Find the center of the heel and the center of the third toe. Connect the two points found with a straight line. If in the narrow part the footprint does not go beyond the line, there is no flat foot (Fig. 39).
Posture and flat feetI. Detection of postural disorders.
Equipment: measuring tape.
II. Detection of flat feet (work done at home).
Find the center of the heel and the center of the third toe. Connect the two points found with a straight line. If in the narrow part the footprint does not go beyond the line, there is no flatfoot
To identify a stoop (round back), use a measuring tape to measure the distance between the most distant points of the left and right shoulder, 3-5 cm down from the shoulder joint, from the chest and from the back. Divide the first result by the second. If the result is a number close to or greater than one, then there are no violations. Getting a number less than one indicates poor posture. Stand with your back to the wall so that your heels, shins, pelvis and shoulder blades touch the wall. Try sticking your fist between the wall and your lower back. If it goes away, there is a violation of posture. If only the palm passes through, the posture is normal.
Equipment: a bowl of water, a sheet of paper, a felt-tip pen or a simple pencil.
Stand on a piece of paper with your wet foot. Trace the contours of the trace with a felt-tip pen or a simple pencil.
Flat feet are a fairly common disease, affecting 25 to 40% of the total population. But many people still believe in the numerous misconceptions that are attributed to this pathology. So, let's look at some of them.
1) Only children suffer from flat feet.
Of course, there are congenital forms of flat feet associated with impaired intrauterine development of the child, but much more often it is acquired. The reasons that can lead to the development of flat feet are very diverse, but the main ones can be identified: foot trauma, prolonged static tension of the legs, uncomfortable shoes, unsuitable soles, excess weight, weakness of the foot muscles. All these reasons are acquired, and appear even more often at an older age, rather than in childhood.
In addition, flattening of the foot in children does not always indicate the presence of flat feet, but may be a variant of the age norm due to increased mobility of joints and extensibility of ligaments.
2) Flat feet is a hereditary disease. If your parents have it, then you won’t be able to avoid it.
In fact, it is not flat feet that are genetically transmitted, but the structural features of the body’s connective tissue, which in particular make up the ligaments and tendons of the foot muscles that support the arches. That is, the ligaments are slightly weaker than those of other people. But this in no way means that flat feet are inevitable. If you regularly perform preventative exercises for your feet, wear properly fitted shoes and carefully monitor the condition and health of your feet, you will certainly avoid this disease.
3) Thin people do not have flat feet.
Excess weight is a common cause of flat feet; the load on the legs increases, sometimes even twice as much as normal. But people with normal weight are not immune from the development of this disease, since all other risk factors for the development of flat feet affect them fully. Often, thin people abuse uncomfortable, narrow shoes and high heels much more than overweight people. And this, in turn, is also a serious predisposing factor.
4) If flat feet develop during pregnancy, after childbirth everything will go away on its own.
An increase in body weight during pregnancy and a shift in the center of gravity can contribute to the development of flat feet. But after losing weight, advanced changes in the foot will not go away on their own. To restore the normal state of the ligamentous apparatus of the foot, complex treatment and subsequent prevention of relapses will be required.
5) There is nothing wrong with flat feet.
Unfortunately, flat feet affect not only the shape of the feet, as many people think. In addition to the immediate leg symptoms (fatigue, a feeling of heaviness, pain, swelling, deformation of the big toes), undiagnosed and untreated flat feet will eventually lead to varicose veins in the legs, diseases of the joints of the legs (ankle, knee, hip), spine up to phenomena of lumbar osteochondrosis. All this is accompanied by pain in the legs, back, swelling, and joint deformities. Without proper treatment, flat feet will constantly progress and in later stages can lead to serious impairments in quality of life and ability to work. That is, flat feet are a fairly serious disease that affects not only the feet, but also many other parts of the musculoskeletal system, and requires timely comprehensive treatment.
6) Everything that bothers you above the feet is no longer flat feet.
