Does anyone know much about positional talipes?

[Boo44]

Firstly my baby is now 14 months old. He only started crawling at 11.5 months, and just began pulling to stand 2 weeks ago. He isn't cruising yet but is now a speed crawler and can climb the stairs and onto his brothers small bed etc.

I've noticed when I get him to 'walk' holding his hands, his left foot definitely turns in. When I look at a photo of him lying on the scales as a newborn 10 minutes old, I think his left foot looks very much like it had positional talipes. However I never noticed anything at the time and they didn't say anything to me after his birth, it's just looking back now. It is very easy to gently move into the normal position, it's not 'stuck'.

The HV didn't mention it at his 1 yr check, but then he wasn't even crawling then so I don't think she would have noticed tbh.

I know that babies with talipes usually have some physio but is it too late now? Will his foot go into a normal position at this later stage?

 

[_Meep_]

My HV was talking about this literally yesterday. We were actually discussing a different issue but as part of her explanation she mentioned babies walking with one foot (or both) turned in. She said, firstly, that it's very common and secondly, that it happens because sometimes the opposing muscles and tendons in a baby's limb grow at slightly different rates.

She reckoned that if this is the issue, it usually corrects itself after a month or two as the muscles catch up with each other. But if you're worried, can't hurt to see someone! Hth.

 

[hayz_baby]

Ds1 was born with bilateral Talpes and ds2 with positional talipes.
Positonal tends to be the easier treated, as it is usually not as severe and usually physio loosens the muscles enough so when they learn to walk the foot will start to flatten. Ds1 had to have full treatment called ponsetti whereas ds2 just needed physio, we saw a physiotherapist a couple of times who showed us some stretching exercises which we did several times a day for a few months. However this was done when ds2 was very young as was picked up from birth. He was breech and the physiotherapost literally showed us how he was lying inside me which is why they believed his foot turned.
Anyway.. if you are unsure I would speak to your gp, however you may find walking and standing helps. Is his foot flat on the floor when he stands?
You can also look at steps a great charity and they can also give advice

 

[Boo44]

My HV was talking about this literally yesterday. We were actually discussing a different issue but as part of her explanation she mentioned babies walking with one foot (or both) turned in. She said, firstly, that it's very common and secondly, that it happens because sometimes the opposing muscles and tendons in a baby's limb grow at slightly different rates.

She reckoned that if this is the issue, it usually corrects itself after a month or two as the muscles catch up with each other. But if you're worried, can't hurt to see someone! Hth.

Thanks! Do you mean corrects itself after a month or two of walking?

 

[Boo44]

Ds1 was born with bilateral Talpes and ds2 with positional talipes.
Positonal tends to be the easier treated, as it is usually not as severe and usually physio loosens the muscles enough so when they learn to walk the foot will start to flatten. Ds1 had to have full treatment called ponsetti whereas ds2 just needed physio, we saw a physiotherapist a couple of times who showed us some stretching exercises which we did several times a day for a few months. However this was done when ds2 was very young as was picked up from birth. He was breech and the physiotherapost literally showed us how he was lying inside me which is why they believed his foot turned.
Anyway.. if you are unsure I would speak to your gp, however you may find walking and standing helps. Is his foot flat on the floor when he stands?

You can also look at steps a great charity and they can also give advice

Thanks for the info! Yes his foot is flat normally on the floor when he stands

 

[_Meep_]

Just a month or two of growth I believe - apparently as the limb grows, the opposing muscles and ligaments catch up with each other and the problem corrects itself. Whether your LO learns to walk independently or not during that time, his legs will continue to grow, so if this is what the problem is, he will likely be fine!

My HV said if a baby still walked with their toes turned in after three months of confident walking alone, then they might need a referral to a paediatrician.

I'm sure your baby will be fine.