How about toe walkers?

[beanjean]

My son is almost 12 and walks on his toes. He has been to an ortho doc that said last resort surgery. We have done PT, foot orthotics for a year and now last resort of surgery to lengthen his heel cords. I am hesitant to do that. Anybody else a toe walker or have a child who is and what did you do.

He can walk on his heels if he thinks about it. The ortho doc said his heel cords were tight from walking on his heels all his life. I don't remember him walking on his toes when he was a toddler but just can't remember. My son wants to have the surgery for the correction but even with the surgery the doc said it might be embedded in his brain now to walk on his toes. Any thoughts?

 

[Magic Mom]

My son walked on his toes. We took him to doctors over the years who all decided it was habit and not neurological. And that makes sense, because he could walk properly if he tried. He barely does it now (at 17), I can notice it very slightly, but other people can't. It started to diminish at around 12YO. That's when he started running track and later cross country, I really think that helped a lot.

 

[chrisw127]

Our friend's kid does it; he's 10. They took him to a neuro because of something else and mentioned it and of course, the doctor freaked. Many tests later they discovered the cold hard truth: He does it because he feels like it.

 

[beanjean]

I can't see how a kid would want to do it because he feels like it. That would have to be hard to do. My son has leg pains when he does a lot of exercising at school because he is on his toes doing them which in turn makes his legs ache at night. I know my son wishes he didn't walk like that.

 

[mickeylove2]

My DD is 7 and she has walked on her toes since she took her 1st steps. It doesn't bother her and her dr. isn't the least bit worried about it. She has calve muscles that are as hard as a rock and she is very much into various sports, her dance instructor says that she is one of the best in her class or ballet, tap and jazz, she's got great form.

 

[hideeh]

We have a DD 8. She has been a toe walker since she started walking. At 3 our pediatrician sent us to Shriners ortopaedic hospital. The head surgeon put casts on both feet to stretch the muscles. Didn't work. The casts helped her walk on her toes better. They told us to remind her "flat feet" whenever we see her doing it. At 7 she was diagnosed with Autism. Her current doctor told us the toe walking should have been the pediatrician's first clue there was Autism present. The toe walking doesn't seem to stop her from any activities. She is a dancer and also plays basketball. Just a habit that isn't her choice.

 

[mickeylove2]

We have a DD 8. She has been a toe walker since she started walking. At 3 our pediatrician sent us to Shriners ortopaedic hospital. The head surgeon put casts on both feet to stretch the muscles. Didn't work. The casts helped her walk on her toes better. They told us to remind her "flat feet" whenever we see her doing it. At 7 she was diagnosed with Autism. Her current doctor told us the toe walking should have been the pediatrician's first clue there was Autism present. The toe walking doesn't seem to stop her from any activities. She is a dancer and also plays basketball. Just a habit that isn't her choice.

My DDs pediatrician when she was very young, started walking at 9 months, suggested that she may have Autism, he said the same thing- toed walking can be 1 of the first indicators. When she was alomost 2 and we moved, her pediatrician from Hopkins didn't see any reason to worry about her toe walking.

 

[hemispheredancer]

OP: your son and mine sound so similar! My son who is now 10 was diagnosed with spastic diplegia. It is an extremely mild form of CP. It affects his lower extemities. It is most noticeable whn he is barefoot. He is all the way up on his toes. Currently he is in his 2nd pair of orthotics, which helps correct his gait. His neurologist referred us to a local podiatrist for further evaluation. He has done PT, ultrasound, leg braces/splints, and he still is a toe walker. Podiatrist did suggest heel cord lengthening, but that is not an option right now. It sounds very painful and what if something goes wrong and his foot dangles? He can make that decision when he gets older. None of the kids notice or have ridiculed him. I think we are more aware of it than he is. He does not do it when he is wearing his heavy hunting boots. That forces his foot to remain flat, but walking around the pool is another story! I am with you on refraining from surgery. If you have any other questions, drop me a note!

 

[LuvOrlando]

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[mom2of2]

Been there and done that. My DS was 9 when he had his tendon surgery. We did it because he asked for it. He was tired of being called names and being picked on for it.

It wasn't until we looked into the surgery option that his surgeon sent us to a Nuero. He was then diagnosed with mild CP as well.

He had his surgery and then wore leg braces and had pt. We did the excercises and did everything that we were told to do. A year after his surgery he started toe walking again, mostly when he's barefoot.

The Dr suggested Botox shots in his calf muscles but I was very scared of that and he would have to have them every few months or so.

He's not as fast as the other kids and there are tons of things that he still struggles with but I had to try. If I would have done nothing I always would have wondered.

 

[java]

We are a family of toe walkers- it's tendon related for my brother and I and then I think my kids do it because I do? But really are kids making fun of them for that??
We never had an issue and neither do my kids. It's a bouncy kind of way to walk.
I wouldn't have surgery over it.

 

[lovemylife]

I am 34 and I still walk on my toes. I don't even know that I am doing it. I have been told by my in-laws that I do it all the time. My DS5 does it too. I don't know if it is because I do it or it is genetic or what, but he does too. I can't even touch my toes or bend really well, so maybe I do have something with muscles or tendons. I also have flat feet. Oh well.

 

[Nala56]

My daughter was a toe walker, also late at being able to walk. We took her to get fitted for walking shoes and the salesman told us to go to her docter. She was also diagnosed with mild CP, caused by a small fluid filled hole in her spinal cord. She's had surgery twice on her heel cords. She were braces on her legs until 5th grade. She runs akwardly, and still sometimes has pain behind her knees and her legs are very skinny, but other than that you would never know.

 

[JoyG]

My 5 year old still does this. He had therapy for it before he turned 3 but it didn't do anything for him.

I notice it less when he's wearing shoes. But when he's barefoot, he's like a ballerina.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

I'm in my mid 30's and have walked on my toes all my life.

I don't think my doctors were worried about it. There was never anything done about it. My mom also walked on her toes when she was a child.

It's difficult to walk with my heels down. When I do, I put the whole foot down at once instead of the heel first.

As a result of walking on my toes, my feet are very wide and I have extreme difficulty in finding shoes that fit.

 

[kristinleigh]

My son was a toe-walker from the time he started walking. He wore braces as a toddler. His doctor retired and he grew out of the braces and we didn't do anything else about it. Last year, when he was in 5th grade, we took him to a pediatric orthopedist. He said that my son did not need surgery and sent us to a pediatric neurologist who injected botox into his calves. He told us to follow up with him as needed. That was a year ago. The botox is supposed to last 3 months, but I hardly ever notice my son walking on his toes anymore. Of course he had a huge growth spurt over the summer between 5th and 6th grade and has ski's for feet now! Botox is definitely less invasive than surgery and it worked for us, but every child is different.