As mentioned earlier, flat feet cause a combination of changes in the entire leg and even the spine. Accordingly, manifestations of flat feet, such as pain, swelling, increased fatigue, a feeling of heaviness, and numbness can spread throughout the entire leg and lower back. But other diseases can also give similar symptoms, so to carry out differential diagnosis and establish the correct diagnosis, you need to consult a doctor.
7) Flat feet are a direct contraindication for sports.
In this situation, everything depends on the stage of progression, clinical manifestations and severity of the foot deformity. If we are talking about the initial stages of the disease, then physical activity is not only not contraindicated, but is even useful in order to strengthen the ligamentous-muscular apparatus of the foot to stop the development of the disease. Of course, the volume and type of load must be agreed upon with the doctor for each specific case. If flat feet are in the last stages of development, then physical activity is limited to strictly standardized therapeutic exercises under the strict supervision of a doctor.
8) Running is good for your legs.
Many people recommend running to prevent flat feet. Of course, there is a rational grain in this, since running trains the muscles of the legs and feet well. But a prerequisite for a positive result is the right sports shoes: with suitable instep support, a thick, shock-absorbing sole, tightly but not tightly fitting the foot. If you wear the wrong shoes, your arches will be subject to increased stress while running, which can lead to foot injuries.
9 Wide shoes are good and healthy for your feet. Of course, shoes that are too narrow interfere with normal blood circulation in the feet, but shoes that are too wide are also harmful: they do not secure the foot enough, dangle when walking, which is why they do not fulfill their softening function and contribute to the appearance of chafing. Shoes must be the right size. It is for this reason that you should not buy shoes several sizes larger for children, “for growth”; this can harm the health of their feet.
10) Flat feet can be cured after 17 years of age. In this matter, the stage of development of the disease plays a key role. In the early stages, with the help of complex conservative treatment, you can achieve almost complete recovery and restoration of the structure and function of the feet. Unfortunately, after the age of 17, there is little that can be done to help, when the foot is already fully formed. In extreme stages, complex operations on the feet are required, and then without guarantees for a complete recovery. In this case, we are talking about eliminating the symptoms, but the cause of the disease, as a rule, remains. A very important issue is the early, timely diagnosis of flat feet and its prevention, starting in early childhood.
Due to their inexperience, fatigue or ordinary professional burnout, doctors sometimes do not notice symptoms that could indicate a specific illness in the child. Another thing is parents. They always pay attention to minor details that may cause them to worry about the baby’s health. Therefore, if parents notice that their child has an unnatural gait, then they should know how to determine if their child has flat feet.
Flat feet are a characteristic foot deformity that can be congenital or acquired. Changing the shape of the foot affects its transverse and longitudinal arches - they descend.
This disease is quite common. Moreover, many, complaining of pain in the back, joints, muscles, may not even be aware of it. Therefore, it is very important for parents to have knowledge of how to identify flat feet in a child.
According to the nature of the foot deformation, flatfoot is divided into primary, transverse and longitudinal. Moreover, if a person, for example, has transverse flatfoot, this does not mean at all that over time he will not acquire longitudinal flatfoot. All types of flat feet get along well with each other.
From the name we can draw an absolutely logical conclusion that transverse flatfoot is characterized by drooping of the transverse arch of the foot, and longitudinal flatfoot is characterized by drooping of the transverse arch of the foot. Longitudinal flatfoot, in turn, can affect the size of the leg. Therefore, if a person has changed from his usual shoe size 39 to 40, then this may be a reason to contact a specialist. This applies to an adult. But with how to determine if a child has flat feet, things are a little more complicated.
Based on its origin, this disease can be divided into: congenital and acquired. There are four ways to get flat feet:
Congenital flatfoot is extremely rare - only 3% of cases.
Only a specialist can determine the degree of foot deformation. But parents can independently notice the presence of the disease at an early stage of flat feet.
In transverse flatfoot, as in longitudinal, there are three degrees of development of the disease. The first degree is characterized by mild symptoms and is practically invisible visually. The reason for visiting a doctor may be rapid fatigue of the legs, swelling, changes in gait and other symptoms characteristic of this disease. The progression of the disease may worsen if no measures are taken to eliminate it. Therefore, in order to avoid serious consequences, you need to consult a doctor at the first symptoms.
