Effective exercises with flat feet in children

Often children have flat feet, which has a negative effect on the entire body. It must be treated. The most effective way for this is exercise. What exercises can help get rid of flat feet, read in the article.

What is a flatfoot?

This disease, in which the vaults of the foot flatten. In this case, the mechanics of walking are disturbed and complications develop in the joints of the knees, hips and spine.

Platypodia (deformity of the foot) can be observed in children from the moment of birth. The statistics are disappointing. Already at the age of eleven, half of the children suffer from this disease.

The causes of flatfoot

It is impossible to say at least one reason unambiguously. The development of flat feet is influenced by various factors:

• Hereditary predisposition.
• Excess body weight.
• Excessive stress on the lower limbs. First of all, these are the kinds of sports, which use a lot of energy.
• The weakness of the muscles and ligaments of the foot, which is transmitted to the child from the parents.
• The consequences of diseases such as cerebral palsy, polio, rickets, which cause paralysis of the muscles and ligaments of the foot.
• Injuries of varying degrees.

Symptoms of flatfoot

Since parents are in close contact with their children, they may notice some changes when walking, or the child will say about it himself. Symptoms can be as follows:

• Clubfoot during movement, when the child tucks his feet inside.
• It does not come to the full stop, but only to its inner edges.
• The child refuses to take long walks. He explains this by the fact that he has pain in his legs and back when he walks.
• The surface of the heels when shoe is worn is uneven, that is, they are worn unequally: there is much more on the inside.

If the child has at least one of these signs, you should consult a doctor.

Stop without pathology

The physiology of the structure is such that, normally, the foot should rest on three points located in the area of the little finger, thumb and heel. These points are connected with each other by ligaments, muscle tissue and tendons, which are united in vaults. Depending on the location, the vaults are:

• Longitudinal - pass along the edge of the inner side of the foot.
• Cross - connect the base of the thumb and little finger.

When the disease begins to develop, the arches are flattened. Feet with flat feet in this case have a different point of support, which becomes the middle part of the sole.

Longitudinal flat feet

This is a disease in which the height of the corresponding arch is reduced. Longitudinal platypodia is more common in preschool children. It can be suspected by parents when examining the legs of the baby. The skin on them should be pale pink. If it becomes purple-cyanotic, it means that in the feet formed venous stasis. Just pale skin, without a pink hue, means that the feet have poor circulation. In any case, an appointment with a doctor should be immediate.

Flat feet in young children

Often the fullness of the one-year-old child does not cause anxiety in the parents. For some reason, there is an opinion that all babies should be plump. However, this is not at all the case. If the baby, after the first year of life weighs more than twelve kilograms, and his feet during walking are turned inwards, one should consult an orthopedic doctor.

It is important not to miss such a disease as flat feet. In the year of life it is not so noticeable, everything is written off to a child's age, especially since the baby does not feel much anxiety. But as the child grows, the mass of his body increases, which can lead to the progression of the disease: the vaults will increasingly flatten. In the future, with minor physical exertion or prolonged walking, there will be pain in the ankles, lower back, knees.

Flat feet can be corrected with the help of physiotherapy exercises, massage, orthopedic shoes, insteps, physiotherapy and surgery. What method of treatment to apply depends on the stage of the disease, which only the doctor can determine.

Therapeutic exercises for babies

Acquired flat feet is treated conservatively. If the child does not go by himself, the exercises are helped by the parents. Simple and painless bending and unbending of the feet helps to correct the wrong position of the vaults, while the feet are directed to the sole and back. As for the outer edge of the foot, it goes inwards.

When a child grows up a little and will already stand steadily on his legs, you need to show him the following set of exercises for longitudinal flat feet in children:

• Walk on socks and heels, and barefoot.
• Try to move around the edges of the feet: then the inside, then the outside.
• Spread across the floor a lot of small items, and let the child collects them with toes.
• Gymnastic stick is a simple and at the same time very useful projectile. You need to teach the child to walk on it.

Complex of exercises for preschool children

When the child turns 2 or 3, a whole complex of exercises can be performed to treat flat feet. A child even younger preschool age can withstand such a load. Exercises for flat feet in children are as follows:

• Walking with his shoulders back and his hands on his belt. But it is necessary to walk not with the whole foot, but with its outer edges.
• This exercise is performed sitting, with legs straightened forward. The fingers of the feet should be alternately squeezed and unclamped.
• Sitting on the floor, bend your legs, and then start to reduce and spread your feet.
• To reduce socks, without tearing off the heel from the floor.
• In the sitting position, roll the ball alternately with one foot, then two.

• Spread on the floor of small objects. The essence of the exercise is to grab the object with your fingers and move it to another place.
• Lying on your back, stretch your legs forward. Make sliding movements of the soles on the opposite leg.
• Lie on your back, legs spread apart and clap your soles.
• Lie on your back, hold the ball tightly, raise your legs, knees bend to your chest and make the ball move around.
• Lie on your stomach, bend your legs, grasp your hands with your hands, press your heels against your buttocks, while pulling your socks.
• In the standing position, grab the chair and roll from the heel to the toe, simulating walking. Socks from the floor while not tearing.
• The last exercise - jumps on the legs: first on the left, then on the right.

With flatfoot it is very important to perform exercises both solitary and in complex. Classes should be daily, not episodic, from time to time.

Gymnastics with a massage mat

Exercises for flat feet in children are different. The category of exercise therapy includes classes using a massage mat, on the surface of which there are various origins of irregularities. They irritate the sole of the foot, thereby strengthening the muscles.

Exercises for flat feet in children are performed with the help of other devices. To them, in addition to rugs, include balls and various rollers, the surface of which has many soft spikes. Gymnastic devices are designed to be rolled with their feet. Parents show the child the correctness of the exercises.

Massage

Flat feet are treated with massage. Depending on the degree of the disease, the child is prescribed a course of treatment, which includes ten to fifteen sessions. For a year, you need to pass from two to four such courses. The features of the massage are that besides the feet, all the legs are massaged completely, as when walking other muscles are involved: the shins, thighs and buttocks.

Preventative measures to prevent flat feet

Any disease is better to prevent than to treat for a long time. To properly form the bend of the foot, you need to walk more often without shoes on a bumpy surface. This is more accessible to the villager. In the city it is very rare to find a road, the surface of which is paved with pebbles. All the asphalt and tiles. And in the apartments - laminate and parquet. There are few options for preventive measures, but they do exist. Here are some exercises for flat feet in children (suitable for prevention):

• First of all, you need to balance the nutrition of the child, so that the right amount of animals and plant proteins arrive in his body.
• A small child should often be put on the ground with an uneven surface: sand, grass, wooden slides.
• Since the apartment has perfectly flat floors, you need to make their surface bumpy. To do this, just scatter small nuts, place them in a bag of soft cloth, and that's it. The kid is happy to jump on such a floor. If you do not want to bother, you can buy an orthopedic mat.
• It is better to buy shoes for the baby with the instep. This is a preventive insertion into the shoes, due to which the foot is delicately formed.

All of the above measures are good, but there are the simplest exercises for preventing flat feet. The most common and effective today is the following. Gymnastic stick falls to the floor, it is put barefoot baby, who must move along it sideways, doing step-by-step steps. This kind of walking is taught by adults. The stick must lie across the foot. Exercise helps to strengthen the muscles of the foot.