Parents often need guidance about when to see a foot doctor or podiatrist for their children. While determining the correct age is impossible, you can look for foot discomfort in your kid and contact a trusted paediatric podiatrist for a consultation. Signs of foot problems include pain, changed gait, etc. Children can be unable to express their concerns. Parents must be vigilant and proactively track their kid’s health to prevent any minor condition from becoming concerning. As such, children can develop a walking condition or foot deformity at any age. Some illnesses resolve with time, while others can progress and, as mentioned, take a severe shape and form.
Therefore, you must find a good podiatrist who also treats child patients. When searching for one, you can check a few things to ensure the foot specialist is perfect for your child’s foot care and health needs.
Selecting a local paediatric podiatrist
A child’s foot and ankle doctor specialises in examining and treating issues in lower extremities, including and extending beyond ingrown toenails, flat feet, congenital deformities, abnormal gait, etc. A qualified specialist will have the required training and experience in the field and be aware of the entire process of child development to offer kids the best care. You can ask your family, friends, and paediatricians for references. Online reviews can also guide you to the right option. Study their academic background and credentials. Any board-certified practitioner will be trustworthy. Years of experience, education, and partnerships with reliable medical services demonstrate their expertise.
After a satisfactory background check, you can fix a consultation appointment with the selected podiatrist. During the first meeting, focus on how the doctor bonds with your kid. Are they patient, empathetic, and friendly? Their communication skills allow them to interact with both parents and kids smoothly. Someone with an active listening trait can be more appropriate. It can be comfortable to approach them. Other equally valuable considerations include the availability of physical therapies, orthotics, conservative therapies, surgeries, etc. A caring doctor will also recommend follow-ups to monitor your child’s progress.
Additional insights
In the context of the right age for paediatric podiatry intervention, you already know it cannot be determined in definite terms. However, you can watch your kid’s overall motor development for signs. For example, a three-month-old baby starts lifting its head when lying on their belly. They will roll over by six months, sit up independently, and stand with support by 7-9 months. When they are one year old, they will stand or walk, using the support of the furniture. They would walk independently by 15 months. You can notice them walk like an adult by three years of age. You can immediately contact your podiatrist for diagnosis and advice if any of these milestones are affected.
A child’s foot doctor will take a comprehensive treatment approach. They will assess kids’ feet and lower limbs and recommend the choice of footwear depending on their observations to mitigate their discomfort. You can also trust them to look into kids’ gait, sports injuries, footnail and skin conditions, and pain. They can offer satisfying solutions for in-toeing to out-toeing and high-arched to flat feet issues.