Although flat feet in themselves seem to be a fairly harmless disease, it can bring a lot of trouble to the patient. When a child is sick, the situation is much worse. You can’t just ask a baby about symptoms and concerns, so parents don’t know how to determine flat feet in a 1-year-old child and is it possible to do this at all?
Flat feet affect the rate of wear and tear of the musculoskeletal system. Therefore, the sooner the start is given, the faster the patient will be overtaken by problems in the future. In addition, it contributes to the curvature of the spine, and as a result, back pain.
Patients with flat feet are most often identified by their characteristic gait for this disease. Due to improper distribution of the load on the feet, a person may experience pain in the muscles, ligaments, and joints. The presence of flat feet also affects the formation of the so-called bone, which with age will bring even more problems in everyday life.
Since flat feet, as a congenital pathology, is extremely rare, parents should carefully monitor the factors that may influence its occurrence. The reason for the development of flat feet in a child can be:
To avoid the development of this disease, you need to take preventive actions that do not require special skills. The bone tissue, muscles and ligaments of young children take time to become well strengthened. In this case, the role of parents is to create favorable conditions for this.
Flat feet are a fairly common disease among young children. The signs of this disease are especially obvious at 2-3 years of age. Therefore, parents very often wonder how to determine flat feet in a 2-year-old child?
In fact, the manifestation of symptoms of flat feet in children at this age should not cause much concern among parents. The fact is that a child at birth does not yet have bone tissue. Mostly its skeleton consists of cartilage. And only over time, these cartilages begin to strengthen, becoming saturated with calcium, fluorine, phosphorus, etc.
At 2-3 years, the process of formation of the skeletal system is still at an intermediate stage. Bone tissue takes on its more or less complete form only at the age of 5-6 years; it is then that a correct diagnosis can be given to the child. Therefore, it makes sense to look for an answer to the question of how to determine flat feet in a 3-year-old child only when flat feet are accompanied by plano-valgus deformity of the foot.
Photos posted online depicting children's feet are unlikely to help you make the correct diagnosis yourself. Therefore, if you suspect that your child has flat feet, pay attention to two external symptoms of this disease:
How to determine if a child has flat feet by their gait? The first thing that should make parents wary is clubfoot. “Clubfoot” refers to a gait pattern in which the toes of the foot are turned outward when walking. This occurs due to the fact that the muscles of the child’s feet are in a relaxed state when walking and cannot maintain its correct position.
It’s also worth paying attention to how your child’s shoes wear out. If all the shoes are deformed when worn, in particular their inner side, this indicates an incorrect position of the foot when walking.
When parents are in no hurry to seek advice from a specialist, you can use the folk method for determining flat feet. To do this, you need to smear the child's foot with rich cream and place the footprint on a white sheet of paper. If the indentation on the print is not large enough or is not there at all, then this is a serious reason to contact a qualified doctor.
Many parents are looking for information on how to determine if their child has flat feet, simply because they do not know which doctor to consult. A diagnosis of flat feet can only be made by an orthopedic surgeon.
When registering with a children's clinic, the local pediatrician must detail the schedule of visits to the orthopedic doctor in the first year of the child's life. As a rule, the visit is scheduled for the baby’s 1st, 3rd, 6th and 12th month. After the child learns to walk, doctors recommend visiting an orthopedist once a year.
Depending on the origin of the disease, the method of its treatment is determined. If the child falls into the same 3% for whom flat feet are a congenital disease, then plaster casts will be used to change the shape of the foot. Each pair of dressings is applied for a period of no more than 10 days with their subsequent replacement. If a child was born with a severe form of flat feet, the pathology will have to be corrected surgically.
For acquired flatfoot, other treatment methods are used, which include:
The diagnosis of acquired flat feet can only be made after the child reaches 5 years of age, so treatment procedures are not carried out before this period. If you want to protect your child from this disease, then it is best to take preventive measures for this.
