Turned in foot or "intoeing?"

[ewalshslp]

Anyone have any experience with this in children? My DD, age 8, has always walked with a turned in foot. We saw an ortho 2 years who basically acted like it was no big deal and told us she would grow out of if. Well, 2 years later, it's not any better. And now her dance teacher told me it's starting to trip her up. I spoke to my friend who is a PT and she set us up with an orthotics guy. We see him on Tuesday. Just looking for other experiences.

 

[SLP958]

I was always called pegion toed. When I was younger my mom took me to some kind of specialist who said nothing could really be done about it.

Not sure if this is the same kind if thing you are talking about.

It never bothered me at all. Other people do notice it though.

I credit my best friend in high school for making me more aware of it. I almost always walk normally now.

A physical therapist that I work with says my hips are internally rotated so it is naturally more comfortable to turn in.

 

[mamacatnv]

My DS toed in with one foot, his ortho pointed out it actually had more to do with his knees and hips than his feet. His knees roll in and his feet follow. Really good "beefy" orthotics that forced the rolling in to stop helped a great deal but he still toes in slightly.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

How bad is it? I knew 2 kids growing up who had turned in feet, but theirs were severe. One girl had her toes pointing in towards each other and the other's feet were completely backward. The first girl just lived with it, and it severely limited her ability to walk and run. The other had many surgeries and got her feet turned around. She can walk and run, but if you look at her feet you can tell they still aren't 100%.

As a former dancer and dance teacher I can see how it could start getting in the way as she progresses, especially in ballet and tap. In ballet it will impact her turnout ability, and her balance while she is turned out. Advanced tap relies on using different sections of the bottom of your foot to make noise, so she may have to start overcompensating to get her taps to hit on the right spots. For may other kinds of dance (hip hop, contemporary) foot position is not as critical, and she could probably learn to adapt.

Let us know what the orthotics place says. It will be interesting to see if it is a case of the bones developing differently, or if it is a tendon issue, or some combination. Maybe if she wears the orthotics in her regular shoes, her feet will learn the correct alignment. It will be hard to get orthotics in most dance shoes!

(I have the opposite problem as your daughter. I naturally toe out, and I have naturally loose tendons and ligaments, so I hyperextend and overpronate. It was great for dance, but I'm paying the price now with arthritis and bone spurs where the bones rubbed together. Orthotics now keep my feet in the right position to keep my feet from deteriorating further.)

 

[LuLuO]

My daughter's was fixed when she was very young by wearing a brace at night (shoes with a bar between them). Although not severe, the intoeing had persisted from the time she began walking at 10 months to about age 2 so we were referred to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Poor girl fell almost every time she ran. Like PP said it was more a problem with her hips and knees than her feet. She only wore the brace for about four months. But, I don't know how different the treatment would be for an older child.

Good luck!

 

[nchulka]

My mom says I did this as a pre-schooler. The Dr. told her to put my shoes on the wrong feet. I guess that worked because I don't toe in any more!

 

[Kathi OD]

2 of my 3 kids had this as little ones. Fortunately their pediatricians (we lived in different towns) noticed and referred us immediately to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. For both of them it was more a problem with their hips than their feet.

They both had both legs casted, and recasted several times, to keep the hip turned out; the oldest for about a total of 4 months, the younger one for about 3 months. Afterward, the older one had to wear shoes that were open-toed, curved the wrong way, and had a bar between them for several more months. The younger one did not require this intervention.

Both are now grown and never had any problems growing up with their feet toe-ing in.

 

[Maridw]

I toed-in when I was little and remember having to wear "corrective" shoes. I couldn't wear sandals during the summer for a long time.

My GDD 2 toes in and they have put her in shoes with braces. Actually they have already put her in shoes with braces attached to a waist belt. They are set at a certain angle to correct her toeing in. She had little to no problem adjusting to it since they got her into it really early. We do have to go and get them adjusted since the doctor feels they might be turned out just a fraction too much.

I can't remember exactly what they call them. The braces that are attached to the waist belt are flexible and the shoes they used look like regular tennis shoes.

 

[firecracker725]

DD5 is actually in PT now because of in-toeing. Anti-verted hips seem to be the cause, and her pediatrician says it's because she was a butt-up sleeper.

 

[Erin1700]

My DD wore cable braces from age 2 to 5 to correct her feet turning in. It was coming from her hips. She is fine now, we only ever see it turn slightly when she is tired and we are doing a lot of walking.

 

[disney1990]

Both of my feet were severely turned in when I was born. I wore braces and had surgery which corrected the problem. Personally, if my doctor said my child would outgrown it, I would be looking for another opinion.

