Doctors claim that exercises are the best treatment for hallux valgus in children. And the sooner physical therapy is prescribed, the better the result of therapy will be. How is all this gymnastics done?
Hallux valgus is a consequence of improper development of the musculoskeletal system. Drug treatment in this regard is ineffective, but physical therapy combined with massage is very useful. The main task facing parents and doctors is to restore primary muscle tone in the lumbar region, buttocks, and the inside of the legs, as well as to prevent further rupture of the medial disc.
Gymnastics for feet with hallux valgus is an opportunity to strengthen the muscular system that supports bones, joints and cartilage in their normal position under load. If their tone is weak, ruptures of the ISS and medial menix occur, the angle of the knee joint is disrupted, and behind all this the nominal position of the legs changes - they collapse on the inside, while the heels turn a little higher. In this case, the plane of contact of the sole changes, and chronic flat feet develops. But counteracting all this is not difficult.
If we are talking about a small child under 1-1.5 years old, then therapeutic massage is perfect for him instead of gymnastics. It is performed in a similar way to physical education, but in this case it is assisted by a doctor or parent. Such gymnastics for planovalgus feet in children allows, in just 20-25 procedures of 20 minutes each, to significantly reduce curvature, restore the primary tone of the muscle structure of the legs, and prevent further development of the disease.
However, if exercise therapy is used for hallux valgus in children, it must be done constantly and continuously according to a schedule drawn up by an orthopedist. Even a few missed sessions will cause the medial menix tear to widen. Moreover, in the future, treatment will be more difficult, since the joints, together with the main marsupial, can change their shape and partially mineralize.
Doctors recommend exercise therapy for hallux valgus in children to be carried out barefoot or wearing thin socks - this additionally stimulates increased blood flow in the lower extremities, which increases the transport of beneficial microelements to the area of the joint capsule.
The simplest and most effective is walking on the outer edge of the sole. A kind of variation of the “bear” gait. If it is difficult to maintain this position of the legs, you can help with this by holding it with your hands. Don't be afraid - it won't hurt him. You don't even have to take steps. The main thing is to fix the position and create little load on the sole. To simplify the exercise, you can even use a gable ribbed board and simply fix the position on it. Preferably without armpit supports.
Walking on a relief surface is no less effective.
Such exercises for hallux valgus in children are also very effective against flat feet (including as a preventive measure). But again, he must do everything without support, creating a short-term high load on his legs.
An excellent exercise for hallux valgus is lifting small objects. All this can be done in any position convenient for the child (sitting or standing). Such items can be handkerchiefs, pieces of Lego, or just a pen and pencil. All this together significantly improves the motor skills of the fingers, develops dexterity of movement and thereby restores the position of the joints (including the phalanges, preventing the appearance of hard bones).
And we can’t help but mention squats while maintaining the position of the sole. At the same time, they should not come off a flat surface and should be parallel to each other. It is advisable to support the baby's legs by pressing the foot. Someone else can support him by the arms or armpits, thereby regulating the load. In the first days of using exercise therapy, just a few similar squats per day (2-5 times) are enough. A little later, the amount is increased at the discretion of the attending physician.
Even a “neglected” bone can be cured at home. Just remember once a day.
The crooked position of the legs most often occurs during the period when the baby begins to try to walk independently or even with emphasis on something. In this case, the muscles are underdeveloped and cannot normally support the support of the joints, which results in curvature. It is for this reason that doctors recommend limiting the baby’s walking time in the early stages (up to 12 months) or doing it with support from the armpits and arms.
However, if for some reason the parents neglected to look after the baby and the doctor claims that he has signs of hallux valgus, massage therapy should be immediately used to prevent further curvature and restore the normal position of the joints. The sooner you do this, the easier it is to eliminate the signs of the disease.
The simplest way to fight is to hold some toy between your fingertips and in this position raise your legs into the “birch tree” position. Naturally, the baby needs to be supported. Over time, the mass and size of the toy can be increased to a small ball.
Due attention should also be paid to lower back exercises. It is precisely because of the underdevelopment of the local muscle structure that the primary deformation occurs. There is an incorrect distribution of the child’s body weight, the spine is bent, causing the legs in the area of the knee joints to fall inward. Lumbar massage involves massaging this area with your palms, as well as bending and tightening your hips. You can take your legs under your hips and simply lift them above a flat surface. At this moment, the baby focuses on the arms, back and chest area.
