Hallux valgus foot deformity: everything you need to know about it

We got used to think that hallux valgus is a deformity from which elderly people suffer. However, it’s not always so. How can you find out if your child has this type of foot deformity? What should you do to treat it? Keep on reading and find it out!

Children's hallux valgus occurs when the distance between the inner ankles of straight, located close to each other knees, is more than 4-5 cm. This kind of deformity appears several months after the child starts taking his first steps. This can be explained by the fact that the feet finally feel the whole body weight load, and the child’s weak muscles simply can’t cope with it. The main changes can be noticed in the child’s knees. If you look at the child sideways, you can see the deformation of the legs in the knee joints: here you can usually see the hyperextension of the legs. This deformity is often called an X-shaped foot deformity when the foot axis is curved and the child's toes and heels are positioned upwards. If this deformity isn’t treated, then in the future it can lead to spinal curvature, disorganized alignment of the hip joints, there may be knee and ankle joints’ deformations as well.

Treatment of children hallux valgus

The recovery period of the children's hallux valgus is long. In order to treat such feet, doctors recommend the use of therapeutic massage and physical therapy, which help to strengthen the muscular-ligamentous apparatus of the foot and correct the deformity. Doctors necessarily prescribe wearing special shoes, which correct the child's incorrectly standing legs.

If you introduce physical therapy in a playful form, then you can painlessly and easily cope with the disease. If hallux valgus was diagnosed in the early stages, then you can use plenty of orthopedic devices, for example, instep supports, toe correctors, insoles, and stretchers. Massage, warm foot baths, and physiotherapy procedures have a pretty good effect in the case of hallux valgus.