OT: Son Walks on Tippy Toes

[PiperPizzaz]

I walked tippy toe until I was 7. My almost 2 y.o. Ds also does this. The doctors check his range of motion in his feet but, they are fine. It must be hereditary (he also sticks his tongue out like me when he is concentrating hard )

4 does seem a little late to start this though and perhaps he has grown too fast.??? I would say don't freak out/ worry too much but, have him checked asap.

GL!

 

[hello kitty]

This is something that I know a lot about.

My DS now 9 1/2 has been a toe walker all his life. I took him to the ped and family doctors who all said he'd grow out of it. "involve him in sports, get him in ballet" etc. I heard it all. I did get him in gymnastics but he didn't really like it and he's played soccer for 5 years. He's always on defense since he can't run as fast as the other kids. He had other issues as well such as ear infections, asthsma, stomach/bowel, poor fine motor. Every Dr appt I would ask if these were related in any way and was always told "NO" For 9 years I was told that they were unrelated and then he started having issues in school.

We thought he was goofing off and didn't want to do the work and just basically being lazy. Homework time was a nightmare and he usually ended up in tears. The last 2 years have been horrible. The older kids get the meaner they get. He started being called "Tippy toe boy" and was always being asked why he walked like THAT.

He was miserable. I was miserable.

I decided to hell-o with the regular doctors. I was going to a specialist. This was this past May. The Dr asked some questions and then checked the range of motion in his feet. He then asked about his birth. I didn't know what that was all about but I told the Dr. that his heart rate dropped and he had to have the suction cuppy thing put on his head to get him out. He got a hematoma and became jaundiced and had to be re-admittd to the hospital and under the bili lights.

The Dr looked at me and said without hesitation that my DS had suffered a brain injury at birth and has a mild case of Cerebral Palsy. Look up the defintion of CP. It describes my DS to a T.

He then went on to say that my DS needed surgery to lengthen the tendons in his calves. We did the surgery and the pain was so bad that he had to be admitted to the hospital. He wore 2 casts for 5 weeks and then when they came off started PT 2x a week. He was also fitted for braces and wears them for 10 hours a day.

School begins in a week and a half and the teachers have been informed about the CP and the surgery. He will be classified and get the extra help that he needs. He's not lazy-it's medical.

Not every child that is a toe walker has CP. Some just have tight achillies or calf tendons. Mild cases of CP usually aren't diagnosed until later after the child has started school.

I did everything right. I questioned every doctor that my DS has EVER seen. No one ever put it all together and my DS has suffered for it.

Please and I can not stress this enough.....Please have your child see by a Pediatric Orthopedist as soon as you can.

Hugs to you and your son.

I was born with Cerebral Palsy, but wasn't diagnosed until I was in fourth grade. I walked on my toes 100% of the time and couldn't stand flatfooted to save my life. I had surgery to lengthen my tendons and went through physical therapy. It was painful, hard and not a whole lot of fun, but it was well worth it because I was no longer being made fun of. People, young and old, can be brutal. Fitting in is priceless when you're a kid.

OP, please take your son to a specialist. This may be something he has no control over and if it isn't, no harm done.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think we will have him checked out by a doc. It might be shortened tendons/hamstrings or it might be a sensory thing. He was not a preemie - born the day before his due date and he is not short. He's actually rather tall for his age. He is almost as tall as my niece who is 2 yrs his senior and will be turning 6 just before he turns 4. So it very well could be that his body is growing faster than his muscles are. I know this can be common especially in teenagers. It happened to both me and my cousin where we had excruciating aches in our calves because our bones were growing faster than our muscles.

I did notice that he does it less in his shoes than he does in bare feet so might have something to do with his feet and the fact that he gets the arch support he needs in shoes. However the problem is he hates wearing shoes, he prefers bare feet.

 

[emh1129]

My son walks on his toes, too. He is 5.5 now and has always done this. He can walk on his feet normally, but he has to be consciously trying to do it (we make it a game and say "heel, toe, heel, toe") but he always reverts back to the toe walking.
He's had physical therapy (because of this and falling down quite often) and has seen his pediatrician, but there is no known cause to be found. I'm stumped.

 

[mom2of2]

My son walks on his toes, too. He is 5.5 now and has always done this. He can walk on his feet normally, but he has to be consciously trying to do it (we make it a game and say "heel, toe, heel, toe") but he always reverts back to the toe walking.
He's had physical therapy (because of this and falling down quite often) and has seen his pediatrician, but there is no known cause to be found. I'm stumped.

Our ped and family dr's couldn't figure it out either. A specialist did. Have your child seen by a pediatric orthopedic surgeon

 

[fakereadhed]

Thanks for all the suggestions. However the problem is he hates wearing shoes, he prefers bare feet.