Exercises for flatvalgus feet in children with flexion of the soles of the feet are no less effective. It is necessary to place the load specifically on the sole, thereby training the articular part of the phalanges. A similar method can be used to eliminate curvature, but only if there is no protruding bone (this indicates the presence of a calcified area of cartilage, which cannot be eliminated by massage).
With prolonged valgus placement, it is quite difficult to achieve restoration of the normal shape. If we assume that the child is already going to school with a suspected curvature, then long-term rehabilitation will be required. You can use fixatives, but this is already a radical method of treatment. It is much easier to use the following exercises:
We also need to define the concept of maximum load. It completely depends on age and general development of the musculoskeletal system. In this regard, it is better to consult with an orthopedist or traumatologist. He will conduct a visual examination, determine the patient’s condition and tell you in detail what is possible for the maximum restoration of the shape of the legs.
As valgus disease worsens, protruding bones form on the big toe. This is a consequence of improper growth of the phalanx bend, in which the inner part of the articular capsule is squeezed out. It should be immediately clarified that gymnastics for bunions only helps well in the initial stage of the disease, when the squeezed-out contents do not calcify. Otherwise, you will no longer be able to get rid of the bunion.
One of the best methods for preventing the appearance of calcified growth is special fixatives. Similar designs are used for hallux valgus.
Wearing them initially causes discomfort, but at the same time the normal position of the leg when walking or running is corrected. The clamp itself is a flexible attachment that fits onto the big toe and is secured with ties on the back of the heel (at the junction with the shin). But their selection must be carried out by a doctor, since it is necessary to take into account weight, age and degree of curvature.
What exercises for feet with hallux valgus help eliminate bunions? Sitting with your knees tucked under you (on a hard surface) helps. In this case, the heels are spread apart. The position is fixed for no more than 10 minutes, as further blood circulation is disrupted. With this installation of the feet, the load is transferred to the outer edge and a slight shift along the phalanges is obtained. In a similar way, you can fight against cones in adults, especially if the growth is minor (without calcification).
Exercise therapy for planovalgus feet in children is not a sufficient means of prevention. Doctors say that to prevent curvature, it is necessary to constantly engage in your physical development. Swimming, climbing a wall bars, and moving along a ladder lying on the floor are especially effective. What about shoes? If your feet are slightly curved, using orthopedic shoes (not flat) will be sufficient. And definitely - with backdrops. In addition, it is strictly forbidden to buy shoes a little larger in size (for growth). This is very harmful to children's feet.
Many parents mistakenly believe that standard exercise therapy is excellent for prevention of valgus in all patients.
If there is no curvature, then it needs to be corrected. It is necessary to work on muscle tone. And for this there is no better way than regular massage and flexion of the limbs in the joints. If an adult does not have skills in this regard, you can make an appointment with an orthopedist or massage therapist.
If we are talking about congenital curvature, then the main thing is to choose the right orthopedic shoes (in particular, insoles). They are made in such a way that they prevent the soles from becoming flat when walking, thereby giving the cartilage and joints a normal shape. As practice shows, for flat valgus feet in children, several months of active wearing of such shoes is enough for the sole to be fixed in its normal position.
But with hallux valgus in a pronounced stage, alas, orthopedic shoes are contraindicated. Conservative treatment is not effective here, so you need to think about an early operation to surgically remove the growth. Only in this way can further curvature and shortening of the cartilage be avoided. Any kind of exercises for the bump will no longer help, since it is impossible to press the growth back into the joint capsule. Attempting to do this can only further injure your leg.
Even in patients, including adults, prevention must necessarily include a specialized diet that includes a sufficient amount of proteins, vitamins and mineral trace elements. A nutritionist can tell you more about this.
Often, for some reason, a child refuses to perform exercises for hallux valgus. In such a situation, you can transfer classes into a game format. For example, exercise therapy for children with planovalgus feet and assembling construction sets with their feet is ideal for boys. You can make a conditional competition - who can assemble a piece faster. It could even be ordinary cubes or geometric three-dimensional figures - it doesn’t matter. At first it will be difficult, but soon the classes will seem very interesting and addictive.
But for girls, you can try painting by holding a brush with your toes. It looks funny, fun, but is great for developing motor skills. Fixing the position on your toes (a kind of ballerina stance) also has a positive effect. If necessary, you can rest your hand on something. All this can also be presented in the form of dance training, which little girls really like.
