11 yr old - flat feet==help! - Foot Problems Message Board

beach4me · 05-17-2009, 08:53 PM

My daughter began complaining for very painful feet when she was 8. She basically has flat feet and weak ankles. We went to the pod., received inserts. 6mths later they put her in ankle braces. One year later, definately pain relief for the most part but it is not changing the outline of her foot. Stablized but no improvement.

I do have a family history of flat feet and most relatives have a terrible time walking, etc.. I don't want that to be her. Dr. said perhaps surgery when her foot stops growing.

I need advice. Another doc? More time? Would you ever consider surgery this early in age?

cj1986 · 05-17-2009, 09:32 PM

I started having issues around that age with my feet. I also have flat feet, and being a competitive athlete I also developed other conditions at this age (Severs disease, ligament issues, etc). I went through the gambit of treatments (therapy, orthotics, cortizone shots, medication, etc). All offered temporary relief, but nothing long term. I'm 23 now and am considering my surgical options at this point. If I were you, I would definitely wait till she was older (asuming its tolerablefor the time being). I would make sure she learns to go out of her way to slow down the progression by icing it when it hurts, wearing her orthotics, stretching her feet and calves, etc. I dealt with it through my teen years and only had minor discomfort usually after playing sports.

beach4me · 05-19-2009, 07:50 PM

Thank you for responding. She does not play sports because of her feet. She wears her orthotics religiously and it does take away the pain for the most part.

I agree surgery would be only when she is much older. I just don't want to miss anything that I should consider for preventive measures.

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by cj1986

I started having issues around that age with my feet. I also have flat feet, and being a competitive athlete I also developed other conditions at this age (Severs disease, ligament issues, etc). I went through the gambit of treatments (therapy, orthotics, cortizone shots, medication, etc). All offered temporary relief, but nothing long term. I'm 23 now and am considering my surgical options at this point. If I were you, I would definitely wait till she was older (asuming its tolerablefor the time being). I would make sure she learns to go out of her way to slow down the progression by icing it when it hurts, wearing her orthotics, stretching her feet and calves, etc. I dealt with it through my teen years and only had minor discomfort usually after playing sports.

marcine26 · 05-20-2009, 01:05 PM

OMG I see my future. I am going through the same thing with my 5 yr old son. they are talking surgery now, an mba subtalar implant in each foot to stabilize his ankles. They suggest it now since the ball of his feet and the toes are not affected yet. He is currently having alot of pain in his legs/feet/ankles and hips.
We go to a prosthetic/ortho (Hanger) place next week to get casted for custom ucbl's. He has had 4 different types of inserts but these will be custom I guess. They want his to give this a try for 30 days and if there is no improvement they want us to meet with the surgeon.

aed2113 · 05-20-2009, 04:33 PM

Beach4me,
My foot pain started around the same time as your daughters and got worse as I went through high school (I also had very flat feet and weak ankles). None of the other treatments helped me at all and I ended up having reconstruction done (1st surgery was at age 17 and I've had three since, I'm 19 now). I think depending on the suregery your daughter would have she may be better off at least talking to an orthopedic surgeon now because my doctor said that between age 12 and about 15 can be the best time to have it done. I ended up having a lot of problems accepting the bone graft and healing from my surgeries and my doctor thinks it is because of my age (they do a different type of surgery for adults then kids and I was somewhat imbetween so it was hard).
If your daughter is having to limit her life so much already it might be worth it just to talk to someone (maybe an OS rather than the pod) at least that way you would know what is coming).
Just a suggestion, I know I wish this all could have been done with when i was younger...