used to prevent postural disorders.
• A set of exercises aimed at eliminating or preventing flat feet in a preschooler would also be useful.
• In case of poor posture, it is important to be observed by an orthopedic specialist and comprehensively treat this condition. Those children whose posture is correct should undergo a medical examination every six months. This is done for timely correction of posture and diagnosis of emerging disorders.

In order for your posture to be correct, doctors recommend performing a set of exercises 2-3 times a week to strengthen the back and abdominal muscles. They should complement the gymnastics that the child performs after sleep, and should be included in health-improving gymnastics. They are often included in school physical education lessons and sports activities.

Their essence is to strengthen physical strength and acquire endurance by the body. The muscles become stronger and allow you to hold your body and head correctly. Here are some of the exercises:

• The “Swallow” exercise will help assess the child’s capabilities. To perform this, he stands on one leg, takes the other back and lifts it, keeps his back straight, and leans forward with his body, arms spread to the sides. For a child 7–10 years old, the norm for completing the exercise is from one and a half to 2 minutes. Children over 11 to 18 years old should be able to hold their body in this position for two to two and a half minutes. For an adult, 3–3.5 minutes is considered the norm.
• The abdominal condition is diagnosed by moving from a supine position to a sitting position without using your hands. The norm for children 7–10 years old is from 15 to 20 times, and for a teenager from 30 to 50 times.
• A set of exercises for static muscle endurance is carried out with the body fixed for 5–7 seconds, followed by rest (10 seconds) and again moving on to the exercise. The number of approaches is at least 4–5 times. The exercises themselves change from static to dynamic so that the muscles do not get tired and numb. They are alternated according to the groups of muscles involved. They are done from the main position: lying on your stomach.
• You should also walk barefoot and wipe yourself with a towel dipped in cool water.
• Another important point for schoolchildren will be the correct wearing of backpacks and satchels on their backs. The load on the back muscles should be uniform, this way you can avoid curvature of the spine and poor posture.

Does physical therapy help with stage 1 scoliosis?

Flat feet prevention

Prevention of flat feet through play

All parents want their children to grow up healthy. However, the statistics are inexorable: the most common diseases today remain poor posture and flat feet. It is no secret that one of the leading means in the prevention and treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system is movement. Orthopedic shoes, physiotherapy and massage will not have the desired effect if physical exercise is not used. Therefore, today we will show you several play exercises that will help strengthen the muscles of your child’s feet.

These exercises can be performed from 3 years of age. Along with traditional toe walking, along ribbed paths and massage mats, offer children the game “Caterpillar”. By contracting the foot, we pull the heel towards the toe. This can be done with each leg in turn or with both legs at the same time. If you wear multi-colored socks, the “caterpillars” can compete, and if you glue “eyes” on, they can look around.

It will also be useful to swing on a “swing”

We roll from heels to toes and do it as high as possible.

Let's add an object to the exercise (small or massage ball, roller), and we get the game “Boat”. Roll the object from one leg to the other. If you roll the ball to each other, it will be like Mini Football. It is important to push the ball with your entire foot, not your toes.

A very useful exercise is to grab and hold small objects with your toes. It can also be turned into an exciting competition game “Who can collect the most items.” We grab the object with the toes of one foot and pull it towards us. Don't forget to change your leg. If the child is small, offer larger objects (for example, medium-sized soft toys), and we will grab them with two feet.

To strengthen the ankle muscles

Let's take a medium-sized ball. First, we’ll sit on the floor and do a warm-up: we’ll bend and straighten our feet, then we’ll move the ball with our feet from one side to the other. You can pass the ball, throw it and throw it to each other. After such a fun warm-up, we’ll play “Football” while sitting on a chair. Here it is important to push the ball with your toes and catch it with your whole foot.

After “Football” you can also “drum.” Beat out a rhythm with your toes and heels, and let the child repeat.

In conclusion, I note that these games are useful not only for children, but also for the older generation of your family. The work of small peripheral muscles helps improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system in grandparents. So play with the whole family and be healthy!

Prevention of flat feet in children

The baby’s first steps and the next few years of his physical activity are a period when parents should pay special attention to the correct placement of their child’s feet. It is absolutely possible to avoid the problem of flat feet if you constantly monitor the development of the child’s feet, and also contribute in all possible ways to the formation of their correct geometry.

Despite the fact that a child’s foot is more prone to deformation than an adult’s foot, returning it to the correct position at a young age is quite easy. But what influences foot deformation, how to determine the onset of development of flat feet, and what preventive measures need to be taken so that the child grows up healthy and does not complain about joint fatigue?

