Clubfoot in babies in the vast majority of cases can be corrected and cured. The main thing is to notice the deviation in time, contact an orthopedist and start therapy. It is no secret that in early childhood, bones, ligaments and muscles are more plastic, this determines the effectiveness of treatment. The basis of therapy is a special massage and gymnastics for the legs. You will learn how to massage with clubfoot from this material.
About pathology
Clubfoot is often confused with such a pathology of the lower extremities as varus. With varus deformity of the legs, the child rests on the outer part of the feet, as a result of which the arches of the feet are bent, the knees are parted, the legs acquire an O-shaped appearance when they are placed in parallel. Clubfoot looks about the same in appearance. A significant difference is that with varus, the anomaly is almost always acquired (parents began to put the child on their feet early, the baby was born prematurely, with weak bone and muscle tissues, there were injuries to the ankle, etc.) Clubfoot in children is mostly congenital.
Severe clubfoot is noticeable even in the hospital, and insignificant becomes noticeable only by 4 months of life, when the doctor can distinguish the physiological legs with a "wheel" in an infant from a pathological condition. In this case, Varus is only a symptom, one of the many signs of true clubfoot.
Treatment of pathology is both conservative and surgical. It all depends on the severity of the manifestation of clubfoot. As a rule, light and medium degrees are subject to manual correction, which is based on massage, exercise therapy exercises, physiotherapy.
The benefits of massage
Sometimes parents quite recklessly believe that the child's clubfoot will disappear over time. There is an opinion that a child, after the beginning of independent walking, will receive a large load on his legs, which ultimately should lead to the formation of the correct setting of the feet. This opinion is wrong. It is because of the additional load that the curvature increases, the load on the joints is double, or even triple.
The touching gait of clubfoot babies waddling will not become even, and in the absence of treatment, the likelihood of rapid pathological wear of the hip and knee joints increases. This threatens not only with a violation of normal gait, but also with the likelihood of the formation of scoliosis, joint pathologies, and disability.
Massage, which belongs to the category of therapeutic ones, in combination with gymnastics to correct clubfoot, is able to relax those parts of the muscles that are in a state of constant tension due to the incorrect position of the axes of the foot. Foot massage improves blood circulation, better metabolism at the cellular level. Features of massage of the lower leg with congenital clubfoot are to stimulate not only muscles and ligaments, but also certain nerve endings.
Gradually, the muscles relax, and the other muscle group - poorly developed - strengthens. The load begins to be distributed more correctly. The foot returns to its normal anatomical condition, its functions are restored in full.
Contraindications
Massage, like any therapeutic type of influence, is prescribed in courses. However, parents should be aware that there are conditions in which massage will not be prescribed or its implementation should be postponed for some time.
So, you can not have a massage session if the child is sick with influenza, ARVI, another infection associated with an increase in body temperature and a deterioration in general condition.
Also, it is impossible to massage the legs in the presence of dermatological problems, skin ailments, abrasions, pustules, burns, wounds in the area of massaging. Certain diseases of the musculoskeletal system, for example, osteoporosis, are also a contraindication to massage therapy to eliminate clubfoot.
Congenital heart defects, vascular and central nervous system diseases can also be a contraindication, although the doctor has the final word on this issue. In some cases, it is forbidden to massage the feet with large inguinal and umbilical hernias, if there is a possibility that spontaneous muscle contraction can lead to infringement of the hernial sac and its contents. Bone tuberculosis, osteomyelitis, atrophy, some forms of paralysis are all grounds for refusing to prescribe massage.
But in each case, the decision is made individually.
Execution technique
Before performing a massage, an orthopedic doctor gives very specific recommendations for massaging the legs. It indicates the most tense muscle areas. It is important to know this before starting an active manual override.
The general rules for conducting a therapeutic massage session imply the use of point pressure, spiral and circular rubbing, stroking with pressure, correcting guiding movements, patting and light stroking.
Such massage for treating clubfoot in newborns should be done if there is a medical indication. The best age when it is recommended to start treatment is the age of two weeks. If for some reason the optimal time has been missed, it is considered the most favorable if treatment begins before the child is six months old.
The massage technique should be explained in detail and shown to parents by a specialist - a professional massage therapist. In principle, parents may well do the massage themselves, but only after the doctor is convinced that they are performing all the techniques correctly: improper performance can significantly harm the child.
The following scheme is most often used.
- Place the child on his tummy, with one hand rhythmically bend and unbend the leg at the knee joint, with the other, simultaneously stroke the lower leg upwards. The movements on the lower leg should become more intense, but in no case should they be painful. This technique allows you to relax the most affected parts - the muscles and ligaments of the ankle.
- Place the baby on the back, with light movements in a circle, make an acupressure of the foot - from the base of the metatarsal bones to the transition of the heel to the ankle. The active points of the foot can be seen on special acupuncture charts, and you can also ask the doctor to show you the main ones.
- To improve blood circulation in the feet, intensive stroking of the outer thighs in conjunction with rubbing the feet will be helpful. It is better to alternate these two movements.
- In places of weak muscle tone, a more gentle effect is used, and in places of increased tone, a more intense one.
- All massage movements are performed strictly from the bottom up - in the direction of the lymph flow.
- The inner thigh should be massaged very gently and the popliteal cavity is not massaged at all.
When making a massage, try to unbend the foot in the correct position, at least for the duration of the session, fix it in a position that is considered anatomically natural. With each session, the baby's legs will increasingly remain in the correct position after the massage.
Tips and practical advice
It is important to know the following.
- Therapeutic massage for children will be most effective if parents follow all the rules and recommendations of the doctor.
- The massage should be regular, the duration of the sessions starts from five minutes and gradually increases to 15-20 minutes.
- Contrasting foot baths are very useful immediately after the massage. Especially their appointment is recommended for children whose clubfoot treatment for a number of reasons started late - at 3-4 years and older.
- If, within a year from the start of conservative treatment, there are no results or deterioration occurs, the child is recommended to have surgical treatment or cast of the lower extremities.
- Therapeutic massage for babies up to three years old can be combined with a general strengthening massage, while first a general session is carried out, and only then you can proceed to a detailed effect on the foot.
- It is optimal to perform foot massage at least 1 time a day, better - twice a day, but you should not combine it with an evening massage, since the child may fall asleep poorly.
- If, after the massage, the child cries for a long time, has problems falling asleep and sleep, in agreement with the attending physician, reduce the load, pressure and switch to a more gentle effect: it is possible that the massage causes the child physical pain.
In addition to massage of the feet and legs, with clubfoot, a concomitant massage of the lumbar and gluteal zones, as well as the back, is performed.
You will learn more about massage and exercises for clubfoot in children in the following video.
