Toe Walking
A lot of kid like to walk on their toes. They do so to make themselves taller. Generally it is off no consequences and they get over it. However, toe walking can also be due to a more serious problem so each case of toe walking does need to be taken seriously.
Toe walking is common in conditions like autism and cerebral palsy, but a number of other developmental and behavior problems can underpin it. If the child can get the heel to the ground easily and all the usual developmental milestones are reached, then the chances are that the toe walking is not a problem.
Overpronation
“Overpronation” – I wish that term will go away. It is really meaningless but is widely used by runners and running shoe shops, especially when they have no idea what they are talking about. See this video and you see what I mean:
Runners fall for this stuff all the time. They come in the clinic and think they know more about it than I do. They need to read blogs this like this for some common sense. There is still a lot to be learnt about the role that this plays in injury risk and so many pronation myths.
Forefoot Varus
Forefoot varus is an uncommon biomechanical dysfunction of the foot that causes the foot to pronate. It is due to a bony deviation that causes the foot to pronate or flatted to get to the ground. The only way to manage this type of flat foot is with foot orthotics. No amount of exercises or muscles strengthening will change anything, as the foot as to flatten to get to the floor.
Determining if forefoot varus is actually present or not is crucial, as there are potential problems if it is diagnosed as being present when its not (see this). The idea being is that if you use a forefoot varus post when there is no forefoot varus, then this will jam up the first pay to end range of motion and potentially be painful (more on this). Most cases of forefoot varus get confused with the soft tissue version of forefoot supinatis (link). There is a good collection resources here on this issue and its importance.
The Windlass Mechanism
The windlass mechanism of the foot has been getting more attention over recent years and its role in normal foot function and pathological foot function.
There are plenty of discussions on the windlass mechansim on the web (for example) and videos about it. The windlass mechanism is the way the foot can support itself, so if it is not functioning properly, a range of different conditions can occur. For more, see this.