And one of the most important notes for parents is to try to walk barefoot with their child as often as possible. It is advisable to do this in your own yard, where you can be sure that there is no debris. Later, the task can be complicated by walking on crushed stone or simply scattered grains of wheat. It’s exciting and useful for treating hallux valgus.
If you follow all the proposed instructions and advice, you can count on complete relief from the disease within 6-10 months. And the sooner treatment begins, the greater the likelihood of restoring the original shape of curved bones, cartilage and joints. This especially applies to those who have been diagnosed with congenital valgus, when curvature occurs in the womb due to incorrect position of the fetus. And it is necessary to treat such problems immediately after birth, literally from the first days of life. Only in this case can any possible consequences be prevented.
Hallux valgus deformity of the feet is characterized by curvature of the metatarsophalangeal joint of the first toe and is accompanied by deformation of the remaining toes.
The main reasons for the development of hallux valgus are:
- hereditary factor (this disease occurred in close relatives);
— endocrine disorders in the body;
The disease is more common in women than in men, in a ratio of 8:2. Transverse flatfoot is associated with weakness of the connective and bone tissue of the foot. Also, the development of this type of flatfoot is facilitated by wearing uncomfortable and tight shoes, high-heeled shoes, which leads to uneven distribution of the load on the foot, resulting in deformation of the forefoot and the development of arthrosis of the big toe joint.
Symptoms of hallux valgus
The main symptoms of hallux valgus include:
- visible deviation of the big toe outward;
- gradual increase in the size of the “bone” on the leg;
- characteristic hammer-shaped shape of the remaining toes;
- pain in the joints of the feet;
- problems in choosing shoes.
To prescribe adequate treatment and in order to prevent the progression of the disease, it is necessary to conduct a complete examination of the patient to determine the true causes of the disease and determine the stage of the process.
Basic diagnostic methods:
— face-to-face consultation with an orthopedist-traumatologist;
- radiography of the feet in 3 projections - in order to determine the degree of deformation of the foot, as well as to identify concomitant pathologies;
— plantography – to determine flat feet (foot prints);
- differential diagnosis - to exclude diseases with similar symptoms (arthritis, gout, deforming osteoarthritis).
The patient must contact a specialized specialist to conduct the necessary examinations and prescribe treatment in order to prevent unwanted complications.
Treatment of hallux valgus
This disease is treated by an orthopedic traumatologist; you should consult a doctor at the first symptoms of the disease.
Conservative treatment of hallux valgus belongs to non-surgical methods. This includes:
- wearing orthopedic insoles (arch supports) and night splints;
— use of interdigital spacers;
- administration of intra-articular hormonal drugs to relieve inflammation.
The use of conservative treatment does not lead to complete recovery and is more effective in the early stages of the disease.
In advanced forms of the disease, surgical treatment is indicated. There are more than a hundred methods of surgical treatment of hallux valgus. Basic methods of surgical treatment:
- exostectomy - a surgical method in which a small section of the head of the metatarsal bone is excised;
— osteotomy is a method in which part of the patient’s phalanx or part of the metatarsal bone is removed;
- arthrodesis - an operation in which the joint of the big toe is fixed in a stationary state;
- resection rhthroplasty - surgical removal of a small part of the metatarsophalangeal joint from the side of the metatarsal bone;
- surgery to restore the ligaments around the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe;
- surgery to replace the affected joint with an implant.
After surgical treatment, the patient will be able to walk, fully relying on the metatarsus, starting from 3 weeks after surgery. The recovery period is about 2-3 months from the date of surgical treatment.
If the deformation was minor and the treatment was carried out correctly and in a timely manner, the appearance and function of the joint can be restored without consequences. In advanced forms of hallux valgus, pain may persist even after surgical treatment.
In the absence of timely and correct treatment, the joints of the foot become deformed, which can lead to chronic bursitis. As a complication of the disease, Deichlander's disease may occur, which is characterized by a restructuring of the structure of the metatarsal bones of the foot.
Prevention of hallux valgus
For prevention purposes, it is recommended:
- regular examination by an orthopedist-traumatologist for timely detection of flat feet;
- wearing comfortable shoes (without stilettos, made of natural materials, upholstery that does not press, with a heel height of no more than 7 cm);
- regular wearing of orthopedic insoles;
— compliance with the work and rest regime, if a person’s work involves additional stress on the lower extremities.
Most middle-aged women have bumps on their feet that are located at the base of the big toe. In medicine, this condition is called hallux valgus.
