Parents problem with feet

[newmom]

My dd during gymnastics I notice she walks toes in. When she was younger I had her to a doctor about her being bow legged and toes in. The bow legs straighten out, but when she is on balance beam I notice that she wants to walk toes in. Is that something that she needs reminded to walk straight or should she be checked out again by a doctor to see if something can be done about it.

 

[3gymgirls]

How old is she? My oldest does the same, but her coaches remind her a lot because they know that hers is partially caused by femoral aversion. Walking with the toes pointed out is not natural for most people.

 

[catova]

My DD has internal tibial torsion (internal rotation of tibia) and as a result, her feet turning in is quite noticeable...every time toes are pointed, it's obvious! My understanding from multiple pediatricians is that kids' anatomy often changes such that most kids exhibiting this as toddlers grow out of it. This was the case for 2 of my 3 kids, but not the gymnast. Perhaps consider asking your pediatrician to evaluate the degree of 'in-toeing' and track it each visit to see if it's improving? It usually resolves to the extent it will naturally by age 8- 10, from what I understand. By the time DD was 9 the doc said 'yeah, it's not going away, but the only way to correct it surgery'. I did not want that, and since the degree of leg turn-in was not severe enough to cause other problems (continuous tripping, etc) I did not pursue surgery. DD is training L8 now. She is a very fast runner (many with in-toeing are fast, as it turns out!) but does have trouble transferring the energy from her speed on to the vault spring board. Her coach has commented frequently on her running form as being a factor. I am going to take her to a running coach to see what he can do to help with form. As for beam- and floor too - DD consciously tries to point her toes out while doing skills (while she feels her toes are pointed 'out', visually, they are not..they are just not pointed in as much as usual!). It is what it is! I no longer cringe when I see that front foot turned in on leaps...

 

[3gymgirls]

At my daughter's last well child exam, we discussed this again. His research shows that it could still improve until she is 11. My daughter is 9 and currently training for a second level 2 season. Her in - toeing causes confidence issues on beam, but vault is her best event.

 

[needcoffee]

This is really interesting. My dd has always had leg and feet problems. She has knock knees and still toe walks at nearly 11. We've seen orthopaedic surgeons who just keep giving us exercises that don't really help. Beam has always been her worst event. Struggles so much and no matter how nice it looks (to me!) has never scored over an 8.2. I wonder if there's a correlation.

 

[newmom]

Thanks for the advice. I did have her to specialist when she was 2-3 and he said she would out grow the bow legs which she did. I will bring it up to the doctor at our next visit. He did check her hips and said they were fine too. It might be something that she needs reminded about.

 

[3gymgirls]

My daughter has made tremendous improvement on beam in the last year, but still has a long way to go. We are hoping for a strong season to boost her confidence before moving to level 3. She isn't going to be elite and may never even make it to optionals, but at this point is incredibly dedicated.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

I coach our developmental team. I have quite a few kids with femoral anteversion and it does show up REALLY well on beam..!
I have several exercises I give them as well as of course reminders on form when we practice. In my experience, the exercises and stretches help most kids but not all. In fact this is a good reminder, I need to print out another set for one of my newer kids..
If it was my kid, I would ask her coach for suggestions on exercises. I would ask (her primary physician) about a good PT to get her evaluated. One of my DDs had a hip injury that resulted in imbalances and compensation issues, nothing that would have been noticed in the average kid but she's a ballet dancer and it was impacting her training.
But, I would start with her coach. Probably it's something they have already noticed and can give you suggestions for!

 

[3gymgirls]

I would be interested in those exercises as we are always hoping to learn new things. Living in a relatively small town, it isn't something that is seen often, and the orthopedic specialist told us pt wouldn't help. We know a good pt, but without a referral, we can't really afford to pursue it. I doubt insurance would help if it isn't prescribed by a dr.