Anybody have a kid that walks on his/her toes?

[dtsaos]

My daughter is 8 and has had serial casting every summer since she was 4. A PT in Chicago does this for her because she has tight heel cords. The casts are walking casts and they are taken off after one week. Each week a new cast is set at a higher angle. After 5 days of wearing a cast, we are able to peel the cast off to give her a 2 day break. It's not bad at all. It's no big deal. She can run and play, just no water play. I think I'd find an NDT trained pediatric PT, though. I wouldn't have a surgeon do it, kind of a conflict of interest? You'll need to call around though--not all PT's are NDT trained and not all PT's are skilled in serial casting. Really, this technique is awesome and we've always been successful after 3 weeks!

well although he didn't explain this in great detail, he did say that she's be able to walk in them and that they would need to be changed after 3 weeks so he probably was talking about some kind of "serial casting"? Sorry to sound stupid, but what does NDT mean? Even though I'm up right now, my brain's not working at full speed!

 

[cinderlexa's mom]

Neuro-Developmental Therapy

My daughter has gone to a lot of PT's. The PT's with NDT training seem to have helped her a lot more than the PT's without this training. The courses they take to get certified are very time intensive, so many are not able to go.

Hope you find something that works for you!

 

[cteddiesgirl]

I have always been a toe walker. I still stand or walk on my toes today at almost 33. But I do it most often when I am barefoot. It's just an unconcious thing. I do have killer calves, but I also have ended up with very wide feet. My heels are fairly narrow, but the toes and balls of my feet are very wide. Try finding a size 5EE in anything but flats, tennis shoes or really ugly shoes.
And if my feet weren't so wide, I could wear a child size 3.

I'd see what you can do to break your child of this as soon as possible. But I would also get a second opinion.

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

I would also get a second opinion.

I was a toe walker for a long time. I remember around the fifth grade other kids started to tease me about it so I made the conscious decision to make myself stop walking tiptoe. Up until other kids started teasing me about it I really never noticed I walked that way or that others didn't.

I am 28 now and sometimes I will find myself doing it, but not that often. I usually do it (unconsciously) when I am in a crowd of people. I have no idea why

As far as I know I have no side effects from doing it and I don't think I did it because I had a problem.

 

[ladyelle]

My son is also a toe walker. His tendions in heels are very tight. We went to a specialist and he recommended physical therapy and stretching exercises at home for one year. We are currently attending physical therapy. The next step is botox shots in his heels if this doesn't work.

 

[Oh Kay!]

Marj70, Her speech is not perfect, but it's about where it should be for her age. I believe she's fine in every other developmental way. Physically speaking, she's probably more advanced than many kids her age. She's very agile and balanced. Why did you ask? Just wondering what you're thinking?

I'm not Marj70, but I must confess I had a similar question popped into my head when I read the thread title. I have a son with mild developmental issues(mostly speech and socialization), and when we had him evaluated, one of the questions that we were asked by all the evaluators was whether he was a toe-walker(he wasn't).

However, if your Ped hasn't flagged that, I wouldn't worry about that aspect. Defintely get a second opinion, and a consultation with a PT.

 

[MamaLema]

My neighbour's son was toe-walking since he learned to walk. At three, doctors put a cast on both feet to just below the knee.

I'm not for it or against it but it worked for him

 

[estherhead]

My sister's eldest boy did this (still does but is better) and she went to the doctor and they said it is a sensory disorder. They put special things in his shoes so that his tendons wouldn't get messed up and he went to a physical therapist who dealt with the sensory disorder. Had he not gone this route he would have ended up in casts. GET A SECOND OPINION! Do research on the sensory disorder to see if she has other symptoms (he paced constantly and would only wear a certain outfit as it was the only one that wasn't "itchy" and even that shirt he constantly took off because it annoyed him.) The physical therapy really helped in every way.

 

[pooh4evr]

I also walked on my toes as a kid and sometimes find myself doing it now. I also had nice muscular claves- so big thougth I remember when I was in High School and trying on a pair of size 2 jeans (boy are those days long gone!) and my mom trying to yank then off of me over my calves!! Yes they actually fit everywhere else!- Now both of my girls do it at ages 4 and 2 I never would have thought it was a problem?! They can a do walk normally but I guess I figured tip toe walking was something many kids do?

 

[jel0511]

My friend's son does this. and at first they told her he'd outgrow it. Casting in their next option, if they don't go that route then surgery to lentgthen the csalf muscle. I'd consult a pediatric orthoprdiest if there is one near you. A regular ortho isn't going to know what to do.

 

[Figment1964]

Developmentally everything else is on target except for the toes? She talks at age level, etc?

I was thinking the same thing. Does she flap her hands or arms or spin in circles? My son has a developmental disability that can be signaled by toe walking as well as flapping/spinning.

Before we knew what was going on we used to joke that he was going to be a pilot because he acted like he wanted to fly from all the flapping of his arms.

I would definitely get a second opinion, that's a pretty drastic measure with what he told you last year!

 

[SueM in MN]

Up until age 3, toe walking is not considered to be abnormal/ It's something some kids do and most will stop before they are 3. So that's probably why the doctor was not concerned when he saw her at 2; there was a very good chance that you would never be back because she would not be doing it any more in 1 year.
As for how "abrupt" he was, my youngest DD has cerebral palsy and over the course of her life, we've seen at least 6 orthopedists. All the ones we've seen have been like that - they see a problem, they want to fix it (and often, their fixing involves surgery). My DD has only had one surgery, but she's had it proposed at least 4 other times.