These bumps are bone formations that are formed due to improper distribution of the load on the feet as a result of wearing high-heeled shoes or a heavy bag on the shoulder. If a woman does not take care of her health, a bone growth can form at a younger age.
Valgus deformity treatment is complex and lengthy. In some cases, the problem can only be solved through surgery.
Diagnosis of hallux valgus includes an x-ray examination. Using it, you can easily detect a bone formation, which is clearly visible in the image.
In addition, an X-ray examination allows you to see whether there are other diseases accompanying this disease, for example, arthrosis or osteoporosis.
As for the symptomatic picture, it is so pronounced that diagnosis can only be made based on the clinical manifestations of the disease. As a rule, these are external changes in the foot. A painful node appears at the base of the thumb, the growth of which leads to a change in the direction of the finger (with this disease, it tilts slightly in the opposite direction).
This node can periodically become inflamed, painful and swollen, due to which it sometimes seems that it suddenly increases in size. At the same time, this formation causes severe pain while walking. A person who has hallux valgus gets tired quickly and cannot choose shoes that are comfortable to wear and do not cause discomfort.
Treatment for hallux valgus should be determined by an orthopedist. Depending on the patient’s condition and the course of the disease, either a conservative or surgical method of treating the disease can be used.
There is no point in delaying the treatment of hallux valgus, as this disease eventually leads to the loss of natural elasticity of the tendons and ligaments. With such disorders, the load on the sore finger increases, and it begins to deviate even more from its original position.
How to identify hallux valgus in the initial stages of the disease? Try moving your thumb to the side. If these manipulations proceed freely and do not cause pain, then everything is in order. If the process of moving your finger causes difficulty and pain, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Conservative treatment of hallux valgus gives a high therapeutic effect when diagnosing the disease in the early stages of development. Most often it is carried out using the following methods:
If osteoporosis or athrosis is present, special medications are prescribed. If the use of all the methods described above does not lead to positive dynamics, and the patient’s condition only worsens, an operation is performed to remove the bone formation. After it, a visit to physical therapy and magnetic therapy is also required.
Surgical treatment of hallux valgus is extremely rare. The operation lasts about an hour. It is performed using local anesthesia or intravenous sedation. After the procedure, the patient is recommended to undergo inpatient observation for several days. If the patient feels well, he is discharged.
A cast is placed on the leg, but this does not mean that the patient cannot walk. A day after the operation, he can already move independently. Moderate stress on the feet during the recovery period is simply necessary. Sutures are removed within 12-14 days.
There may be some swelling and soreness at the site where the surgery was performed. In this regard, the increase in physical activity on the feet should occur gradually. The functionality of the legs is fully restored 2-3 weeks after the operation and the patient can attend exercise therapy courses.
Treatment of hallux valgus using traditional methods does not provide much therapeutic effect, but it greatly increases the effectiveness of conservative treatment.
At home, it is recommended to carry out thermal baths using herbal infusions prepared from chamomile, burdock root or St. John's wort. Add a little baking soda to them. Baths with sea salt and iodine also help well.
These procedures help relieve inflammation and swelling, which significantly reduces the intensity of pain when walking.
Applications with cabbage leaves have the same effect. A fresh leaf of white cabbage is applied to the inflamed area and secured with a bandage. This compress is made at night.
In addition, you can use regular iodine. It completely paints over the protruding area. There is nothing covering the top. This procedure must be carried out several times a day.
Compresses with pieces of softened propolis also help relieve inflammatory processes. It is done at night for several weeks. You can also make compresses from fresh burdock leaves smeared with turpentine.
If you have the opportunity to purchase fresh river fish, you can use it to relieve symptoms. A small piece of fish is applied to the bone formation and secured with a bandage. Such procedures need to be done for a long time - 1-2 months.
In the treatment of hallux valgus, wearing orthopedic insoles plays an important role. They are made individually. The insoles allow you to adjust the position of the toe and prevent further changes in its position.
Almost all traditional medicine recipes are based on heating bone formation. This allows you to enhance local blood circulation and metabolism. In addition, they help prevent the development of concomitant diseases.
But if treatment is carried out without the use of orthopedic insoles, all efforts may be in vain. The deformity can spread to the entire foot, which will lead to the need for surgical treatment of the disease. Therefore, you should not self-medicate. It is better to immediately seek help from a doctor.