When an orthopedic doctor nevertheless makes a verdict that a child has a foot deformity, he must write out a prescription for the use of special orthopedic shoes.
Many parents purchase such shoes without a doctor's prescription only because they consider them safer for the child. But that's not true. Orthopedic shoes are by and large a medical device for the treatment of flat feet. But it is impossible to answer the question of how to determine flat feet in a child whose year of birth indicates that his foot is still at the stage of formation. How can you treat a disease that in fact the child does not have? No way. Therefore, orthopedic doctors agree that orthopedic shoes are absolutely not needed for a child under three years of age.
Of course, a special diet will not help get rid of flat feet, but experts have nevertheless developed a daily diet for a person with this disease. This development is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of treatment measures for a speedy recovery of the patient.
For young children, the best food is mother's milk. When a child begins to eat “adult” food, it is very important to ensure that it is rich in vitamins and minerals. In particular, calcium, phosphorus, collagen and vitamin D. Most of these substances are found in dairy products (calcium), fish (phosphorus, vitamin D) and aspic (collagen).
In order not to wonder how to determine flat feet in a one-year-old child, it is enough to follow a number of simple rules that will completely eliminate the likelihood of this disease occurring.
The most important factor in the correct formation of a child’s foot is well-chosen shoes. Aesthetics in this case should fade into the background. First of all, your baby’s shoes must be the right size. There is no need to buy shoes for your child to grow into or wear almost new shoes for older brothers or sisters, as this may cause improper distribution of the load on the foot. And this, as you and I remember, is one of the reasons for flat feet.
If the child does not have medical indications for which he needs to wear shoes as often as possible, then try to have the baby move around barefoot most of the time. This is especially true for children aged 1 to 3 years. If at the age of one year parents do not yet attach much importance to the correctness of the child’s gait, then at the age of 2 they begin to look at it more closely. Therefore, the question of how to determine flat feet in a 2-year-old child arises much more often than others.
Under natural conditions, a child’s foot is formed most correctly. The surface on which the baby walks should have different textures - smooth, embossed, rough, etc. In the summer, you can walk with your child barefoot on grass or embossed soil, and in winter you can use special rugs.
Greetings, dear parents! I decided that we talk too much about material things and have forgotten a little about health issues. How often do we live in anticipation of a miracle and rejoice when the baby takes his first independent steps, while being touched by his clubbed, staggering gait.
None of the parents at these moments even think about the fact that there may be any problems with the skills to master a healthy gait and stand confidently on their feet. And they do it right, but only up to three or four years of age, because by this age it is already possible to find signs of flat feet in children.
If you don’t delve into wise medical books, you can prove that a child’s foot should not differ in any way from an adult’s, except in size. However, this is not at all correct: the small leg is by no means a smaller version of the parent leg.
Those favorite piles with pink heels that we kiss so often are initially flat in structure, and the arches are filled with subcutaneous fat. Only as they grow older, with their first steps, does a child’s foot begin to resemble an adult’s, acquiring characteristic shapes and allowing him to stand on his feet bolder and longer every day.
The older the child gets, the more clearly the clearance of the arch of the foot can be seen, and this visually indicates the normal development of the child’s footprint. But to be one hundred percent sure that everything is going according to plan and without deviations, you see, only orthopedic doctors are capable of, and even they make mistakes from time to time.
If you are not ready for surprises, then it is best to schedule a visit to an orthopedist in order to systematically eliminate the symptoms of flat feet. This is done when the baby is 3 and 6 months old, repeating visits at one and three years, as well as at five years.
All of us have long become omniscient in any field, and medicine is no exception, right? The great thing the Internet will find an answer to any question, and we, knowingly, having read the thoughts of those who have gone through “fire, water and copper pipes,” look for signs of diseases in ourselves and our children and begin to be treated, although often there is nothing to treat.
