When Parents Should Seek A Medical Treatment to Treat An Orthopedic Disease?
All parents wish their baby will walk, run, play, and live a healthy life. They want the kid to have a normal life like other healthy children. Unfortunately, some babies are born with certain orthopedic diseases. These diseases can severely affect the baby’s physical features if not treated in time.
The baby cannot speak to inform his health condition. Parents need to observe the baby in order to recognize health problems. The pediatric surgeon can provide a quick cure if the baby orthopedic disease is diagnosed at an early age.
This article is going to offer complete information on baby orthopedic disease. You will learn how to recognize such health issues to prevent the child from future troubles.
What Are Some Common Orthopedic Conditions In Babies?
Parents can easily recognize some orthopedic diseases in babies, such as facial asymmetry, the size difference in legs, etc. Quick diagnosis of such diseases opens doors for proper treatment. Every child deserves the best available treatment to live a normal life.
The following orthopedic diseases can affect the child’s abilities and physical features in the future:
Flat feet
Many children are born with flat feet. They do not have a natural arch in their feet, which generally appears at the bottom of the feet. Some children develop this arch by the age of 5 years and some never develop it at all.
This orthopedic condition can cause aching pain in the foot if the child has flat feet. Different orthopedic surgeons recommend different treatment for this condition. Its adverse effects reduce with growing age and some individuals need special shoes.
People rarely choose surgery to treat this condition. Some studies reveal that barefoot running improves the condition and offers good relief. You should take your kid to the park and ask him to run barefoot if he has a flat foot. Thus, he won’t experience severe pain at an adult age.
Bow legs
It is another common orthopedic condition. A child’s legs seem bowed when he stands. There will be a noticeable gap between his knees. This condition is pretty common in toddlers. It gets resolved as the child grows. You should see a doctor if your child’s legs look bowed after 3-4 years age.
Surgery is a solution, but you should not consider it as the first treatment. Surgical treatment comes with certain health risks, such as nerve damage, bone infection, metal clamps, unsightly scarring, etc.
Most surgeons recommend osteotomy as a surgical treatment for bow legs. The surgeon will cut off the bone and reshape it to improve leg structure. Most patients take 2 months to recover from this surgery. It has shown promising results.
In and out-toeing
This is a common orthopedic condition in newborn children. Parents can notice it during different periods of the baby’s development. The baby’s feet won’t point straight! Both feet may turn outward and inward. Some people refer to it as a pigeon-toed condition.
Parents can easily notice it when the child starts standing and walking on his feet. Children get this condition due to curved foot, twisted thigh bone, twisted shin, and also due to other orthopedic conditions.
Doctors used to apply braces, complex shoes or casts to improve such toe deformity in the past. The doctor may rarely suggest surgical treatment for this baby orthopedic disease. The surgeon will fracture the involving bone and rotate it to make the foot point straight.
Developmental dysplasia of the hip
The child is suffering from this orthopedic condition if he has asymmetrical buttocks. Parents can recognize it by checking thigh skin patterns, which look less external rotating. The baby’s legs will have an unequal length in this condition.
Congenital clasped thumb
Babies with congenital clasped thumb have the joint fixed in a bent position. It can be quite painful for the baby if his thumb forcefully stretched. You can easily feel thickened lumps on the child’s palm. The child will require proper medical treatment in this condition.
Knock knees
Kids with knock knees have inward-pointing knees. This deformity is quite typical in babies and young kids. It turns into a big physical deformity if it does not correct as the kid grows. It can cause serious issues in adulthood. The baby may face serious embarrassment in the adult age if parents do decide to get treatment.
Should You Take Your Child For General Orthopedic Checkup?
Parents start worrying when they spot some orthopedic abnormalities. Some conditions are normal in babies and some are not. Therefore, you might wonder whether you should take the baby for orthopedic checkup or wait.
It is obvious to worry if your child’s legs are slightly bent. You might wonder whether it is a lack of calcium or poor posture causing this condition. It may worry you and therefore you should meet an orthopedic doctor.
What will the doctor do?
The doctor will take your concern seriously, even if the condition is common in young children. He may take an X-ray imaging test to assess the child’s limb condition. If the doctor diagnoses the orthopedic disease, the doctor may apply a brace or cast to improve his condition.
Early treatment is necessary for the knock-knees condition
As mentioned earlier, knock knees is a common orthopedic condition. It can occur due to weight-bearing, growth, and posture changes. The baby gets x-shaped legs in this condition. It can affect your child’s social life and mobility. Parents should take the child to the doctor if his knees do not point straight after the age of 3-4 years.
Is It An Orthopedic Condition If The Baby Doesn’t Have Straight Legs?
Some babies start walking too early. Their legs are not strong enough to bear their weight and therefore their legs look different from other kids. It can also occur due to a lack of calcium or the child doesn’t adapt to the new activity. Such children do not have straight-pointing legs.
The child can develop an orthopedic disease if parents do not pay attention to the child’s needs. He should be supplemented with the baby’s calcium to ensure the normal development of his limbs. The mother can massage the baby’s legs every night to make them stronger.
If you are worried that the child’s legs are not straight, it can be an orthopedic condition. Notice the following things before you see a doctor:
Early walkers can develop an orthopedic condition!
It will affect the proper development of your child’s legs if he starts standing too early. Babies usually start standing and walking when they are 8-9 months old. Your child needs special care if he is walking before that age!
The baby’s legs shape change with development!
A baby’s legs can be o-shaped or x-shaped at an early age. His legs might seem inward-pointed or outward-pointed in different stages of growth. It is completely normal and you should not worry about it. His legs will get straight as the child gets 3-4 years old. It will be an orthopedic condition if the child’s legs do not point straight after this age!
Babies have straight legs after 4 years
Most babies have inward or outward pointed legs when they are 4 years old or younger. Their legs get straighter as they grow older. Most babies get straight-pointing legs by the age of 6 years.
If your baby’s legs do not look straight after 5-6 years, it can be due to an orthopedic disease. You should take your child to an orthopedic surgeon for a complete checkup in such conditions!
What Do Experts Say About The Shape Of Babies’ Legs?
Many parents worry that their child does not have straight legs. It keeps them checking his lower limbs and worrying about their structure. Some babies get o-shaped legs and some get x-shaped legs. Therefore, parents often rush to the doctor to treat this issue quickly.
Orthopedic experts suggest parents should not worry about it at all. It is pretty normal for newborn babies to have curved legs. Their legs straighten with growing age and the problem resolves automatically!
The American Academy of Pediatrics
Experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics suggest that X-shaped or O-shaped legs slightly deviate from their natural shape. Parents should not worry a lot and do not seek orthopedic treatment.
If the shape does not improve with growth, it is abnormal. Parents should seek orthopedic treatment to straighten the child’s legs. The surgeon will provide a perfect treatment to ensure the child gets a normal lower-limb structure.
Do not worry too early!
The child does not need any treatment at an early age. Parents should not seek surgical treatment because it can cause serious discomfort to the baby. Babies have unnaturally shaped legs when they start walking. Proper diet and supplements improve the structure of their body.
Final Thoughts
A baby orthopedic disease can severely affect the child’s life. Follow the information shared in this post to provide proper treatment at the right time. Both surgical and non-surgical treatments are available now to cure orthopedic conditions. So, your baby will get straight legs if he does not have them now!