Valgus (flat-valgus) foot deformity in a child is the most common pathology in pediatric traumatology and orthopedics. According to various sources, it accounts for from 40% to 80% of all developmental disorders of the lower extremities. The greatest number of deviations from the norm is recorded in children of senior preschool age and primary schoolchildren.
With this deformation, the heels and toes turn outward, the ankle joint shifts inward, and the middle section lowers (flattens), i.e., the height of the longitudinal arch of both feet decreases and their X-shaped curvature along the axis is noted. The child complains of pain in the legs when walking. His muscles quickly get tired when walking, and the gait itself becomes clumsy. The diagnosis is made by an orthopedic specialist. To combat pathology, a whole range of measures is used: children with hallux valgus require physical therapy, massage, orthotics (involves wearing orthopedic shoes or using special inserts in shoes).
In some cases, it is necessary to use orthopedic splints, and if therapeutic measures are ineffective, surgical intervention is performed.
Upon examination, it is established that with tightly compressed straightened knees, there is a gap of more than 5 cm between the inner sides of the ankles. The arches of the feet are displaced inward. The patient's heel and toes are deviated outward (abduction-pronation dystopia). Often the height of the arch can be further reduced (in this case it is customary to talk about plano-valgus deformity).
Parents should be alert and consult a pediatric orthopedist if the child:
An important sign of pathology is an unsteady gait, cramps in the calves and swelling of the feet at the end of the day. If you look at the soles of the shoes your baby wears, you will notice that they wear out more on the inner surface.
There are congenital and acquired foot deformities.
With a “true” congenital deformity, the cause lies in a change in the shape and relative position of the bones of the distal parts of the lower extremities during intrauterine development. The disease, caused by a genetic defect or pathologies of pregnancy, in this case is usually detected in the first months after birth. The most severe variants of this pathology are the so-called. “vertical ram” and “rocker foot”, requiring surgical correction.
Acquired hallux valgus develops due to imperfection (underdevelopment) of the ligaments and tendons of the legs, as well as low muscle tone (hypotonia). The causes are often some diseases of the musculoskeletal system, and in some cases - wearing uncomfortable or soft shoes that do not adequately support the foot. As a rule, developmental deviations become noticeable at the age of 10-12 months, that is, when the child first begins to try to walk independently.
This orthopedic pathology is more common in children with a weakened body, which in turn may be due to a lack of necessary nutrients (hypotrophy) during embryogenesis, prematurity and frequent acute respiratory viral infections at an early age.
Important: in almost 80% of cases, the cause of foot development pathology is dysplasia (structural disorder) of connective tissue! Among the reasons for its appearance are poor ecology and low-quality food products.
Disorders of bone tissue, as well as muscles and ligaments, always accompany a disease such as rickets. Hallux valgus often occurs when there is excessive load on the ligamentous apparatus of the foot against the background of excess body weight (obesity) in the child. Researchers attach great importance to genetic (family) predisposition, endocrine diseases (hypothyroidism, diabetes) and osteogenesis disorders.
The cause of secondary static-dynamic pathological changes in the legs can also be:
Hallux valgus in children is possible after prolonged wearing of a plaster cast, as well as after traumatic sprains. Often the pathology develops against the background of dysplasia or congenital dislocation of the hip.
Finally, the foot tends to become deformed if adults try to teach a child to walk too early.
Due to insufficient muscle tone (hypotonia), the arch flattens under the baby’s own weight. Stretching and weakening of the muscular-ligamentous apparatus of the lower leg and toes makes it impossible to hold the foot in a normal (physiological) position.
Deformation can cause the development of the following pathologies:
Severe pathology is one of the causes of disability in childhood. If the deformity is not very pronounced, and therapeutic measures are timely and adequate, then it seems possible to completely restore the normal functionality of the limb.
Orthopedists talk about hallux valgus:
The diagnosis of “valgus foot deformity” is made by a pediatric orthopedist after analyzing the data from an external examination and performing x-rays in three projections. Additionally, research methods such as computer podometry and plantography are used.
The most important signs of plano-valgus foot deformity are an X-shaped disruption of the structure and a noticeable “smoothing” of the arch.
Please note: it is difficult to visually determine the presence of flattening of the longitudinal arch, since until the age of 3, the middle part of the foot has a “fat pad” on the plantar part. To see the shape of the arch, ask your child to stand on tiptoes.
X-rays clearly show that the position of the feet relative to each other is abnormal.
Using plantography on a computer, it is possible to calculate the morphological parameters of the distal parts of the lower extremities.