I was going to suggest sensory issues as a couple of other people did. The fact that he prefers barefoot seems to fit, too. But toe walking can also be related to proprioception which is also a sensory issue.

My DS wears DAFO's for his low generalized tone and toe walking. Here's a link:
http://www.dafo.com/index.cfm?pageID=2143
They have really improved his walk- he walks with his heels on the ground now and they give him ankle support so he falls less often.

 

[mom2of2]

My son wears them as well. They help to keep the foot flat and to stretch the tendons. Ours were custom made and with our 20% co-pay we wound up paying $200 OOP

 

[lovethattink]

My son walked and ran on his tippy toes until Kindergarten, when kids started to make fun of him for doing it. He stopped, but dragged his heals instead. Not alot of dragging, but enough to make a noise when he walked. He fell alot too. Tripped over his feet all the time.

When he was 10 he broke 4 bones going to sit down while taking jr. lifeguard classes at the local rec. center. I asked both the pediatrician and the osteo doc at the time, if there was some type of underlying condition. They both assured me is was just clumsy.

Fast forward to last summer, when he was diagnosed with left brain damage and Mild Cerebral Palsy. It explained so much, the tip toe walking when he was young, the tripping, the wild ball aim when throwing a ball, etc.

His CP is so mild that nobody noticed a problem for 12 years. Only my mom and I who were with him daily, noticed something that we just couldn't put our fingers on.

 

[katerkat]

I haven't talked to my pediatrician because the pediatricians on base where we are stationed have never given me good advice on questions I've asked them about DS. So I'm looking for other opinions.

I just wanted to say, I've had no problems getting referrals off-base with Tricare. It is a slow process (it took over a month to get the paperwork for Russ's PT for a neck problem) but they do get stuff done eventually if you keep calling. Make friends with someone in your local benefits office.

My son toe-walks once or twice a day, but he also heel walks. I've noticed it's usually around his growth spurts, so maybe he's stretching his muscles?

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I have no children but I have to chime in on this post.

When I was a child, I walked on my tiptoes all the time. I thought I was a Miss Priss. I don't think I stopped until I was 5 or so. When I was 6, I became a paraplegic thanks to a drunk driver. I'm sure my mother would have rather have me walking on my tiptoes until my teens that have me not walking at all, ever again.

Your son will grow out of this. Focus on the things that matter in life, not the trivial.

ETA: Of course, consult a doctor if you feel there is a need for it, but seriously, give your son a break.

 

[belle&beast]

I have no children but I have to chime in on this post.

When I was a child, I walked on my tiptoes all the time. I thought I was a Miss Priss. I don't think I stopped until I was 5 or so. When I was 6, I became a paraplegic thanks to a drunk driver. I'm sure my mother would have rather have me walking on my tiptoes until my teens that have me not walking at all, ever again.

Your son will grow out of this. Focus on the things that matter in life, not the trivial.

ETA: Of course, consult a doctor if you feel there is a need for it, but seriously, give your son a break.

Your story is heartbreaking, and I am so sorry you and your family have been through so much.

I just want to comment that toe walking can affect mobility later in life if there is a physical reason for it. It is in the OP's child's best interest to be evaluated to determine the reason for toe walking.

 

[emh1129]

Our ped and family dr's couldn't figure it out either. A specialist did. Have your child seen by a pediatric orthopedic surgeon

Did you have to get a referral from your ped? I really do want to look into it because he still hasn't outgrown it (I really thought he would- everyone said wait and see and that's usually my style, too) and he is *always* tripping and falling. I don't want him to get seriously hurt. I usually hold his hand when we're out and about and he still trips a lot.
To one of the previous posters, I don't mind the tip-toe walking (I kind of think it's cute).. it's just that he falls a LOT and is going to get seriously hurt one of these times

 

[mom2of2]

no, I didn't get a referral from my ped because they were FINE with him toe-walking. They said unless it bothered him or he was being picked on. He has cerebral palsy and yes, the ped was the SAME ped that was in the delivery room. Guess that's why we had no diagnosis for 9 yrs.

Lindsey-sorry about the accident. It's just not fair when a child has to pay for a stupid act by an adult.
Toe-walking that doesn't stop by a certain age DOES NEED to be checked by a specialist.

 

[mom2of2]

My son walked and ran on his tippy toes until Kindergarten, when kids started to make fun of him for doing it. He stopped, but dragged his heals instead. Not alot of dragging, but enough to make a noise when he walked. He fell alot too. Tripped over his feet all the time.

When he was 10 he broke 4 bones going to sit down while taking jr. lifeguard classes at the local rec. center. I asked both the pediatrician and the osteo doc at the time, if there was some type of underlying condition. They both assured me is was just clumsy.

Fast forward to last summer, when he was diagnosed with left brain damage and Mild Cerebral Palsy. It explained so much, the tip toe walking when he was young, the tripping, the wild ball aim when throwing a ball, etc.

