In-turned Ankles

Hi,

I have a 19 month old boy who was quite a late walker having only started walking at 15 months. I have recently noticed that he seems to walk on the insides of his feet with his ankles turned in. I thought at first this was due to the fact that he was a heavy baby when he started to walk and that he'd need time to strengthen his muscles. He has quite good balance and runs in a bit of a trot but I just wondered if anyone else out there has had the same thing with their kids? I know I'll probably have to go and take him to see an Orthotist soon who will probably recommend corrective footware (from what I've been told from friends) If anyone else out there has a similar story, would love to hear from you.

Hi Darlene,

My son is about to turn 14 mths old. He took his first step when he had just turned 8 mths old (all of my children walked early). Although he doesn't have the same problem as what you are describing, he is very pigeon-toed. His legs seem to be turned in from the knees down, and my concern is that when he runs (as he does a lot) he is going to do some serious damage to his knees and ankles. I don't have any advice to offer you, I'm sorry. My doctor said my son will probably grow out of it, but I believe it is an inherited problem. I too am waiting for him to see a specialist. Let me know if you hear anything.

Helen.

Hi Darlene.

I took my son when he was 11 months old (now he's 17 months) to a specialist for his inturned right foot, which was caused by his placement in the womb. The specialist ( I think he was an orthaepedic surgeon at Westmead Children's Hospital) said that by wearing toddlers shoes (which are made straight ie you can put them on any foot) it would help to correct his foot, and by the time he's 3-4 years the problem should be fixed.
All the best to you.

Hi Darlene! Don't fret too much! I had that problem when I was younger and there's nothing wrong with me! My parents never did anything...probably cause in those days you just left things the way they were, but now I wear inserts in my shoes which help! If there is an insert you can get for him do try it as him being young it may stop him from having to wear an insert all the time when he is older!

Hi Darlene,

I am new here but I seen your message and thought I would let you know that I have an 18 month old son who has low mascle tone and his ankles are turned in. He is still not walking but is getting there very slowly. At this point in time he has to have shoes that have a good fitting heel cup and that come up his ankles. He also has built in arch supports as he is very flat footed. At this stage we are still not sure if in the coming months that he will have to have anckle braces fitted. We have seen many doctors and physio's who have all said that his ankles will get stronger as he gets older. he will always have trouble with his ankles but the best thing we can do is to make sure he had good solid shoes.

You may find that your son has flat feel too and all he needs is a built up arch to correct his lax muscles in his ankles. I wish you all the best with it

Shann.

Hi there,
My son started walking at 8 mths and I had noticed that he turns his feet in and is always tripping over them. I took him to see the specialist and they said that he is normal. It is common for kids to walk funny up into the age of 5. My younger sister is 3 and she still trips over her own feet now.
So I wouldnt worrry until you see a specialist.

Mel 19 yr old mother of 1(20mths)

hi Darlene
my son denzel was born with turned feet (not club foot) due to the posisiton he was in my tummy. at one month he had a plaster cast on his left for a month which helped heaps, at 12 months he was fitted with orthesis on both feet which he wears to bed one to straighten his feet & two because he sleeps on his tummy which makes his feet roll out.
his going to see his orthapedic surgen and the guy from the orthotic centre together in feb and will probably be fitted with walking supports.
denzel is 19 months and still not walking

Hello everyone,

Thanks so much for your replies, I haven't taken Riley to see a specialist yet, but just wanted to wait a bit and see how he went. He is now 20 months and is much more confident on his feet and is running much better, although still not at the same level as many of his other friends of the same age. His feet do seem to be quite flat and he still walks on the insides of his feet, so this month I'm planning to go and get him checked out.

Hello Darlene,

My son was 2 when we took him to the podiatrist, his feet roll in and he has no arches whatsoever. We have had to purchase inserts for his shoes which keep his feet in the correct position the only shoes he can wear have to be straight on the heel, bend at the toe but not in the middle for the best support. when I was looking for shoes there were only a couple that did what they are supposed to, most of them bend in the middle which is not good. or if the heel is not straight it encourages the foot to turn in more. this is just what we were told. but i hope that it might help.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for sharing your information. Christie, thanks for your last message. I've been waiting until Riley turned two before taking him to the specialists, as some people had told me to wait til then to see if it sorts itself out. Well he turned two on Saturday and whilst he's very good on his feet, his ankles still roll in quite a bit and he does seem to be very flat footed. So this week I'm planning to book him in to see a specialist. I'll let you know how we go.

Thanks again.

Darlene

Hi again Darlene,
How did you go with the specialist? My son is about to go back for his 6 month checkup to see how his ankles are going. Hope that it all goes well.