Children’s Podiatry

Children’s Podiatry in Melbourne

At Watsonia Podiatry, the long-term health of your child’s feet and lower limbs is our priority. We work with you and your child to assess, monitor, and treat any foot concerns you may have.

The function of your child’s feet is what we focus on primarily.  We conduct various assessments of your children’s feet to ensure that any issues or potential concerns can be identified.  Early detection of issues ensures that their feet will be able to support them as they continue to develop.

The great news when it comes to conditions and concerns that can affect your child’s feet is that many of them are very treatable, and often will have no effect on them as they develop into adults.

When Should I Take My Child to See a Podiatrist?

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to your children, so it’s understandable that their feet may be overlooked from time to time. Trying to determine whether your child needs to see a podiatrist can be difficult, and often, at our clinic, we see parents who are concerned with how their child’s feet look. Children’s feet do look different to adults, and they go through a number of changes as they grow. As a podiatrist, we do take this into consideration, however, the function of your child’s feet is what we are primarily concerned with.

So how do you know whether you should see a podiatrist for your child? Some common things to keep an eye out for include:

• Growing Pains & Growth Spurts
• Growth Plate Aches & Pains (most commonly Sever’s Disease/Calcaneal Apophysitis)
• Intoeing (also known as pigeon toed)
• Toe Walking
• Increased or Excessive Tripping
• Ingrown Toenails
• Flat Feet
• Warts
• Incorrect Fitting Footwear

If your child is experiencing any pain or discomfort in their feet or lower limbs, consider bringing them to our clinic for an assessment and advice from one of our experienced podiatrists. Your child is experiencing a lot of changes and no problem or concern is too small.

Common Conditions Experienced by Children

Many conditions experienced by children are very common and very easily treated.  Some of these common conditions that we treat include:

• Flat feet
• Sever’s disease
• Kohler’s disease
• Iselin’s disease
• Warts
• Toe walking
• Intoeing
• Curly toes
• Psoriasis/Eczema
• Palmoplantar keratoderma
• Cellulitis
• Metatarsus adductus

Children’s Podiatry Services at Watsonia Podiatry

Keeping your child’s feet healthy from an early age can help avoid the onset of future conditions. Our kid’s feet are vital in their development and their role is complex. At Watsonia Podiatry, we aim to solve any issues or concerns affecting your child’s feet and lower limbs early, to ensure the longevity of the health of their feet.

In order to understand any issues that may be affecting your child’s feet, we conduct thorough assessments. Our assessments include observing your child during play to see how their feet and lower limbs function; Testing their knee and hip range of motion; and we will assess their footwear. We will also ask questions regarding their time in the womb, their birth, and when they reached milestones such as crawling, standing and walking.

When we combine all these elements of our assessment, it allows us to identify any developmental abnormalities that may be present. Early detection of issues is key to the long-term health of children’s feet.

If you do have any concerns or questions about your child’s feet, gait, or development, book a consultation with our friendly team at Watsonia Podiatry today.

For tips on what you need to know about your kids feet, read our blog post  – What Should I Be Looking For In My Kids Feet?

To book an appointment, click here or call us on (03) 9432 3689.