Podometry allows you to determine how evenly the load is distributed across different parts of the foot. This modern technique makes it possible to identify disorders even before the development of the first clinical signs.
Ultrasound of joints is also used as an additional hardware research technique.
To draw up a plan for the most adequate treatment, it is necessary to accurately establish the etiology, in particular, to exclude the presence of lesions of the central nervous system and peripheral nerves. In this case, an additional consultation is carried out with a specialist in the field of child neurology.
For hallux valgus, treatment has the following goals:
Treatment of the congenital form of the pathology usually involves prolonged immobilization of the legs by applying plaster casts. The optimal shape of the bandage is determined by an orthopedic specialist. In this case, the degree (angle) of deviation from the physiological position of the foot and the type of deformation itself are taken into account.
To consolidate the achieved positive effect, and in case of acquired disease - already at the very initial stage, the following treatment methods are used:
The following types of physiotherapeutic procedures are widely used in treatment::
Children with hallux valgus are advised to take swimming classes (all year round in the pool), as well as perform therapeutic gymnastics complexes specially designed for children.
Often it is impossible to do without special orthopedic shoes to facilitate the treatment of hallux valgus. These special models of boots have a powerful arch support and provide rigid retention of the foot in a physiological position.
Important: in some cases it is enough to choose individual orthopedic insoles for regular shoes. The selection of corrective models is carried out by an orthopedic doctor, taking into account the individual structural features of the child’s foot .
Surgeries for hallux valgus are performed according to medical statistics in an average of 7% of cases. Indications are pronounced functional impairment and ineffectiveness of therapeutic methods. During surgery, devices with external fastening can be installed. Subtalar arthrodesis is also sometimes indicated for the purpose of subsequent fusion of the calcaneus and talus. This type of surgery for hallux valgus deformity, such as lengthening the Achilles tendon, is also widespread.
To avoid the development of this pathology, it is necessary to completely eliminate excessive load on the baby’s legs until he is 7-8 months old, since the muscular-ligamentous apparatus is not sufficiently developed at an earlier age. To prevent hallux valgus, the child requires adherence to a regimen of rest and physical activity, hardening and gymnastics. Preventive massage is also of great importance. Nutrition should be complete, with sufficient amounts of proteins, microelements and vitamin D.
Shoes for a baby must strictly correspond to the required size and have a strong instep support. Wearing tight or too loose shoes often leads to various pathologies of the development of the lower extremities and the musculoskeletal system in general.
Please note: when buying shoes, you need to pay attention to the strength of the side and back parts, which is important for fixing the child’s foot in a normal position. Try to choose models made from natural materials.
Carefully watch your baby's gait and listen to his complaints. Early diagnosis of pathologies will allow you to take the necessary measures in time and achieve a full recovery.
Pediatrician Dr. Komarovsky talks about how to choose the right shoes for a child:
Chumachenko Olga, pediatrician
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Hallux valgus is a very unpleasant pathological change that causes not only aesthetic discomfort, but also a lot of pain. Hallux valgus is a disease that manifests itself directly in the curvature of the phalangeal joint of the big toe.
Because of this curvature, all other toes are also deformed. With hallux valgus, a person cannot wear regular shoes, as a lump forms at the base of the big toe. When walking, it rubs against shoes, causing a lot of inconvenience and aching pain. Hallux valgus is visible by the following symptoms:
Curvature of the phalanx of the toes can be caused by incorrectly chosen shoes, especially high heels and narrow socks. As a rule, this orthopedic disease affects women to a greater extent, since it is they who, in pursuit of fashion, sacrifice comfort and buy uncomfortable high shoes that are simply impossible to walk in.
In addition to the fact that walking in heels results in a curvature of the foot, you also risk getting varicose veins.
The fact is that the load when walking in such shoes is incorrectly distributed, which ultimately leads to deformation of the fingers. Genetics also plays a significant role in the development of the disease: if one of your relatives had this disease, there is a high probability that it will be passed on to you by inheritance. The causes of foot deformation can be endocrine disorders of the body and transverse congenital flatfoot.
With a hallux valgus, the symptoms can often be confused with gout or arthritis. Before starting treatment and prevention of the disease, you need to confirm the diagnosis with an orthopedic doctor. After a thorough examination, radiography and plantography, he will be able to give an opinion and prescribe a course of drug therapy, exercise therapy, or send you for surgery. It all depends on the degree of development of the disease and the causes of its occurrence.
