My 4 1/2 year old toe walks. The pediatrician showed concern at this last well visit. She stated that I may need to have him evaluated. I looked this up online and read that this could be a sign of profound neuromuscular disease, or cerebral palsy! I really do not feel that these 2 things are what he has. Besides the toe walking, he is a perfectly normal 4 1/2 year old. Anyone that has some experience with this, I would love to hear about how you faired. I was told by a few people that he will grow out of it, but I just do not want to take the chance. Thanks!
Well, here is the update on my son's toe walking: I did take him to an orthopedic specialist who evaluated him. He stated that my son does this for no apparent reason that they can explain. Some kids just toe walk. He was not too concerned, although he did have me have him sized for insoles, which I did. They are now glued in his sneakers. I thought that he would want me to keep him in his shoes all of the time, like in the house, etc., but he said to just use them when needed, and to come back in 3 months to see if it helped. I have noticed a decrease in the toe walking around the house when he is barefooted, which I am very happy with. Things have worked out well. Thanks to everyone who posted responses! :)
Autistic kids toe walk too. Conversely, my 5 year old daughter toe walks but only because my autistic 8 year old still does.
Bottom line: don't panic. Can be something significant. Might be nothing. Freaking will serve no greater good.
Get a second opinion. Get a third one if you feel you need it. One dr's opinion doesn't make a definite diagnosis.
My daughter does this. She is 21 months and I never thought much about it until I read your post. Thanks....now I nervous. Is there an age when they should stop this I also noticed my daughter can be wobbly at times and I thought it was just an age thing. Please send me any info you have. www.livegreeneasy.com
hello there,
i can only share my experience in the matter..i dont have any real expertise on the subject..but my son who just turned four toewalks....he doesnt do it all the time now..after about three or so it became less often..you didnt mention if your son does it constantly...but i know other people have noticed my son doing it when i didnt notice...so i think he does it more often than i realize..doctors and therapists were concerned starting at 2..because he also didnt talk (till he was three)..and toewalking is one of the signs of autism...now i have noticed that my husband(my sons father)also toewalks sometimes..so perhaps its a heritary thing..my son sees a speech therapist who told me about an article that talks about people who have these "symptoms" and they call it quirks...it talked about bill gates being one of them..they talk late,toe walk,are very focused, smart and good at numbers and learning....thats my son..before he even talked words he was spouting out the alphabet and counting...i dont know if this describes your son...but i know if i knew then what i know now, i would not have spent two years of my life stressing that my kid may be autistic... if your son only toewalks i have read that that could be a problem with muscles in the back of the legs that dont work normally...and i do believe i read that needs surgery if other measures dont rectify the problem...if i can be of any more help or if you have any questions i may be able to help you with...feel free to email ____@____.com...R.
Hi R.,
I have friends that went through this same thing. Their daughter is now 11 and she has had to have 2 surgeries already to correct the damage that was done because she walked on her toes constantly. When she was growing up, it was cute at first and then they never really addressed that she was still doing it as they didn't think it was a big deal. Now, she can't put her foot (either of them) down completely because the tendons are too tight. She has had the surgeries and will probably need more as well as physical theraphy to correct the damage. I would recommend that you talk to your doctor again and see if he has any actual recommendations on how to correct this now. Perhaps a brace for a short time? Or games that you play with your son that require him to put his foot flat - jumping, hop scotch (hard to be on your toes when you jump from one spot to another). Swimming? I'm not sure. But I think you should try to correct now rather than wait to see if he'll grow out of it.
Good luck
I recently posted the same question. My 2 1/2 year old is a tiptoe walker. I took her to the pediatrician for an evaluation and he told me that it is probably just out of habit and that she will probably outgrow it. He proceeded to tell me that he wanted to see her back in two months to see if she is still doing it. I thought that was a little strange...so I told him that a few moms mentioned to me that they needed to put their children in PT to correct the issue. He said he was not opposed to that and wrote me a prescription.
My daughter has been going to PT for three weeks now and is making great strides in walking "feet flat". The physical therapist beleives that only 6 weeks of PT will do the trick and that my daughter just needs to get out of the habit. Talk to your pediatrician, and try not to wait it out. If he doesn't "outgrow" it, he might have muscular development issues later on.
Good luck.
R.
