subject: Clubfoot Management: How To Keep Your Child's Shoes From Slipping Off [print this page] After your child has been through his or her clubfeet castings, they will need to wear a brace attached to a pair of tiny shoes for a certain period of time to prevent a relapse. This bracing one of the most important treatments for clubfoot. One challenge parents may find is how to keep their children's feet from slipping out of their shoes. Here are a few tips and tricks to help your child stay in his or her shoes!
One trick is to add calf skin (also called mole skin) inside the heel which should help prevent your child from getting out of the shoe. Also, consider Mitchell Shoes which are specially made to fit the smaller feet of children under a year old.
If your child continues to escape from the shoe, try tightening the shoe strap by one more hole, tighten the laces (but do not cut off circulation), and/or remove the tongue of the shoe (use of the brace without the tongue will not harm your child).
Try the Dobbs Bar, it will let your little one move their legs independently. The hinged bar keeps the child from locking one leg and pulling out of the shoe with the other foot. Since the brace will now move with her feet, your child will be much happier.
Use cotton socks that cover the foot everywhere the shoe touches the babys foot and leg. Your babys skin may be sensitive after the last casting, so you may want to use two pairs of socks for the rst 2 days only. After the second day, use only one pair of socks.
Check that the childs heel is down in the shoe by pulling up and down on the lower leg. If the toes move backward and forward, the heel is not down, so you must re-tighten the strap. A line should be marked on the top of the insole of the shoe indicating the location of the tips of the childs toes; the toes will be at or beyond this line if the heel is in proper position.
Be sure that all of the babys toes are out straight and that none of them are bent under. Until you are certain of this, you may want to cut the toe portion out of a pair of socks so you can clearly see all the toes.
If your child has clubfoot and you are seeking advice on shoes, braces or treatment, then you need to seek out a qualified clubfoot doctor who is trained in the Ponseti Method of clubfoot correction.