With hallux valgus, therapeutic exercises have a very good effect on the healing process. You need to do the following exercises several times a day:
1. Lie on the floor and do an exercise familiar from childhood, imitating riding a bicycle. As you exercise, try to point your toes forward as your leg moves away from you, and pull your toes back as your leg moves in the opposite direction. You need to move parallel to the floor, you should not swing your legs in different directions. You can do this gymnastics for about 10 approaches 2 times a day.
2. The next exercise must be done while sitting. You need to rest your hands on the floor behind you and stretch your legs forward. Take turns bending and then straightening your legs at the ankles 10 times.
3. In the same position as the above exercise, we spread our toes as wide as possible in different directions. If possible, try to stay in this position for several minutes, and then return your fingers to the starting position. Perform gymnastics 10-15 times.
4. Sit on the floor and lean your hands behind you, clench your toes and unclench your toes for 5 minutes.
5. Sit on a chair and move your legs in different directions using only your toes. This exercise is called the “caterpillar” and is very useful to perform.
6. While sitting on a chair, take a pencil or pen and place it between your first and second toes. Using circular or sideways movements, try to draw different shapes or letters in the air with a pencil.
7. While standing, try to walk on your toes with your hands up, then walk on your heels, hands on your sides, then on the outer and inner edges of your feet.
8. The most useful exercise for this disease is to pull the ankle towards you in any comfortable position. While sitting, standing or lying down, try to pull your big toe all the way towards you. Then stretch your legs forward, sitting on the floor and pointing your toes forward, move your big toes on each leg in turn, then on both legs at the same time.
9. Sitting on the floor in the “lotus” position, or, as they also say, “Turkish”, we rise, leaning on the outer sides of our feet. We place both legs on top one at a time.
10. Sitting on a chair with legs straightened forward, we try to collect a piece of fabric with our toes. You can also move small things from one place to another.
11. We fill the bathtub with water at a temperature of approximately 35 degrees and place a mat with rubber spikes on the bottom. You need to walk along it for no more than 10 minutes.
Walking barefoot plays a huge role in proper foot placement. You can walk on grass, sand, gravel or pebbles in summer and warmer months.
At home, even sitting in front of the TV, you can roll some object, for example, a small ball with spikes, on the floor with your fingers or your entire foot.
Exercise therapy for deformed feet sometimes gives amazing results and even helps to avoid surgical intervention.
The effect of such exercises will be in just a few weeks, and after a couple of months you will completely forget about pain in your legs and bones.
Hallux valgus in adults and children involves a change in the bone that disrupts the shape of the toe itself. With this disease, the toes change location and become angled towards each other. Valgus deviation in its advanced form can be clearly seen even by a person without special education.
This pathological change, in addition to the external flaw, causes discomfort to the person. Thus, circulatory functions in this area are disrupted, and arthritis also develops. Walking for a long time with such a deviation increases the risk of injury to the ankle joint.
There are several main reasons why hallux valgus occurs:
According to the results of the study, it was revealed that ballet dancers, as well as women who wear high-heeled shoes every day, are most susceptible to the disease. People with poor elasticity of articular tissues may develop such an ailment over time; first, flat feet form, and then valgus deformity of the foot.
The disease usually develops slowly, making early diagnosis difficult. Treatment during this period is much easier; special orthopedic devices are used to correct the foot.
Some patients think that hallux valgus is a common callus. Various traditional medicine methods are being used for treatment, while the disease continues to progress. It is worth noting that at the very beginning the tubercle has a soft structure, but only with the process of development it becomes coarser.
At an advanced stage of the disease, there is a pronounced curvature of not only the thumb, but also of everyone nearby. This pathology provokes the formation of corns and ingrowth of the nail plate.
Stages of hallux valgus:
It is the degree of bone curvature that determines the need for surgical intervention. Sometimes recovery requires only drug therapy along with various devices.
Valgus flat feet in young children may already be present from birth or occur later in the process of growth. In the first case, this disease is detected immediately when the baby is born. Such deviations appear as a result of intrauterine pathologies, as well as after illnesses of the mother’s body during pregnancy.
This deviation is acquired due to weak ligaments, as well as disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Such defects can be noticed only in the first year of a child’s life, when he should take his first steps. Muscular hypotonia, which is where pathology develops, occurs in prematurely born children. Such cases were observed in those babies who suffered many colds in early infancy.
Often this deviation is a consequence of rickets. In addition, the problem of hallux valgus is often found in children with excess body weight. Thus, there is excessive stress on the joints and the fingers become bent.