Do you need to ring the bells if you can’t shake the obsessive thought that your child may have flat feet? "Forewarned is forearmed!" - the golden rule for everything related to health. Nothing prevents us from looking for something that may hint at problems, but only a specialist is obliged to put an end to it. So, parents need to think about it if:
There are home tests that are simple, but quite informative, to identify signs of flat feet.
Here are just a few symptoms that may suggest an existing problem or that it may soon arise and lead to an orthopedist, and he has other diagnostic methods in his stash to determine flat feet.
In addition to the techniques available at home, orthopedists, when contacting them, can examine the child for flat feet using modern equipment.
Based on the results of the examination, the orthopedist can diagnose one of the degrees of development of flat feet. Classically, there are three of them, depending on the angle of the arch of the child’s foot. Only the human footprint has two arches - longitudinal and transverse, so flat feet can be either longitudinal or transverse. Up to the age of five, children most often experience longitudinal, although not severe in nature, but complicated by clubfoot.
Each type has its own characteristics, let’s not be clever and leave the work to the doctors. But the severity of the disease also has common features.
This is, at first glance, a funny, but not at all childishly serious, “toptyzhka” gait. Where do “legs grow” from, or what is the cause of flat feet?
Children's foot disease can be congenital, but this is an exception to the rule, since such cases of genetic inheritance are only about 3%. All the remaining 97% acquire flat feet.
If you are not part of that hereditary 3%, then everyone should immediately go outside to play outdoor games and play sports!
I’m not sure that you should run and join the ranks of barefooters, who are barefoot both in winter and summer, and on the street, and at a party, but! At home we take off our shuffling slippers and slide with our toes, and in the summer we wander barefoot on the sand and grass. And we don’t fall for the pleading looks, but choose the right thing for the child to wear!
Let's support the article with the opinion of an orthopedic doctor. Let's watch the video!
Share your thoughts on the topic of flat feet, we are waiting for your advice. Let there be one less clumsy stomp!
Ready to share secrets with you, yours, Evgenia Klimkovich.
Medicine from nature, health, herbal treatment, exercises, healthy foods, vitamins, happiness, advice in the world of medicine, medical news
Flatfoot is a change in the shape of the foot, characterized by drooping of its longitudinal and transverse arches.
There are initial transverse and longitudinal flat feet; a combination of both forms is possible.
Flat feet are directly dependent on body weight: the greater the weight and, therefore, the load on the feet, the more pronounced the longitudinal flat feet. This pathology occurs mainly in women.
- increase in body weight;
- work in a standing position;
— decrease in muscle strength during physiological aging;
- lack of training for people in sedentary professions, etc.
Footprint for various degrees of flat feet from zero to third:
And one of the unfavorable development factors is improperly made shoes. Fashionistas pay with flat feet for high heels and narrow shoe toes, when the legs do not rest on the entire foot, but only on the heads of the metatarsal bones.
And the point is also that wearing someone else’s shoes leads to worsening of the disease. Worn out someone else's shoes incorrectly distribute the load on the foot. It turns out that when we give shoes, we do a disservice. Children's shoes should have a small heel, a hard heel and spring instep support - a kind of “stones” and “bumps” under the feet.
Flat feet and pregnancy
Natural strengthening of the body helps strengthen the foot. It is good for a child to swim - crawl is better, but you can just flounder at the edge of the pool - it is important that the stroke occurs with the leg. It is useful to walk barefoot - on sand (not hot) or pebbles (not sharp). Run along hills and hills, walk on a log.
Physical education classes are certainly beneficial for children with flat feet. Recommendations for restrictions here are very relative. For example, skating, cross-country skating, or weightlifting put unnecessary stress on the arch of the foot. On the other hand, they are not contraindicated if there are no severe clinical manifestations of the disease - pain, swelling. Thus, almost all speed skaters develop flat feet over time, which does not prevent them from achieving high athletic results. The famous high jumper Vladimir Yashchenko had pronounced flat feet. However, he turned his disadvantage into a plus - at the moment of the jump, he corrected the deformed muscles of the foot, which increased his jumping ability. Physical activity in any case develops the leg muscles and strengthens the arch of the foot.