TOE WALKING

[mommyto3]

i have a daughter who is almost 6. she is what they call an idopathic toe walker. (meaning that she does it for no medical reason). she is "normal"in every other way. at her last checkup at the doctors, he said that they may have to do tests to make sure that her tendons so not shortening, and if this has happened she may need surgery. they also said that they may have to do botox injections(kwynnie hates needles) and then she would have to have on special braces or casts unil the muscle relaxes. her toe walking makes her balance not so good when she is running and frequently she trips or falls

has anyone else experienced this with any of their children, and what have they done for them. let me know

thanks

[luvmy4sons]

I had one friend whose son did that into his 12th year. They did decide he had a short tendon on the one foot and somewhat short on the other. They prescribed exercises, but eventually recommended surgery! I think it is good you are addressing it now. It affected his ability to exercise and he sort of "chunked up " a bit and was self conscious of how he walked and ran. Sounds like you are on top of it! I will keep her in prayer for wisdom for the docs and resolution of the problem through the least path of resistance!

[mommyto3]

thanks so much for your prayers. thankfully she is not self conscious about the way she walks and hasn't really notice that she does walk differently then others. the christian school that she will be attending in the fall is really good they have a very strict policy about bullying and namecalling. she was picked on about it at the public school this year, but told the other kid that everyone is different,and that even though they said something mean to her that she will still be their friend. ( teacher overheard her say this) . (she was at the christian school for jk, public for sk and is going back to the christian school for gr 1)

apparently the longer she walks this way there is more potential for damage to the tendons, muscles and ligaments.

[stargazer7272000]

YES!!! My son is a toe walker and they did x-rays, 3 months physical therapy and braces. None of which worked to retrain his brain to walk normal. He still walks on his toes and will be 5 in August.
I think surgery is unnecessary and that exercises for the calf and to stretch out that tendon is best. If you are really concerned about it, take her to a chiropractor and they can order her some orthotics that will keep her ankle from rolling if this is a problem. That may help the toe walking.
They also have these shoes with a negative heel which means the toe part is a lot higher than the actual heel and those help them walk heel - toe instead of just on their toes and supposedly retrains the brain but I have not tried them.

[kymommy]

Some children may walk on their toes because of Sensory defensiveness, they may have trouble processing the sensations under thier feet from the carpet, grass, shoes, etc. You might want to talk with an OT to see if that if the cause. In my experience ( I am social worker for children with disabilities and special needs) Children toe walk because they have weak muscles and toe walk because they are working extral hard to walk. Keep digging for the answers. I hope you find them soon,
Kymommy

[stargazer7272000]

KyMommy,
They looked into all of that and found nothing. He just wants to. My niece did it as well and she is a borderline genius. Tyler is extremely smart. Don't know if there is any connection.