How to fix flat feet and clubfoot. Alexander Kiselev

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

In the article What is flat feet and how they are made to us, Alexander Kiselev analyzed in detail the reasons why almost all shoes cripple the foot, and why modern orthopedics does not treat flat feet and clubfoot, and also gave examples of correcting foot defects in himself and his loved ones.

This article will focus on the specific details of the author's technique

Correcting flat feet, and even more clubfoot with the help of insoles-instep supports, is the same as treating bedsores with “comfortable” lying.

How to fix clubfoot

It is advisable to do this before 6 years of age "playfully", i.e. without the participation of the child's consciousness. Later, you will have to find convincing arguments to explain the need to do certain exercises, go to that and not another section, wear such and not another shoe.

The main task is to develop the child's habit of moving correctly. To do this, it is necessary to stimulate the work of those muscles that will straighten injured (not properly formed) joints.

Here are some of the exercises that will help your child solve this problem:

1. Squat with a heavy (medicine) ball in front of the lowered hands. To complete it, the child will have to separate his knees and feet. The back is straight with a deflection at the lower back. A very boring exercise for children. It is better.

2. Raising the ball from the floor and throwing it to a friend, dad, mom, into the ring, into a box, etc.

3. "Bowling", only throw balls as in exercise. 2.

4. Jumping on a ball with "ears" (between the legs).

5. Horseback riding. Heel accent. They should rest on the sides of the horse so that it is convenient to "spur" it.

6. Somersaults over the head forward / backward. The knees are spaced so that the child's head fits between them, and not the knees would hit the teeth. Be warned, this is a very difficult exercise for the adductor foot and X-knees. This will most likely be your test of positive trends in correction. It is imperative to stimulate the development of this skill.

7. Jumping on a car tire. Its size depends on age. Moving the body forward to the opposite part of the tire, then back. At the same time, the legs either diverge to the sides, then they come together.

8. Walking "herringbone" on a board, a bar, as gymnasts do on a balance beam.

9. Go down the "Christmas tree" along the escalator moving up. A very emotional and effective exercise!

10. Spinning on the "pianist's chair". We push off with one leg and throw the other to the side with the foot and knee abducted. It looks like a side step, only sitting on a swivel chair. We spin in different directions. It is also very useful for the vestibular apparatus.

11. "Go behind the closet." The main thing is that the space between the two obstacles is narrow at the place where the feet are placed. Its width should be less than the length of the foot to stimulate its abduction.

12. Crawling on bellies under a cupboard, bench, etc. The lower abdomen and pelvis should not come off the floor. It will be difficult at first.

13. Sledding downhill lying on your stomach, feet are divorced and do not touch the snow.

14. Standing on the outside of the foot with rolling. At the same time, one foot is on the outside, the other is standing as usual. We transfer body weight from one leg to another, change the position of the feet. We develop the ankle joint, form the outer arch, train the sequence of muscle interaction.

15. Football. One condition is to hit the ball only with the "cheek".

16. Rock climbing.

17. Choreography.

18. Swimming "bras" - a frog.

This, of course, is not all the exercises, but the basic ones that I tested on myself, my own and other people's children.

I hope you noticed that most of the exercises tend to bring the child into the "frog" position.

Think back to your newborn baby for the first time in her life. Every time, as soon as he was freed from the diapers, his legs pulled up and flew to the sides. Moreover, his knees touched the sheet, especially when he fell asleep. The legs were in the same position when the baby, lying on his stomach, raised his head and bent his back.

Our swaddling, wrapping, etc. detrained joints and posterior-external muscles. The result is clubfoot, flat feet, etc. Now the opposite has to be done.

Only, a big request, do not put the left shoe on the right foot, but the right one on the left, as some doctors advise. Apart from the negative, there will be no other effect. If you don't believe, try swapping your shoes. …… And which one?

The genius of this advice lies only in the fact that it is necessary to do exactly the opposite, the officially accepted method of treating ghosts. This is what I suggest you take advantage of.

“The best teacher is the wall. No matter how much you jump on it, you will hit it anyway. " If you can equip your apartment, playground, garden, summer cottage, etc. the necessary cabinets, walls and arouse the interest of children to play "Your games", then in 2 - 3 years you will forget about the reduced foot and bad posture, and at the same time about flat feet. It remains only to make sure that the habits of correct movement are not replaced by the fashionable "faults" of transitional periods.

How to fix flat feet

Exercises for correcting flat feet are practically the same. The only thing is that some need to be adjusted in terms of limiting the maximum amplitudes in the presence of a large "backlash" in the joints of the scaphoid (less often at the base of the first metatarsal). Visually, the inner surface of the foot will have an angle directed towards the opposite foot (›‹). In other words, do not seek to put the child in extreme (classical) choreographic positions until these joints are strong. First, train your heel to be upright and your foot to “feel” comfortably on the outside. Initially, it is necessary to correctly form the outer arch of the foot. He is precisely the guarantor of the correct formation of the rest.

Flat feet and club feet are today one of the most common defects, closely related to each other. Flat feet without adduction can be found, adduction without flat feet is more the exception than the rule. The adduction itself contributes to the blockage of the heel. And this is already an indicator of flat feet.

