Walking on Tiptoes

DD learned to walk on her tiptoes early on, and with time is doing it more and more. she does walk "normally" (not on tiptoe) too, but when she gets going she will take 3 or 4 steps on tiptoe...is this normal discovery behavior, or is this the tell your pediatrician behavior? everyone thinks it's adorable and say's she's a little ballerina, and i wince when she does it (though it IS cute) since i know it could be an orthopedic problem.

does anyone have experience with this? i know i had a student once (3-year-old) who had casts put on her legs because she was a tiptoe-er, but i can't remember if she needed surgery prior....also, would hard-soled shoes help? right now they are mostly barefoot at home and wear very flexible soled shoes when we go out...any info or advice from those that have btdt is appreciated! TIA

 

my daughter still does this, but only when she's barefoot... my son's PT acted a bit concerned about it, bit since she doesn't do it all the time, I think it's just a behavioral thing that she will grow out of... I'm no expert, but I'd say to keep an eye on it, but not to worry too much

i think the thing they're worried about is the achilles tendon getting tight or shortened as a result, so try to pull her toes back and see if it's tight, or maybe do little stretches like that if you're worried... i feel like docs are always trying to get us to worry over things and stress about the small stuff, and it's hard not to get caught up in it all... trust me, I've had to check myself a few times...DH just rolls his eyes

 

Both of my DDs used to do this occasionally, and the ped said not to worry unless they walked that way all the time (or nearly all the time) or unless they were still doing it when they were walking really well and running.

 

My older DD is like this too. I have brought it to the Peds attention at each visit and she checks to make sure she has full mobility in the ankles and calves and says that she will outgrow it at some point. She does not do it all the time and it is now less and less and she just turned 4. I was a toe-walker too. I would mention it to the Ped to be on safe side, but it sounds normal to me.

 

One of my DDs did that when she first started to walk and still does off/on. She is diagnosed w/ mild CP- which is probably why she did/does it so much. She also has sensory issues and that often is a sensory thing as well.

As PP said- watch for ankle tightness. We did streched every am/pm for a long time. It has improved with age, and she runs mostly flat footed--but still toe walks when on 'over load', she gets tired, and/or when she is really excited.

We bought squeaky shoes from www.angelcovers.com and she LOVED them...they helped remind her to put her heels down. We also had PT from about 19 months to 25 months.

Talk to your PEDI and/oro EI. They know what is 'normal' versus something to look at more closely.

 

[SIZE=10pt]Alexis does this too. When she was first learning to stand up, she would be on her tip toes constantly. Once she started walking, she was walking on her tip toes quite a bit. I would put her foot flat and she would walk 'normally' for a while. She seemed to outgrow it ~ however in the last week she's started walking on her tip toes again from time to time :umm:

I'm not really worried about it, although I am going to mention it to the pedi when we go in next month.

April [/SIZE]

 

Hi,
We actually just got DS evulated today by a PT & EI services because he was walking tip toe with his left leg only.
They were not concerned becasue there was no tightness and said he would grow out of it.
I sure hope so and can't wait until he does!!
Good Luck! If you are worried though I would talk to your DR to be on the safe side.