pediatric foot care
Protecting the future of your children’s feet
PEDIATRIC FOOT CARE
At Next Step Foot & Ankle Clinic, we provide pediatric foot care to children of all ages. While it is common to have foot conditions at a young age, it is never normal.
In some cases, foot pain is genetic, while in other cases, it is developed or acquired. Regardless of how the condition occurred, if you notice something unusual about the way your child walks, stands, or how their feet or ankles are developing, you should make an appointment at Next Step Foot and Ankle Clinic with our pediatric foot specialists.
Our Doctors at Next Step team have helped children and teens treat and overcome several common childhood foot and ankle ailments, including:
Sever’s Disease and Heel Pain:
One of the most common childhood complaints, heel pain is often caused by Sever’s disease. Sever’s disease is the result of the growth plates in the heel growing faster than the Achilles tendon, which causes irritation and pain as the tendon and other muscles tighten. Dr. Silvester can help treat symptoms effectively and economically with shoe inserts and therapy.
Flat Feet:
Flat feet can often be a hereditary problem that causes lifeline knee, hip, and back pain. While many parents wait to see if the child will outgrow the problem, after the age of seven it is unlikely that the condition will improve. For serious cases, simple, minimally invasive surgery can help your child’s feet grow and develop in the proper alignment, which can offer pain-free support for a lifetime.
Toenail Fungus
Ingrown Toenails
Plantar Warts:
Children often experience problems with plantar warts, which can cause intense pain when they spring up on the ball of the foot or heel. With simple procedures that can be performed in the office with minimal pain over the course of a few weeks, your child can overcome their painful warts.
Sprains and Sports Injuries:
Many kids start sports at a young age, and this can often lead to injuries. Sprains are some of the most common sports injuries a child can suffer, and if not treated promptly, can lead to long-term problems. If your child has suffered an ankle sprain, let the Next Step Foot & Ankle Clinic help him get back on his feet!
Fractures and Overuse Injuries:
Fractures can either be the result of a direct trauma or overuse, and these can leave a child in serious pain. Next Step can help your child’s fracture heal and provide important follow-up therapy to ensure a total recovery.
advanced
minimially invasive
treatment & surgery
options
Many people assume that chronic pain and foot problems are unique to older people or experienced athletes, so they think their children will eventually outgrow these symptoms.
While many of their aches and pains may be related to growing pains, some of the symptoms may not disappear or could worsen.
treatment & surgery options
We specialize in many advanced minimally and non-invasive treatments, and if necessary, advanced minimally invasive and traditional surgical techniques with patient-proven success stories.
One of the best things for Freiberg’s disease that we have found are custom made orthotics.
They can dramatically decrease the pressure on the bone, and control the biomechanics so the bone can heal.
Check at our page on our custom orthotics (Go4D FitStation by Hewlette Packard). We have the most advanced system available in South Texas for these devices.
The literature has been fairly extensive regarding surgical options for Freiberg’s disease. There is good evidence that surgery can decrease stress on the metatarsal head and preserve function.
Simple surgeries such as metatarsal osteotomies just to get pressure off the bone (by making it a little bit shorter ) have been shown to be very effective.
Cartilage replacement therapies have also been used.
The specific surgery depends on the stage of the disease.
Shortening of the bone with some drilling of the necrosed bone is a mainstay of surgery.
Removal of spurs, hypertrophied tissue and loose bodies as well are always done.
Take our quick quiz to see if your child might have flat feet:
Does my child have flat feet?
CHILDREN with
FLAT/MISALIGNED feet
Some children may not be able to verbalize the symptoms they are experiencing, but parents can still spot signs of a problem with their child’s feet.
Check to see if your child exhibits any of the following behaviors (signs):
Always wanting to be held
Your child wants to be held and carried longer/more often than other children, especially when walking.
Avoids physical activities
Your child avoids/resists normal physical activities, runs significantly slower and/or is less coordinated than other children.
Shoelaces always becoming untied
Your child shoelaces come untied more than normal due to the foot rolling inward at the ankle.
Growing pains & pain in their legs
Your child experiences growing pains at bedtime and/or wakes up shortly after falling asleep from pain in their legs.
Unusually overweight
Your child is unusually over-weight, typically due to a lack in activity level.
Collapsed arches or "too many toes syndrome"
Your child has collapsed arches, or "too many toes syndrome".
