Talipes equinovarus (Club foot)
Talipes equinovarus, is a birth defect that affects the foot and ankle. It’s a congenital condition, which means that a baby is born with it. The foot or feet turn inward. When you look at the foot, the bottom of the foot often faces sideways or even up.
What Causes Talipes?
Talipes happens because the Achilles tendon (the large tendon at the back of the ankle) is too short.
Talipes can affect one or both feet. It's not painful for babies, but it can become painful and make it difficult to walk if it's not treated.
Treatment for Talipes
Talipes surgery is used to treat club foot in babies.
Treatment of Talipes begins in the first year of the baby’s life, the earlier the better. Methods used may be a series of special casts, or Physiotherapy. Physiotherapy interventions used may include stretching and gentle mobilisation techniques.
Should non-surgical treatment fail to be effective, or the foot is rigid, surgery can be used to correct Talipes - it tends to be carried out when the child is between 4 and 8 months old, to allow non-surgical treatment the chance to be effective.
Common types Talipes surgery are:
Soft tissue surgery (This releases the tight tissues, allowing the tendons to lengthen and the foot to settle in a corrected position)
Tendon transfers (Tendons will be repositioned so they pull the bones into the correct positions)
Bony resetting or fusion procedures (These will address and correct the bony alignment within the foot directly)
Physiotherapy is important following surgery.
Physiotherapy After Talipes Surgery
It is important to keep the other joints of the leg moving following surgery. Our physiotherapist will be able to advise you which passive movements you should be carrying out daily with your baby. When the cast is removed similar treatment will be carried out as prior to surgery – a method is known as the Ponseti method and will involve a gentle stretching and strengthening program to ensure the foot stays correctly positioned. Our physiotherapists will also work with you and your child in ensuring they progress to a correct walking pattern as soon as possible.
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