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FACTS:

• Clubfoot is a condition that causes one foot (unilateral) or both feet (bilateral) to be twisted inward and often pointing downward.
  
• The clubfoot does not form properly when the baby is growing in the womb.
  
• The affected foot is often smaller and the leg thinner than normal, which may not be as obvious if both feet are affected.
  
• Clubfoot occurs more often in boys.
  
• Children with clubfeet can have healthy and pain free feet after treatment, and wear regular shoes.  They can walk, run, jump, and play sports like other children.

TREATMENT:

• A child born with a club foot should be seen by a doctor. There are several options for treatment.
  
• One method of treatment involves a series of manipulations of the foot, which is held in place with a full leg plaster cast.  This does not hurt the child.  Each cast is left on for 3 - 5 days as the muscles and ligaments relax and the bones grow into the corrected position. The Doctor must be specially trained in this method, called the Ponseti Method.
  
• Children may need a tenotomy, a surgery that goes hand-in-hand with the castings, to lengthen the Achilles tendon. After surgery or casts the doctor may have the child may wear an adjustable brace in which a pair of special shoes are attached.  This brace usually doesn’t interfere with learning to walk.
  
• Following treatment, children can wear normal everyday shoes and enjoy their beautiful, straight, and pain free feet