Pediatric Foot Care Specialist

What is pediatric foot care?

Pediatric foot care focuses on the health and development of your child’s feet. If your child has any abnormalities in their feet or ankles, they may require expert podiatric foot care from an early age.

Not all foot problems are visible. A routine checkup with Dr. Sana is the best way to detect and manage any conditions that could affect your child as they grow.

Developmental foot problems can lead to issues with how your child walks and runs (gait disorders) and may affect the alignment of their entire skeleton. As a result, they may have poor posture, find exercise and sports more challenging, and develop chronic pain.

As well as ensuring the health of your child’s feet from birth onwards, Dr. Sana also specializes in treating sports injuries in children.

What conditions might require pediatric foot care?

Common foot conditions your child might develop include:

• Athlete’s foot
• Plantar warts 
• Ingrown toenails
  
  

The most likely structural foot problems your child might have or develop are flatfeet and high arches. Flatfeet occur when the arch in the center of your child’s foot is too low, which affects the alignment of the entire leg and puts extra pressure on other parts of their feet. 

High arches are the opposite problem — the arch is so pronounced it puts pressure on your child’s heel and the ball of their foot.

These conditions don’t always cause difficulties, and some children’s feet develop a better shape as they get older. However, as a result of these imbalances, your child might develop issues like heel pain or ankle problems.

What injuries might require pediatric foot care?

Children and teens are quite prone to foot and ankle injuries, especially if they play sports. Fractures of the bones require pediatric foot care to ensure the broken ends knit back together correctly.

Sprained ligaments in the ankle are a frequent injury, and Sever’s lesion — which affects the tip of your child’s heel — can also cause foot pain. 

Stress fractures and tendinitis from overuse develop more slowly and cause chronic pain.

What treatments does pediatric foot care involve?

Problems like warts and athlete’s foot are treatable with medications and topical ointments that kill the virus or fungus responsible. 

Sports injuries in young children, adolescents, and teens often respond well to rest and physical therapy but sometimes require surgery.

Correctly treating injuries in children is vital because their bones and joints are still growing. Damage to the growth plates can impair development and lead to long-term issues like different leg lengths.

To arrange a consultation for your child, call Phoenician Foot & Ankle Specialists or book an appointment online today.