At what age can flat feet be detected?

Since in the first few years of a child’s life the stage of foot formation occurs, it is almost impossible to notice any deviations at such a young age. Signs of flat feet, if they actually exist, can be detected no earlier than five years .

Checking for flat feet in a child

Longitudinal flatfoot

The simplest and most accessible test to check the formation of correct foot geometry in a child is the imprint method. To do this, you need to take a white sheet of paper and ask the child to stand on it with bare feet. But before that, some harmless component should be applied to the baby’s feet, which may leave a mark. It can be oil, cream or watercolor paint. Use a pencil to draw lines as shown in the figure.

If the imprint of the narrow part of the foot occupies no more than one third of this line, the foot is normal. In the case when the print reaches the middle of the line, it is best to show the child to a pediatric orthopedist, who will understand the situation and give the necessary recommendations.

Transverse flatfoot

With transverse flatfoot, the big toes deviate greatly, as if they fit on top of the second toe; a so-called “bone” is often formed at the base of the joint.

Causes of flat feet in children

Abnormalities in the development of the foot are influenced by many factors. And the most common among them are:

• Heredity;
• Wearing the wrong shoes;
• Lack of motor activity, causing weakness of the lower leg muscles that hold the arch of the foot in a normal instep;
• Excess weight, which increases the load on the legs in general and on the feet in particular;
• Improper nutrition with a lack of calcium and vitamin D, which causes a decrease in the elasticity of the connective tissues of the feet and increases bone fragility;

Preventive measures for flat feet

Among the ways to prevent improper development of a child’s feet, a whole range of points should be highlighted. In particular these are:

1. Features of choosing shoes. The child wears his first shoes or sneakers at 9-11 months, that is, at a time when he is able to move independently or with the support of his parents. When choosing your first shoes, you should focus on the fact that they have a raised heel or a small heel, are made from natural materials with a minimum of seams inside the product, and also have a reserve of free space (up to 1.5 cm) that would not allow the foot to be compressed . The sole must be rigid, stable and non-slip.
2. Walking barefoot on beach sand, small pebbles, grass, wooden stairs on the playground. In general, any uneven surface with the so-called “gentle effect” of height difference will be useful as a preventative method for the development of flat feet in a child.

Even if a family lives in a high-rise building in a large metropolis and does not go to the sea or to the village, they have the opportunity to create an artificial playground for their child to walk in their apartment. To do this, you can scatter nuts, chestnuts, grain products, or regular buttons on the carpet and make your baby walk on them from time to time. Alternatively, you can use a regular fabric bag filled with the same components.

• Foot massage. It can be done either manually or using a special orthopedic mat, on which the child only needs to walk for a few minutes a day. Wooden hot coasters, knitted in the form of an ornament, which can be used as massage mats, are also perfect. All these products will contribute in the best way to the correct formation of the child’s feet.
• Contrasting foot baths made from sea salt or a decoction of herbs in combination with a massage are no less useful as a preventive action, preventing the occurrence of flat feet.
• A special set of exercises with the possible use of foot trainers. The following types of exercises will help to form the correct geometry of a child’s foot:

  - walking on toes, on heels with tucked toes and on the outer sides of the feet,

  - working with a small ball grasped by both feet (shifting it from place to place),

  - rolling a stick or other round and long object with your feet,

  - alternately lifting the heels and feet off the floor,

  - grabbing a pencil, pen or other small object with your toes.

• General strengthening of the immune system.
• Wearing arch support insoles (from 1 year) or anatomical ankle orthoses that support the foot in the correct position and have a massaging effect on it.
• Ideally, from the age of 3, you should visit an orthopedist with your child every year so as not to miss the development of flat feet.

In what cases should you consult a doctor?

You should not risk your child's health under any circumstances. If there is even the slightest reason for concern, it must be shown to a doctor. Only in this case can you rest assured that the baby will have a proper gait, correct placement of the feet and excellent health without relapses in the future.

Children's shoes and flat feet – School of Dr. Komarovsky

How to treat flat feet in children - Healthy lifestyle

Flat feet are a deviation in a child’s health, which can subsequently cause a serious blow to the entire musculoskeletal system, greatly accelerating its wear and tear. Treatment of this disease in children does not always occur as quickly and smoothly as we would like. Therefore, it is better to prevent the disease and localize it in the early stages than to fight it for many years.

Categories : Diagnostics