FREE BACK-TO-SCHOOL PODIATRY CONSULTATIONS

Does your child experience foot or leg pain? Many conditions that cause foot or leg pain in childhood can be helped with podiatry treatment and footwear advice. If you are currently preparing your child for the new school year, then this is the ideal time to seek podiatry advice, before buying new school shoes.

“It can be difficult for parents to navigate through the range of expensive school shoes available for children. We sometimes find that parents can spend a lot of money on what they think will be the ideal shoe, only to find that their child develops foot or leg pain early in the school year. We really want to give parents of school-aged children an obligation-free opportunity to talk with a podiatrist to clarify whether they need anything further for their child’s feet, and to help them make the best decision about school shoes to suit their child”, says Chris Hope from Entire Podiatry.

When making the decision about which school shoes to buy, it’s important to be aware of how footwear can affect the biomechanics of the feet. According to Podiatrist Chris Hope, “School shoes don’t need to be expensive to be good, but they should fit well and offer adequate support”.

A good choice of footwear can help to minimise the effect of faulty foot biomechanics, such as whether the feet roll in or out. Children whose feet tend to roll in or out excessively, can find that this puts extra strain on surrounding soft tissues, contributing to problems such as Sever’s disease (pain in the back of the heel bone) or  growing pains (aching legs mostly in the late afternoon or evening). Faulty foot function can also play a factor in pain further up the body, such as in the knees, hips or low back.

School shoes are a particularly important purchase because children are likely to be wearing these shoes for 35 to 40 hours per week. Having the right footwear and foot support can really help children to maintain their active lifestyles without pain.

For some children, custom orthotics is also a great option to help improve foot function. “We often see cases where children need orthotics to ensure they have adequate support for their feet; sometimes a good pair of shoes simply isn’t adequate for a child’s particular foot type”, says Chris. 

If you’re not sure whether your child needs to see a podiatrist, you can book a free 15-minute podiatry consultation at any Entire Podiatry clinic during the month of January. The purpose of these assessments will be to provide some basic education on choosing school shoes for your child, including any advice with regard to further podiatry needs that may be identified.

Entire Podiatry has clinics located in Chermside, Logan, Margate, Morayfield, North Lakes, Robina, and Strathpine. Each of our clinics can be contacted directly or you can Free call 1800-4-368473 (1800-4-ENTIRE).