CHICAGO, Dec. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Are flat feet in children naturally corrected with age or does the condition require medical attention to prevent further foot problems? To help physicians and parents learn answers to this question and others, the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) has released new clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of pediatric flatfoot.
According to co-author James Thomas, DPM, FACFAS, University of Alabama Birmingham, the bottom-line advice for parents from the new guidelines is to observe your child’s gait regularly, with and without shoes, for signs of flattened arches and seek medical attention if the child complains of foot or leg pain or shows a sudden lack of interest in physical activities.
The guidelines appear in the current issue of the Journal of Foot & Ankle Surgery and offer physicians diagnostic and treatment pathways to follow when evaluating pediatric flatfoot patients. “Recommendations in the guidelines will help foot and ankle surgeons, primary care doctors and parents differentiate various types of flatfoot conditions in children and make appropriate choices on treatment options,” said Thomas.
Thomas added that a flattened arch is common in young children and usually is an isolated condition known as flexible flatfoot, in which the foot is flat when standing and returns to a normal arch in non weight-bearing positions. According to the ACFAS guidelines, most children with flexible flatfoot have no clinical symptoms other than the flattened arch and the disorder follows “a natural history of improvement over time.”
“When parents notice flattened arches in their children they often don’t know if the problem requires medical attention,” Thomas noted. “Much of the time, treatment isn’t required for pediatric flatfoot unless the child has pain in the foot or leg. So parents and their pediatricians should monitor children with flat feet for signs of progression, such as the onset or worsening of pain and possible adjustments in gait to compensate for it,” he explained.
Further, the guidelines advise that if a child’s flatfoot condition doesn’t improve by the age of 10 (the age the arch should be fully developed), a foot and ankle surgeon should be consulted for exact diagnosis of the problem and appropriate treatment.
When medical treatment is required for flexible flatfoot, the ACFAS guidelines recommend first-line therapy that may include activity modifications or limitations, stretching exercises, shoe orthotics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications. If the patient’s response to initial treatment is unsatisfactory, a variety of surgical procedures can be considered to relieve pain and improve foot function.
Another less common and more serious type of pediatric flatfoot covered in the guidelines is rigid flatfoot. This condition is somewhat rare and usually inherited. As the name implies, the arch is rigid and flat, with or without weight bearing, and there is limited motion in the foot. Normally associated with an underlying structural abnormality or deformity, rigid flatfoot requires diagnosis and treatment by a foot and ankle surgeon. Surgery often is required in these cases to correct underlying structural deformities.
For further information about pediatric flatfoot and to locate a foot and ankle surgeon in your area, visit http://www.footphysicians.com/ .
http://www.FootPhysicians.com
American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
CONTACT: Chuck Weber for American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons,+1-847-705-1802, cpweber@weberpr.com
