Pigeon-toed 23 Month Old

Sorry to say but it should have been addressed long ago. I used to babysit a pigeon toed baby. Mom said oh doc said he will be fine. Fast forward
An at age two he was in shoes with the bar. Let me tell you, not fun. Please get him toe a pediatric orthopedist ASAP.

I have a 6 year old little girl who has both feet turned in and she was diagnosed with Severe Hip Dysplasia. Her specialist told me the only way to fix this was to reset her hips. I would have done this if it didn't take her Dr. 4 years to take it seriously and recommend her to a specialist. But my daughter does not limp or clop she just trips over her feet when she tries to run too fast.

Yeah I think there is a difference since I have a 9 month old now too and her hip clicked when she was born so they checked her right away and the click went away when she went for a follow up...they didn't even tell me what they were looking for...

Our grandson is very pigeon toed and has bowed legs. We went to the podiatrist when he was about your girls age. They had us do some exercises with her to strengthen the hip joints and to help the muscles too. We also got shoe inserts in each shoe that helped her turn her feet better. They were pretty effective and his feet did straighten out as he got much closer to turning 5. Now he's just pretty bow-legged but that is something the orthopedic surgeon is going to look at next week.

They don't really do more at this age unless they can't stand and walk. BUT the exercises really helped, make an appointment with a podiatrist as soon as possible. The exercises can make a huge difference.

I had a child with this and he was given special shoes and they turned the feet out instead of in and had like a brace like thing on the side. The therapist fitted it to him. He is fine now and grown. Also had one who had one foot in and one out more and they put casts on her, which killed me, but she was very young still and didn't seem to bother her and she is now fine. I was told if you leave it the hips can be bothered but also with sports they can trip more and just not a major problem but now I'm glad we did both kids. They doctor told me sometimes the feet are bent from the position in the uterus and just be sure there is no hip problem as that can't be fixed later on. My kids are all grown so maybe they have better methods to threat this now but I would check it out for shoes or something now before the bones get much harder. My little one was about your child's age when he had the braces with shoes attached. The other one of mine was an infant so both were still softer bones and easy to correct. It is in the family though so hereditary probably.

My stepmother is pigeon toed to this day.

She has a hard time walking "gracefully" as she calls it, She has back problems also.

Her clothes fit her differently and she wears out her shoes faster than others.

Her parents could not afford to get therapy for her. Make sure to do whatever you can to help her, correct this.

Make sure you get her to an pediatric orthopedist, not just a PT. It will make a huge difference later in life for her if she wears orthopedic shoes. (How do I know this? I went through this as a child. My mom told me that I would be able to wear beautiful high heels like hers if I wore the doctor's shoes. At least the orthopedic shoes today are nicer looking than they were when I was a kid!)

If you can hear a click in your child's hip, that's a real issue. Share that with the ortho doctor.

Good luck,
Dawn

Please get her to a specialist -- not a physical therapist or your pediatrician but a pediatric orthopedist, as someone else noted.

By saying "it does run in my family" you're dismissing it somewhat -- don't. You should not be able to hear her hip "click" at all! Don't dismiss that either. Just because she's not in pain, that does not mean she's fine.
It sounds as if you're worried but seeking to find ways to dismiss the issue and want to hear that it's normal -- but it is not. I know a much older child than yours who has feet that turn in severely and one knee turns in as well, and I don't know why it wasn't addressed when he was younger -- it is so obvious, and I fear he will get teased as he gets older and other kids start to notice how clearlydifferent his legs and gait are. He is not in pain either, but I don't know how he will fare as time goes on. So look into it for your own child now, while it's still potentially fixable. Don't brush it off as a phase or normal because she should not be clicking or clopping.

You have great observations. Please write them down so that when you talk to your pediatician you mention all your observations. Sometimes one little bit of evidence tips the doctor towards the next action. All my best.

I was quite pigeon-toed as a child, and often did trip over my own feet. I also had to keep my toenails short, as it was not uncommon for me to cut myself with them, when I did trip on my feet. I started with braces, and I don't remember why, but for whatever reason, they didn't work for me. Probably, because I spend most of my time barefoot, and always have. I ended up with exercises to strengthen my ankles, which we did at home - perhaps your pediatrician can recommend some - and a prescription to take ballet. Again, strengthening the ankles.

It might be worth noting, that I did have to teach myself to walk with my feet straight, and it became subconscious over time. But when I am really tired, I go pigeon-toed again, and sort of have to concentrate.