I agree with the others to get him evaluated just in case. It would not hurt to. Are there other issues along with the toe walking? Like delayed walking, does not jump, run like kids his age, troubles climbing up stairs? PT can help. When you see him do that, just remind him not to.
My daughter's neurologist thinks she has CP. Can you send me the link about toe walkers could have CP. My daughter is a toe walker. I have not seen that symptom. It could help us get that diagnosis that we need.
Thanks
As a pre-school teacher this is something I would red-flag to a parent. Toe walking can be a sign of a more serious problem- possibly autism or some sort of sensory sensitivity. Your ped. is right to request an eval as this may or may not be something serious. It certainly can't hurt to have him looked at- if he does need PT then at least you'll get the help he needs before it causes damage to his hips or other joints.
I have a close friend whose son toe-walked and he has had to wear braces for the last 3 years to help stretch out his tendons. He also has to go to PT to help with it.
It is best to get the eval done as soon as possible.
Good Luck!
R.
Hi, I used to walk on my toes all the time, my daughter, who is 4 now, walked on her toes for a while also. We are both perfectly normal. Keep your eye out, and see if he walks only on his toes or just when maybe his feet are cold or it's wet or what have you.
Best of luck.
L.
Because of side effects from medication my son (age 3) was on, he didn't walk for 6 or 7 weeks. When he started to walk again he toe walked, so his dr had him see a pt. Apparently his calf muscle shortened because it wasn't being used. She explained that a lot of times the toe walking, if caught early enough, can be corrected with exercises. Otherwise, braces, casts or surgery would be necessary. He has streching and toning exercises to do and he sees a pt once a week. He is doing more heel to to walking now. I recommend getting your son evaluated as soon as possible to determine the reason for the toe walking and also the best course of action to correct it. Good luck.
R.,
that's funny you said that because my son does the same thing but he's perfectly healthy. I thought it was odd but never thought it could be related to something else. He's 2 now so i don't know if i should be concerned. Let me know if you find out anymore info on the subject.
Thanks
L.
I would definately get the elvaluation done as soon as possible. My daughter does it but only sometimes. I looked into it when she first started to walk because it concerned me. She eventually stopped doing it all the time but I found alot of posts from people who's kids still did it until 6-8 years old. They were teased alot and had problems with running and stuff like that. It could just be his Achilles tendons are short from walking like this for so long. If that's all it is they will have you do streching excercises for a while sometimes up to a few yrs. and if that doesnt work they do surgery to lenghten the tendon. Some kids get braces to try, sometimes they put the kids in casts to try and correct toe walking problems. I just want you to know that some kids don't grow out of it for years and go through alot of troubles because of it. Hope this helps a little.
Have a great week!!
W.
my daughter does this occasionally as well and our pediatrician said they usually see kids grow out of it around age 5 but have seen kids later on at ages 6-8 stop. When we had orthopedics look at her the head orthopedic surgeon had bad bedside manner and basically told us there's nothing he can do that she would grow out of it, I mean he didnt even watch her walk so we're def. not going back to that guy. But anyways, our daughter's PT is fitting her for special insoles in her shoes called "hot dogs" she believes this will help her. See our daughter sits in the "W" position alot and she has what is called forefoot adductus so that is why she toe walks plus she needs the insoles to lift her arch a little.
i would talk to his ped. my daughter is 2 now and she was a toe walker all they has do was sign her up for a therapist to stretch her legs. so it can be something simple. but talk to his dr bout options.
both my kids were toe walkers but it only seemed to happen when they had there shoes off. try puting shoes on him and see if he walks normal.
The key really is how often he does it. If he's able to walk "normally" (heel toe pattern), or only occassionally does it -then its more than likely something called 'ideopathic toe walking' -which means that they don't really know why he does it -but it's nothing serious. However, if he's unable to walk normally when asked or reminded then its more likely that there's some spasticity and it could be CP or something more serious. Get it checked out - it can't hurt and will ease your mind. A PT can quickly tell you if its a real concern or not. My son (will be four at the end of August)still toe walks, but its only occassionally, and he can walk normally when reminded. He has Sensory Processing Disorder -and does it to increase proprioceptive input (which in normal terms means that it just feels good to him). I did have his PT check him out just to make sure though (he get's physical therapy through the school district for a gross motor delay -unrelated to the toe walking). Anyway, good luck and best wishes.
J.
