Clubfoot Must Not be Overlooked

Clubfoot is a serious condition that can occur in infants and leave their feet severely deformed if not treated correctly. Our podiatrist, Dr. Joel S. Segalman, DPM at the Performance Foot & Ankle Specialists, LLC, can help to ensure that your children’s clubfoot is corrected right away. Call or visit us at our Waterbury 203-755-0489 & Newtown 203-270-6724, Connecticut locations today to learn more about this condition and to make sure that it doesn’t hinder your child’s active lifestyle.

Clubfoot occurs in babies and is a deformity whereby one or both of the feet is curved inwards. The deformity can be so severe that the bottom of the foot points completely sideways or upwards. With this condition, tendons that attach leg and foot muscles are short and tense and thereby cause the foot to turn inwards.

Clubfoot must be treated right away as it can become a permanent deformity and prevent a normal walk from developing since children tend to walk on the outside of their feet and develop complications that can be very painful as a result of this condition. Treatment can provide significant benefits and allow children to enjoy a much more active lifestyle. Although clubfoot can be diagnosed early on, treatment will start right after birth and will generally be accomplished via casts or braces and manipulating of the curved foot. These methods include casting to correctly position the feet and manipulation to further correct the deformity. However, for more severe cases, surgical options may be required to manually adjust the tendons. Yet, this is not optimal as surgery makes the foot stiffer than it should be as the child grows up. As treatment progresses, children generally experience smaller calf muscles or have one leg slightly smaller than the other, which results in frequent pain and fatigue in their legs. This pain however is nothing compared to an overlooked clubfoot.

Clubfoot is not a condition to be ignored as it can greatly impact foot and ankle health in adulthood. If your child has this condition, contact our offices for an appointment today so that your child can get a head start to correcting their clubfoot now, rather than later.