Does Your Child Have Flat Feet?
“Hi, I’m Dr. Wachtel. I’m really excited today to talk about problems in our pediatric patients (our children’s population) who come into the practice. A lot of children come in and they have flat-footed issues – issues with arches that collapse. The patient may be tripping, falling down, or walking with an in-toed gait, or an out-toed gait. These are all things that can cause problems developmentally later on in life. We believe that children who have flatfoot at a young age typically don’t grow out of it and it typically gets worse.The importance of providing care for a patient with a flatfoot, especially at a young age, is, as they grow older, the arches collapse more and more. We make what we call “custom orthotics”. Custom orthotics are custom made insoles that go into the shoe and control the way the arch collapses, thereby changing the way the patient walks the way their knee structure is aligned when they’re standing, the way the hips align when they’re standing, and even their spine. Orthotics control all three different areas: hips, knees, and back. It’s very important to have good posture.So, if you’re a person with a flatfoot, whether young or old, we recommend that you come to our office for an evaluation or consult, and we can decide what type of orthotic might be good for you. Our number is (978) 794-8406 and our locations are North Andover, Haverhill, and Lowell.”