When a baby, trying to take his first steps, cannot fully step on the floor with his entire foot, but only touches it with the middle part, then an examination should be carried out. This feature is the main sign of valgus foot.
Before starting therapeutic treatment, the patient is prescribed to wear special shoes, in which the disease will not progress. Pain from this disease most often occurs due to improperly selected shoes. The foot is compressed, and the inflammatory process begins to develop again. However, in this way you can only relieve unpleasant symptoms, but it is impossible to get rid of the curvature itself.
Injections containing corticosteroids block the inflammatory process. This also helps relieve pain, but the growth still remains in place. Treatment of hallux valgus begins with injections. This therapy is prescribed before surgery to eliminate bursitis.
The disease is eliminated using various advanced medical techniques, but surgery is still considered the most effective method of treatment. Using such measures, the following problems can be solved:
At the maximum degree of curvature, it becomes necessary to completely remove the growth. The operation is carried out as follows:
However, such an operation for hallux valgus is performed only in the most extreme cases, when it is impossible to eliminate this problem in any other way. In other situations, the bone is returned to its correct position.
Before choosing the right technique for performing surgery for hallux valgus, you should study possible contraindications, as well as accurately determine the severity of the pathology. When the primary stage of the disease is observed, the most gentle method of surgical intervention is used so as not to damage the soft tissues.
The main goal of such an operation is to eliminate an external defect that is unacceptable from an aesthetic point of view, as well as to relieve pain when walking. However, at the last stage such an operation is not carried out. The main danger is that often after the procedure, patients develop pathology again after some time.
With this type of surgery, a full incision is not made. However, all the surgeon’s actions are monitored using x-ray diagnostics. 2 punctures are made on both sides. The joint capsule is opened with special instruments. Thus, the correct position of the big toe is restored. In minimally invasive surgery, special devices for fixing the joint are not installed.
Bone removal for hallux valgus, surgical technique:
With this type of surgical intervention, there is also a need to monitor the operation using x-rays. This is because the area of permissible bone displacement is limited. The operation is performed under both local and general anesthesia. This depends on the individual characteristics of the patient’s body.
When a hallux valgus deformity is detected, treatment is not always permitted by surgical intervention:
For arthritis, the possibility of surgical intervention is not excluded. However, this creates the need for special control over the patient during recovery after surgery.
Complications that may appear after surgery:
All of the above deviations arise only in exceptional situations. In general, patients, regardless of age restrictions, undergo this operation without any consequences. If the deformity has been observed for several years and no treatment has been carried out, then even after surgery, pain may remain. When hallux valgus is diagnosed, surgery is the most effective treatment method.
After surgery to eliminate hallux valgus, you should carefully follow all the specialist’s recommendations. How quickly healing will occur depends on this. In addition, the patient must regularly visit the doctor during the rehabilitation period. This is because sometimes additional therapeutic measures are required to eliminate the problem.
After the patient is sent home, he is given a special bandage that secures the finger. In some cases, they are even prescribed to wear special shoes, but most often it is recommended to purchase orthopedic insoles for hallux valgus. Sutures are usually removed on the 14th day after surgery. During this time, your foot should be protected from water. When showering, you must wear a plastic bag over your leg.
In addition, you need to carefully monitor the condition of the bandage and prevent it from moving. If these simple rules are ignored, a relapse often occurs, which creates the need for repeated surgery.
In the first days of rehabilitation after surgery, you should move only with the help of special canes and walkers. This is because the operated foot is not yet ready for heavy loads. You should gradually increase the pressure on it. After 2 weeks, you are allowed to move without any devices, but only for short distances.
To prevent the leg from swelling, it is necessary to periodically keep it elevated. Sometimes it is even recommended to apply ice, but this is only permissible with the permission of a doctor.
To prevent the development of hallux valgus, the following preventive recommendations should be followed:
In addition to such recommendations, in order to avoid the formation of valgus flat feet in adults, it is necessary to completely rebuild your lifestyle and perform gymnastic exercises. It is most effective to roll some round objects with your feet, as well as lift them with your fingers. When there is a hallux valgus in adults, massage should be performed. To do this, you need to start massaging the calf area, gradually going down to the soles of your feet.
Mostly after the operation, the patient needs to stay in the hospital for at least 4 days under the supervision of specialists. Therefore, you should not immediately go home; medical assistance may be needed at any time.