Flat Feet in Children: Should you worry?

Having patients that are parents, it is given that they always have a million things on their mind: meals, milestones, memories, and much, much more.

Children's foot health is probably pretty low on that list. But if they express and notice flat feet, that’s not something to ignore.

First things first!… Kids with flat feet don’t always need treatment!
If the child has…

• Pain in the legs during or after sport, school, or after walking a lot

• ‘Growing pains’ or pain at night time
  also be due to various causes, such as a stress fracture, tendonitis, arthritis, nerve irritation or, rarely, a cyst. Because there are several potential causes, it is important to have heel pain properly diagnosed.

• Unusual walking style

• Tiredness in the legs when walking long distances

• Inability to keep up with siblings or peers in sporting activities

• Diagnosed conditions like Sever’s Disease and Osgood Schlatter’s disease

It is important to note that not all children with flat feet will develop symptoms.

REMEMBER: It is never normal for children to have pain in their feet or legs.

They are often the result of poor foot structure such as flat feet, or poor joint alignment.
If you are concerned about your children's foot health, we, at Pioneer Podiatry are here to help. We can diagnose and help in giving advice and treatment that suits their age and condition to prevent long term defects or injuries. 
 
What Should You Do?

Many people, doctors included, treat flat feet with a roll of the eyes. It’s not seen as a big deal. This often leads to a “wait and see” recommendation.

But trust your instincts. As a parent, you are your child’s greatest advocate. If you see developmental delays or if something just feels off, get the help your child needs.
Ask your pediatrician for a referral.

Podiatrists are able if your child has flat feet or other cause of your children's foot pain and provide recommendations on the best shoes for them to wear.

We offer comprehensive treatment for foot problems including children's flat feet. 

That’s where we,
Pioneer Podiatry can come in!

Our Podiatrists are well placed to identify the cause and put correct your child's flat foot while still early!

Please give Pioneer Podiatry a call today if you have any concerns regarding your child’s foot posture or development.

Why you need to consult a Podiatrist for your heel pain?

Commonly, patients are engaging in home remedies that a practitioner or a friend may have informed them of, or that they have learned about on line. Some of these common remedies add stress to the heel and irritate the condition, even if they provide short-term relief, meaning the condition persists.

Your sports podiatrist will advise you which treatments are appropriate for your condition.

Podiatrists are able to determine the cause of your foot pain and foot type, make allowances for any medical conditions you have, and provide recommendations on the best shoes for you to wear.
The treatment’s that will be selected will be determined by the following:

• The severity of your condition

• The length of time you have been in pain

• Your occupation (which determines how much time you spend on your feet)

• Your body weight

• Whether or not you feel your heel throbbing in bed at night

• The presence of Plantar Facial Tears

• The main conditions that we see are Plantar Fasciitis, Heel Spurs, Achilles Tendonitis, Achilles Tendinosis, Bursitis and Sever’s disease.

We offer comprehensive treatment for foot problems including heel pain. 

That’s where we,

Pioneer Podiatry can come in!

Our Podiatrists are well placed to identify the cause and put an end to your heel pain.

At Pioneer Podiatry, we have seen over 14,000 feet fixed, and have been successfully treating all the causes of heel pain, including plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, heel spurs & sever's disease (children's heel pain) for over 15 years.

Don’t let heel pain slow you down – give Pioneer Podiatry a call today!

Sprinting the future of Orthotics: FootWear Technology

For decades, the footwear industry has been focused on style, comfort, durability, and basic functionality. These days, consumers are looking for more.
Let's look at some specific examples of what the future of footwear might look like, based on what we're seeing in the product pipeline today.

Smart footwear – and smart textiles in general – go beyond the basic fabrics and materials and offer some kind of performance-enhancing aspect to the product. 
For example, some new materials offer odor-neutralizing properties. Others light up when the wearer's body temperature reaches a certain point. Now, we're seeing footwear with embedded sensors that can track distance traveled, calories burned, and other biometric data.

The expanding footwear space will look out for:
Who's innovating for the sake of innovating and who's truly listening to their customers and designing products around them?
 
Even with these technologies being readily available, consumers will still need the expertise of medical professionals.

Digital Process + Technology + Podiatric Expertise = The Future of Orthotics

Footwear can often be the cause of foot pain, it can also be the best treatment. Simple as it may seem, wearing the wrong footwear can cause tremendous pain and suffering. 

Apart from Footwear Technology, it is agreeable that choosing the right pair of shoes for your foot type can be hard!

This can be made even more complicated if you have to deal with using podiatrist orthotics or you have other medical conditions like diabetes.

So, which pair of shoes should be bought?

Fortunately, now there are many different brands and types of shoes made to accommodate different functions and fits, but even this can be tricky to the untrained eye.

That’s where we, Pioneer Podiatry can come in!

Our Podiatrists are well placed to prescribed the correct footwear that suits your need.

Before providing a footwear recommendation, our Podiatrists will:

• make an assessment of your foot type

• assess the needs of your sport or activity

The assessment will consider a person’s biomechanics, foot structure, injury history, and the activity that they will be used for.

Our Podiatrists will then give you a detailed recommendation of the shoes that you should be buying and where to get them at reasonable prices.

For a foot assessment and how footwear technology works at Pioneer Podiatry please book online now!