From what I have read, serial casting is a pretty common treatment for toe walking. My DD had AFOs (plastic braces) for a while to help with tight achilles tendons.
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/toddler/toddlerdevelopment/12580.html

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/toddler/toddlerquicktips/toe_walking.html

 

[dtsaos]

SueM,
thanks for the link. Very interesting stuff. As I mentioned before, DD's speech is a little weak, however she's gotten so much better over the summer and is really "growing" up in so many ways. She has been potty trained for a few months now and has never had any issues with eating or anything like that, no problems with sensory stuff (although she does like to run around naked if she can get away with it ). She gets along great with other kids, she follows instructions...but she has always been a very "free spirit" type of child and is starting to come down to earth now-which actually makes me a little sad in a weird way, I think because she's so unique-she always makes people smile and is always interested in performing for everyone. She loves being in the spotlight and can just light up an entire room with her personality. but of course, I know she has to grow up and I want her to the best she can. She started a preschool program this fall-two half days a week and is doing well with it. She can count to 10 +, but she still doesn't know her colors. She's always been too interested in "the world" to bother learning things like colors and letters, but she is showing some interest now which I'm very glad about! It's funny, because my DS (turning 5 in about a week) has always been soooo different than her-His feet are always planted firm on the ground if you know what I mean. and he knew all the colors, shapes, letters by the time he was 2-he's just a very different type of kid. Anyway, I have considered getting her evaluated although DH is against it for now (feels she's too young and there's no reason to think anything's wrong just because she's not as book smart as her older brother) and we've argued about it, but she has changed so much over the past few months that I think maybe he's right. She may end up needing some speech therapy but i really don't think there's anything else going on. Time will tell. In any event, I appreciate all the input from everyone, it's made me feel so much better and when we get back from disney we will definetly be taking her to someone else. By the way, she had a full check up with kind of an evaluation by her regular doctor in July and she thought DD was doing fine. -just a little concerned about the speech, but didn't think it was a huge deal.

 

[momofdbsdc]

Get a second opinion. I would also consider taking her to a pediatric neurologist. My daughter has a benign cyst at the base of her spine and one of the symptoms that we need to be aware of is if she begins walking on her toes.

Good Luck!!!

Kim

 

[dibey]

My daughter who is 6 was a toe walker up until recently. I didn't think it was a major problem until she went through some screenings for speech and the screeners mentioned it to me. Her calf muscles were too tight and were limiting what she could do(like walking down stairs alternating feet). She received a half an hour of physical therapy a week at school during kindergarten. Seven months of that did wonders. My daughter only walks on her toes now when she is barefoot, but so does my brother-in-law who is 34. They mentioned casting to me only as a last option. Call your school district to find out if they will do a screening. Even if your child isn't in school yet they should still offer free screenings. I hope everything works out for you.

 

[kmebee]

My nephew (7.5) and his brother (3) are both toe walkers. When 7.5 was younger, they asked the doctor and he said not to worry, he would outgrow it. He still does it occasionally but when told to not walk on his toes he stops. He is a little flat footed though. The 3 year old I think does it because he sees his older brother doing it and doesn't do it all that often. They say his father walked like that when he was a kid but outgrew it too.
I would keep an eye on it but tell her to stop when she does walk on her toes. I think a 2nd opinion isn't a bad idea though either.

 

[cindermomma]

My DH has always walked on his toes. His mother said he did it a lot when he was young, but now only does it when walking without shoes. Just wanted to let you know that he always has done just fine. Keep us updated and here's hoping everything works out well for your little one!

 

[SueM in MN]

If you want a more "global" look at her, I'd suggest either a pediatric neurologist (as someone else also did) or a developmental pediatrician. Either one should be able to give you a good look.
As she is over 3, the school district would be responsible for a screening. If you look in the phone book, you should find a referral number for Early Childhood Program or call the main school district number an ask for that.

This website has a lot of good information and links:
http://www.pacer.org/
PACER is based in Minnesota, but it is a national resource fro educational advocacy. There are links to various state and national websites.

 

[seashoreCM]

There is a whole school of thought that says the front of the foot should land first and take most of the weight. But the heel should be almost on the ground and touch some of the time, not remain raised as if wearing high heeled shoes.

In addition they said the feet should be pointing straight ahead.

When the shoe heel is found to be worn more on one side than the other, that is a sign of bad walking posture.

I was thinking the same thing. Does she flap her hands or arms or spin in circles? My son has a developmental disability that can be signaled by toe walking as well as flapping/spinning.

Before we knew what was going on we used to joke that he was going to be a pilot because he acted like he wanted to fly from all the flapping of his arms.
!

A distant cousin of mine became a danseur for a few years after college. "Make shame" was the Hawaiian-pidgin-English comment from many a family member.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[fran99999]

My DD's now 17 were both toe walkers. I was told by my mother that I had to purchase those old ugly hightop shoes. This was quite a few years ago. these shoes are hard bottom and come over the ankle. I purchased 1 pair of these for each and by the time they outgrew them they walked flat footed. Now I am no DR thats for sure but I think before I went with the casts I might just spend a few $$ on a pair of high tops that dont bend at the ankle It may work or it may not but Casts yuk this could be an issue if child goes to daycare, or just in play groups as this will definitely lessen mobility.

I would go with a 2nd opinion just because of the extreme nature of the advise from one year to the next.

Best of luck.