 

[Robbi]

My daughter's was fixed when she was very young by wearing a brace at night (shoes with a bar between them). Although not severe, the intoeing had persisted from the time she began walking at 10 months to about age 2 so we were referred to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Poor girl fell almost every time she ran. Like PP said it was more a problem with her hips and knees than her feet. She only wore the brace for about four months. But, I don't know how different the treatment would be for an older child.

Good luck!

I wore that type of brace as a child and my feet do not turn in. Our son's feet turned in and the doctor prescribed shoes that when put on, looked like they were on the wrong feet. These worked though.

Good luck, OP.

 

[JWCJ]

I was severely pigeon toed as a toddler. I had to wear shoes connected together by a rod at night. When that didn't work I had surgery at age 5 where they broke both my legs just above my ankles and reset them. I've had some knee problems over the years since then, but generally have been fine - it never stopped me from years of gymnastics, soccer and long distance running.

 

[Christine]

My son's right foot used to turn in. I took him to several doctors and all confirmed that it was a structural issue (not his hip, not his ankle). He has "laxity" in his tendons and they aren't very tight. They told me that as he got older the problem would correct itself and it has. But it took him well into his teen years.

 

[nephthys43]

My sister was pigeon toed. She wore a brace when she was a baby. It helped a lot but she still has a bit of a turn in.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Anyone have any experience with this in children? My DD, age 8, has always walked with a turned in foot. We saw an ortho 2 years who basically acted like it was no big deal and told us she would grow out of if. Well, 2 years later, it's not any better. And now her dance teacher told me it's starting to trip her up. I spoke to my friend who is a PT and she set us up with an orthotics guy. We see him on Tuesday. Just looking for other experiences.

As someone who saw an ortho, a podiatrist and then another podiatrist, you have to keep seeing someone until they give a crap and I am not kidding.

MY sister was born with club foot and even with that condition the treatments varied to live with the pain and surgery. She did have reconstruction surgery a few yrs ago however she will probably have to have it again.

My own dd is "knock kneed" and basically you have to exercise it out. Here knee swells if she overuses it, she does have a brace she could wear. She wants to get help again for herself but she won't do the exercises.

I am currently going to PT for my issues.

The issue with ignoring the mechanics of the problem is that you get bone spurs, your hips go out of alignment, throws out your back and so on. So what I am saying is you need a really good diagnosis of the problem aka what exercises she should be doing daily for her condition.

In addition you need a good PT. A bad one will mess you up as well.

Bottom line, good thing your dd is in dance. Overall exercise is the key to staying in balance. A good core & strength can go a long way. Orthotics may help or hurt as well, so keep an eye on it. She will need exercises to combat the shift in her walking/alignment. So make sure you find out how the orthotics will shift her whole body movement.

I myself am going to PT for ankle movement. At the very least you need an assessment on the degree of her ankle flexibility. I highly recommend getting that as well. You can improve your flexibility through exercising the ankle.

Good Luck!

 

[issa]

my Daughter is Pigeoned toed.

I agree with people about being persistent - I was not

I brought it up with the Doc when she was a toddler - was told she would grow out of it.

Brought it up when she was 5ish - again ..normal she'll grow out of it

brought it up several times - not a big concern

Brought it up AGAIN at 15 - and told sorry - the only way to correct it now is to break her hips and realign them

She isn't overly bothered and is not in any physical pain or awkwardness - it is noticeable and she does wear out shoes unevenly VERY quickly ( the heel will wear away at a slope and collapse).

P.s - they DON'T grow out of it.

 

[Katy Belle]

We've been to lots of orthopedists through the years for DS17. Learned early on, maybe age 3 or 4, that his femurs rotate. They said lots of kids straighten out as they age, some don't. The only way to fix it is to do major surgery, saw the bones off, reattach. They would only do that if it impairs him in a way that he dislikes, or really impairs his life. At age 17 he does not turn in noticeably. He does have some pain in his knees, as a result, but building up leg muscles always helps. He stands funny at times...he can stand with his feet turned way in, sideways, it feels comfortable to him. And he's never been able to sit cross legged on the floor comfortably. But the toeing in is not very noticable anymore and does not impede him. So no surgery here.

Go for a first and second opinion at two Dr.s as a start.

Good luck!

 

[ilovejack02]

My oldest DSS 24 toed in when I met his Daddy . I encouraged DH to get it checked and he did . told he would grow out of it . Which I thought was a Crock .. but I was not the parent.
Fast forward 19 years I noticed the other day that he has mostly grown out of it ... but I am sure that is not the case for everyone.

 

[Shagley]

I was moderately "pigeon toed" as a kid and my Mom took me to the pediatrician for it when I was about 8. My issue wasn't severe enough to warrant leg braces or surgery, but it was it was pretty noticeable. Had I been in dance classes, it would have definately been a problem. I had to wear inserts in my shoes for it for a couple of years, but that corrected the problem for me. Hopefully your DD's issue can be fixed with something simple like shoe inserts like mine was .