subject: Toe Walking In Children [print this page] Children who walk on their toes may just be pretending to want to be taller or it may be a sign of an underlying problem. As it can be a sign of an underlying problem, it needs to be checked out thoroughly to rule out one or more of those problems. Most cases when children walk around on their toes are not a problem. They walk that way as they are just shorter and want to be taller like the adults around them. This habitual form of toe walking is benign and they eventually get over it and are quite capable of walking around on their heels if they want to. In these cases there is no point in worrying about it and forcing them to walk on their heels, but gentle encouragement is not going to do any harm. However, if there is any unusual problems such as a delay in development or achieving some of the average milestones in their walking development or the ankle is stiff and they are unable to get the heel down to the ground, then these are signs that this needs to be investigated by an exert more thoroughly.
If the ankle joint is stiff and they cannot get the heel to the ground, then the cause of this needs to be determined. If it is soft tissue, then calf muscles stretching or surgery to lengthen the Achilles tendon may be needed. If the stiffness is rigid, then this indicates a bony problem and surgery is almost always the only explanation. If there are issues about the reaching of the normal gait milestones or there are some other behavioural or developmental problems, then a complete developmental and neurological assessment is needed to be carried out. A neurological condition like cerebral palsy common causes toe walking. This is due to the spams of the calf muscles and needs a more global management strategy to manage the cerebral palsy. Even those they can keep toe walking, there are ways to deal with the spams, such as botox injections and different surgeries can be done. What is done will depend on the severity of the problem. A behavioural problem, such as autism spectrum disorders can also be a cause of toe walking. A complete developmental and behavioural assessment will be needed to asses for the other signs of autism spectrum disorders are needed to rule this out. If it is present the toe walking will be managed as part of the overall management of the disorder.
by: Carina
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