And one more very, very important detail. You need to choose the right shoes, and then modify them yourself.

Exercise is, of course, a huge stimulator of the correct formation of the foot, but no matter how much you do it, in terms of the number of repetitions it is a drop in the ocean compared to the number of steps in the "wrong" shoes that our kids do in a day.

Judge for yourself. The normative volume of movements according to the pedometer for a daytime stay in a preschool institution (always wearing sandals!):

3 years - 9000 - 9500 movements

4 years - 10,000 - 10,500 ………..

5 years - 11000 - 12000 ………..

6 years - 13000 - 13500 ………..

7 years - 14000 - 15000 ……….

Which one? … For comparison, we do about 5000 at the rate of 10000 movements per day.

There is only one way out:

1. Organize useful games

2. Put on the "right" shoes.

How to customize the shoes

Look for shoes with solid soles or low heels. The problem is not so much in the presence of a heel (even “stilettos” can be made useful), but in its shape and placement, and most importantly, in the absence of support under the base of the 5th metatarsus, which plays a dominant role in the formation of the arches of the foot. (This is a bone on the outside of the foot, approximately in the middle). The sole should not be wide. The less it protrudes beyond the top, especially the heel, the better.

I will give an example for the most common shape of the sole.

(see picture and photo)

1. Cut off the heel at an angle of 5-10˚. We remove the constructive blockage of shoes.

2. Determine the angle of cut (αav) and make a cut from the base to the upper or almost upper edge of the sole (depending on its design). Helps muscles to abduct the foot.

3. Round off the outside of the forefoot sole and the rest of the heel. For smooth rolling and formation of the outer arch of the foot.

4. Glue the insert under the heel (from the middle, at an angle of 25-30˚). For the formation of the inner and transverse arches by twisting the forefoot relative to the hindfoot.

5. Glue the insert under the 2-4 metatarsal heads (under the bases of the 2-4 toes). For the formation of the transverse arch and training of the thumb. Pay attention: for the given foot, the top is horizontal, for the flat and abducted - convex. The inserts are 3-5mm thick, depending on the age and the degree of flattening of the foot.

width of insert no. 5 in fig. not ideal, but sufficient to form a transverse vault when manually reworked.

In the photos: a real heel bone in the back and one of my first modifications for the prevention and treatment of flat feet. The above method of revision is more efficient. But this one works well too. Pay attention to the heel. The cut is made from the middle. The back heel is very similar to the heel bone of the foot (see photo). Roughly the same angles. From the side, it is noticeable that the heel is rounded and quite substantial. Refinement was carried out with an ordinary boot knife. Notches are visible on the side of the sole. On the heel, they were about the same. Now, almost perfectly polished surface. This indicates how much, in terms of work, this element of the foot is loaded. This means that the formation of the foot itself depends on how we load it (at what angles, etc.).

I am showing these photos on purpose so that you do not get upset because of the aesthetic appearance. Nobody will pay attention to it. FORMS are of fundamental importance. We are so loaded with the mythical problems of the eternal striving for the "carrot" (like the donkey in front of which it hangs) that we do not see our own children.

Please remember. How are the shoes of a child, wife, husband, father, mother worn out? When was the last time you looked at your sole? …….

Now, what can you say about the tops of your friend, workmate? …… I am sure that in this case we will be more verbose.

Believe me, children who are not yet interested (at least until 6 years old) in fashion will dress what you will present them well. The other is more complicated. It is very difficult psychologically to “spoil” a new thing bought with your own money! Especially when someone, and such is sure to be found, from relatives regularly releases phrases to your address: "You are doing nonsense, it would be better to do …", "Everyone walks and nothing," "Nothing will work out anyway," etc.

Personally, I acquired "immunity" for this kind of replica, only three years later. You have to choose. Either you "spoil" the shoes, or they cripple your and children's feet! There is, however, another way - to organize the production of physiological footwear (not to be confused with orthopedic). In my opinion, this is the most reasonable decision. But not everyone can do it.

The salvation of the drowning is the work of the drowning themselves! Refine your shoes, master physiological movements, and you will see great results. Many shoe models, of course, will not allow all my recommendations to be fulfilled. The shoes will just fall apart. Do at least a part. It will work anyway! The angles in the drawing are generally maximum. Depending on the shoe and the defect, they can be reduced, but not more than by half. Good luck - thinking people!

Not much about wearing shoes.

I will not describe the physiological problems arising from the limitation of the mobility of our toes. I will say one thing. Tied and walled up by the narrow space of the shoe, they contribute to the formation of foot defects, instead of their direct purpose - to stimulate its correct development.

The solution to this problem is very simple and clearly presented on the site. Here are some of its drawings.

Fabulous! Almost perfect shape of the shoe upper. Pay attention to children's gym shoes. Just beautiful! It remains only to remove the seam from the outside and slightly change the heel. But even in this form, they are much more useful than modern sandals and Czech shoes. And it is quite possible that they will help to correct clubfoot and flat feet in children. This is theoretically possible. The main thing is to identify the root cause of the defect. Then it will be easier to choose a set of corrective measures. Try it! It is interesting!