His CP is so mild that nobody noticed a problem for 12 years. Only my mom and I who were with him daily, noticed something that we just couldn't put our fingers on.

It was 9 years for us as well. Same diagnosis. to you and your son

 

[katieandallycat]

Ok, I toe walked until 9ish. All of a sudden I stopped.
With that said, both my girls were/are toe walkers.
DD now 13, had surgery when she was 10.5 to lengthen the tendons. She had to wear cast for 7 weeks. She was 5'2" on her toes, and was 5'0" when she was fixed. She was getting too tall to walk on her toes and was starting to fall a lot, especially when she ran.
DD#2, our current toe walker, is 8. We got AFO's for her, trying to avoid the surgery. Also tried pt. She cried and refused to walk, would crawl everywhere(she's autistic). Within 6 weeks she had already outgrown them . So we have been trying to remind her (she isn't as bad as her sister). She does better when she is in shoes, and thicker soles are even better. I have noticed that she is wearing out the heels as fast as the toes, so I think she is walking right more then I think (but when she's with me she's unsually barefooted.)
If she doesn't get better in another year, we will look into if we need to go the surgery route, hopefully not!

 

[hoosiergirl7]

An update...

I've been paying more attention to this and he doesn't always walk on his toes. He just prefers it. I've also started watching him more in shoes and he tends to walk normal in shoes most of the time. Occasionally he's on tippy toes but not often.

If there was a male version of miss priss he would definitely be it. He's almost 4 and hugely suffering from only-child syndrome. Unfortunately since we cannot have children of our own we have to adopt and it is not very easy to adopt so we are trying to add another child but I can't make it happen.

I think I'm going to keep an eye on him for a few more months. He's starting preschool next week and if he sees that other kids don't walk on their toes then maybe he'll stop.

 

[applechips]

Do any of your children who walk on their toes have pain behind their knees, especially at night?

My dd who does walk on her toes, was waking frequently with pain behind her knees, so bad that she would cry and we'd have to give her pain meds (kids ibuprofen). She hasn't had the pain in a couple of months but just tonight she awoke with it again and so I am back researching and going to make an appointment with an orthopedic doc tomorrow. I asked her ped about this last year and he said it was just "growing pains". ugh.

 

[fakereadhed]

Do any of your children who walk on their toes have pain behind their knees, especially at night?

My dd who does walk on her toes, was waking frequently with pain behind her knees, so bad that she would cry and we'd have to give her pain meds (kids ibuprofen). She hasn't had the pain in a couple of months but just tonight she awoke with it again and so I am back researching and going to make an appointment with an orthopedic doc tomorrow. I asked her ped about this last year and he said it was just "growing pains". ugh.

If your DD has other symptoms such as falls or twisting her ankles, you may want to check with a rheumotologist as well. My oldest has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and had symptoms you described(described the pain as behind her knees which woke her at night) and peds told us it was growing pains as well. 3 years later in the ER a med student suggested arthritis, and sure enough it was! It was one of those things only a rheumotologist(or very studious med student)would catch. She is now 14 and in remission, but she does have one leg that's longer than the other because it went untreated for so long. May be nothing or be related to toe-walking, but the your post really sounds exactly like what my DD went through.

 

[applechips]

If your DD has other symptoms such as falls or twisting her ankles, you may want to check with a rheumotologist as well. My oldest has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and had symptoms you described(described the pain as behind her knees which woke her at night) and peds told us it was growing pains as well. 3 years later in the ER a med student suggested arthritis, and sure enough it was! It was one of those things only a rheumotologist(or very studious med student)would catch. She is now 14 and in remission, but she does have one leg that's longer than the other because it went untreated for so long. May be nothing or be related to toe-walking, but the your post really sounds exactly like what my DD went through.

oh my... now I am worried... but actually no, she doesn't fall and has never twisted an ankle. She just turned 6. Did your daughter toe walk?

ETA: I just googled JRA and she doesn't' have any of the symptoms that they describe, no joint pain nor swelling, no high fevers and no sudden onset of rash etc. And they don't mention the pain behind the knees or the toe walking.

 

[fakereadhed]

oh my... now I am worried... but actually no, she doesn't fall and has never twisted an ankle. She just turned 6. Did your daughter toe walk?

ETA: I just googled JRA and she doesn't' have any of the symptoms that they describe, no joint pain nor swelling, no high fevers and no sudden onset of rash etc. And they don't mention the pain behind the knees or the toe walking.

Glad to hear it! Just to answer your question, no my DD didn't toewalk, but she didn't have any obvious symptoms either beside the knee pain which woke her at night and the twisted ankles. The swelling/warmth was very subtle and she never had a rash or fever when she wasn't sick.

Hope I didn't scare you...