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My daughter has club foot and I’d love advice from others who’ve been through this please …

Hi Ladies, Mum’s, Auntys, sisters, Nans and every women in between! I wanted to talk about something other then reviews on products as this page is filled with lots of mums.

She had surgery when she was 10 weeks old and had her tendon released in her left foot. We then followed surgery with multiple casts to reposition her foot for 6 months and since then she has been given special equipment she wears called: boots and bar and a rhyno brace.

Her last appointment was on her second birthday and we were told just to keep up with the boots and bar for 20 hours per day and the specialist will see us again when my daughter turns 4.

Im struggling big time! As is my poor daughter! I don’t know how I’m supposed to toilet train and get ready for school if she needs these boots and bar on 20 hours.

Has anyone on this page got children with talipes (club foot or feet) and do you have any suggestions at all?

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  • I am so so so so happy and relieved to finally be able to say we can ditch the boots and bar! We had an appointment at the hospital on my daughters 4th birthday this year but unfortunitly it wasnt with the surgeon/physiotherapist she has always seen. The lady we seen was an aid/helper and just advised that my daughters foot was still very tight so we had to continue with the boots and bar and then do a few stretches each day. We returned just this week pasted and we finally seen my girls surgeon and he said shes made improvements but also yes its still tight but we only need to continue on with stretches and exercises and our next check up is scheduled for 1 years time! We were both so very happy that we stayed in the hospital and went upto level 4 for fun and had and afternoon of fun activities and well deserved mummy daughter time.

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  • Thankyou to everyone who posted, commented and gave words of wisdom or advice. I ended up calling the hospital and demanding we have an emergency appointment as every time I took miss mood braces off she would trip over. So to me it seemed like all our hard efforts were going to waste!
    We ended up having an appointment just before Christmas and guess what!! The specialist we seen and dealt with was the man we got to see. He was amazing! Took his time to explain everything properly to me.
    My daughter only has to wear her braces 12 per night now! I cried I was so happy and we took the braces off immediately.

    Before calling the hospital for a 3rd time and demanding an appointment, I called a private place called: SGB podiatry. So I could get a second opinion. When we went in the man was really friendly and seemed to explain a lot, kind of too much for my brain to take in. He suggested my daughter should wear special shoes as only one foot is affected and also a shoe insert to help her foot turn back to the original position. I considered all of this and asked him to write it all down so I could do my own research. It would have been $100 every 3 months for the inserts and over $400 for the shoes.
    The offices called my phone and emailed every second day after my visit.

    Thank god I didn’t not purchase the shoes and inserts because at the hospital appointment our original health professional explained thats PCH is the only place in WA that specialises in clubfoot!

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  • I agree with some of the other comments on here. Seek a second opinion and google support groups for others parents who have gone through the same club foot issues as you.

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  • My son was born in breech position. As a result, his feet turned out quite severely. I have photos of him in his walker and he’s walking on his ankles his feet are turned out so badly. They came right pretty quick though, by themselves thankfully,

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  • Sorry I can’t offer advice as I have not experienced his however If you type club foot forum into google search it comes up with quite a few forums and you may be able to find the answers you need here or people with similar experience and support. Good luck i hope you get some helpful answers.

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  • I can’t help with advice as I haven’t had to deal with this, but I would be getting a second opinion. 20 hours seems like an impossibly long time for her to be wearing them and like you said, toilet training etc needs to be sorted too. A second opinion will put your mind at ease

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  • Cant help but stay strong and remember that you are doing great job

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  • Unless you are having your daughter treated via the Govt. health system I would take your daughter to your GP and ask if there is another professional in that area of expertise that you can have a referral to see. I don’t see how you can possibly toilet train your daughter in all that framework etc. I guess you have to remove that gear to bath her, change nappies etc. Given the short time she is free of the equipment that is basically all there is time for. Is your daughter even walking at all yet? Surely there has to be a better way of treating the problem unless the problem is more involved than you have been told. Maybe your GP could contact the specialist who is seeing your daughter.

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  • 20 hours a day is a long time, that’s pretty much day & night. So she’s last seen on her 2nd birthday and won’t need to be seen until she’s 4yrs old ? That’s a big time gap. I would seek a second opinion as well.

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  • Tough one, get another opinion. Definitely one strong mama you are

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  • Can you go back to the specialist and ask for guidance? It’s the first time I’ve heard of a child this age needing them for so many hours a day.

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  • Stay strong mum – you’re doing great. I hope you find some helpful suggestions!

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  • oh hope someone knows what needs to be done. maybe some specific massage or exercise.

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  • I never had this issue with my kids, so haven’t got anything helpful to offer. Really hope someone else can help, knowing MoMs, I’m sure you’ll find someone

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