Crofton Office

1657 Crofton Blvd, Suite 201

Crofton, MD 21114

(410) 721-4505

(410) 721-2394

Woodbridge Office

14010 Smoketown Rd., Suite 103

Woodbridge, VA 22192

(703) 583-5959

(703) 890-4970

Chantilly Office

3914 Centreville Road, Suite 200

Chantilly, VA 20151

(703) 490-5599

(703) 583-5995

Sterling Office

46440 Benedict Dr., Suite 111

Sterling, VA 20164

(703) 444-9555

Should You Worry About Your Child’s Flat Feet?

At birth, you may not notice the exact shape of your baby’s feet. In fact, you probably just think about how cute the little toes are on those tiny feet. Then you put them in cute little baby shoes (non-functional as they don’t even walk yet) and go ga-ga over how precious they are.

Then, in what seems like a blink of an eye, they are standing up and starting to walk. You begin to pay attention to the way they take their steps. They have a funny waddle at first, but then their legs start to straighten out and it looks like their gait is normal. But wait, is there something off? Why don’t your child’s feet look like yours? The way they walk is to hit the entire feet on the ground instead of the heel-to-toe foot strike.

Don’t panic! Did you know that children are usually born with flat feet? There is a lot of padding on the feet until they begin to use them to stand and walk. The tissues begin to tighten and feet muscles develop the arch area into a curve. As the leg muscles strengthen and your child becomes more confident in their walking habits, their gaits should normalize too.

However, some children do not develop an arch because the tissues do not tighten. This may be a case of pediatric flat feet. As they continue to develop, children may grow out of this. They may experience no painful symptoms and may not have any other developmental issues. Others, however, may experience pain, cramping along the bottom of the feet, or incorrect bone growth as the heel grows in a tilted manner.

If you are concerned about your child’s flat feet, make an appointment at Crofton Podiatry. Our board-certified podiatrist, Dr. Brad Toll will assess whether or not your child needs corrective treatment, such as orthotic inserts or shoes. He may diagnose the flatfeet as flexible or rigid flat feet, with the latter having no arch form at all, even when the child is tiptoeing. Pain is not part of the development process, so you call us at (410) 721-4505 if your child is experiencing it. We are happy to serve all patients in Crofton, MD and the surrounding Gambrills, Odenton, and Bowie areas.

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Office Hours

(We have new hours as below!)

Crofton Podiatry

Monday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Tuesday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Wednesday:

9:00 am-5:00 pm

Thursday:

7:30 am-3:30 pm

Friday:

By Appointment Only

Saturday:

Closed

Sunday:

Closed