Editor note (shown only to signed-in editors). Template Segment page; segment Children’s feet; Common problems, How we help and the articles come from the side panel. Statements new to the site are waiting for clinician review (docs/review/childrens-centre.md, items R1 to R12): the paragraphs on flat feet, tiptoe walking, feet that turn in or out, heel pain in active children, aches at night and clubfoot, the school shoes advice, and the answers on correcting flat feet, insoles and growth checks. No doctor is named on this page (decision 49). The top photo is a stand-in until a consented photo of a child’s foot check is taken.
For parents who have noticed something about the way their child walks, stands or wears out shoes, or whose child complains of sore feet, heels or legs. Most children’s feet are developing normally, and a check-up is often all that is needed to know that.
At CuraFoot a podiatrist (foot doctor) or doctor examines your child’s feet, watches them walk, and can map their feet with a 3D scan. You leave knowing whether anything needs doing. If it does, the plan can include exercises, footwear advice, custom insoles, or a splint or brace made in our lab, with checks as your child grows.
When to bring your child
Book a check-up if you notice any of these:
- Your child complains of pain in their feet, ankles or legs
- Your child is constantly tripping and falling
- You notice uneven shoe wear
- Your child asks to be carried more than other children of the same age
- Your child walks or holds their feet in a way you think might be unusual, such as on tiptoe or with the feet turned in
- You notice skin rashes, hard skin, lumps or bumps on the feet
Children should also have their feet checked at these milestones: when they begin to walk (about 12 months), at age 3, when they develop a more adult heel-to-toe walk, at age 6 when they start school, and before they begin organised sport.
Walking, legs and growing feet
What parents most often ask us about. A check-up tells you which of these applies to your child.
Flat feet
Babies are not born with an arch; it develops as a child grows, and most children with flat feet feel no pain. Have them checked if your child has foot or leg pain, tires quickly when walking, or if the foot is stiff or only one side is flat. More on the flat feet page.
Walking on tiptoe
Many toddlers walk on their toes for a while as they learn to walk. If your child still walks mostly on tiptoe after about the age of 2 or 3, walks on tiptoe on one side only, or cannot stand with their heels flat, have it checked. Read our article on toe walking in children.
Feet that turn in or out
Feet that point in (“pigeon toes”) or out are common in young children and usually straighten as they grow. Have it checked if your child trips often, has pain, if only one side turns, or if it is not improving.
Heel pain in active children
Children aged about 8 to 14 who run and jump a lot can get pain at the back of the heel while they are growing, often called Sever’s disease. It usually settles with a break from the sport that hurts, stretching, and cushioning or support in the shoe. A check-up confirms the cause.
Aches at night
Some children wake with aching legs that are fine by morning, often called growing pains. See a doctor promptly if the pain is in one leg only, is there during the day as well, comes with a limp, swelling, redness or fever, or keeps your child from walking or playing.
After clubfoot treatment
If your child has been treated for clubfoot (CTEV), we make the shoes and splints their orthopaedic doctor prescribes, and refit them as your child grows. See braces and splints and orthopaedic footwear.
Other conditions children are born with or develop are on the children’s foot deformities page.
What we make for children
- Custom insoles and UCBL inserts made from your child’s foot scan, to fit school and sports shoes
- Foot orthoses (SMO, UCBL), ankle foot orthoses (AFO) and splints for children’s legs and feet
- Shoes for children with clubfoot (CTEV) and changes to your child’s own shoes
- Physiotherapy with exercises to do at home
Children’s feet grow quickly, so we check the fit of insoles, splints and shoes at follow-up visits and remake them when your child outgrows them.
Braces, splints and footwear are made and fitted at our Ajoy Nagar clinic in Kolkata. At Patia in Bhubaneswar we offer foot check-ups, 3D foot scans and custom insoles.
Does your child play sport? Our Sports Injury Foot Clinic sees young players too. Living with diabetes? See our Diabetic Foot Clinic.
