Pediatric Care

Children’s developing feet and ankles benefit from regular checkups with a foot doctor. The Capital Foot & Ankle team provides pediatric care to children of all ages at their offices in Sacramento, Roseville, and Folsom, California. Their compassionate team specializes in treating conditions affecting children’s foot and ankle development. Call Capital Foot & Ankle today or book an appointment online to take advantage of first-class pediatric care.

What is pediatric care?

Pediatric care focuses on children’s foot and ankle health and development. The Capital Foot & Ankle team completes routine checkups to ensure that your child’s feet and ankles grow as they should. If problems are found, they can address them early to prevent long-term foot health problems.

Developmental foot problems can cause gait disorders affecting your child’s walking and running. They can also affect skeletal alignment, particularly in the spine. Without treatment, your child could develop poor posture, struggle with exercise and sports, and suffer chronic pain.

Capital Foot & Ankle’s pediatric care also includes diagnosing and treating foot and ankle diseases and injuries.

What conditions might require pediatric care?

The standard foot conditions affecting children include:

• Athlete’s foot
• Plantar warts (verrucas)
• Ingrown toenails
• Flatfoot
• High arches
• Clubfoot
• Fractures
• Sprained ankle ligaments
• Sever’s lesion at the tip of the heel
• Stress fractures
• Tendinitis

To diagnose pediatric foot and ankle problems, your child’s foot doctor completes a thorough physical exam and gait analysis (assessing how your child walks and runs). They review your child’s medical history and discuss problems your child experiences or that you notice.

What treatments does pediatric foot care use?

Treating children’s foot and ankle problems varies depending on the cause of their condition. Examples include:

Medication

Your child might need anti-inflammatory medication and/or pain relief for conditions like fractures and ligament injuries. If they have a fungal toenail, anti-fungal medication kills the fungus. Plantar warts are also treatable with preparations that destroy the human papillomavirus (HPV) responsible for warts.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy is invaluable when recovering from a foot and ankle injury or surgery. It uses active exercises and passive treatments like therapeutic ultrasound to reduce pain and help the tissues heal.

Orthotics and braces

Orthotics are shoe inserts that cushion, protect, and realign the foot and ankle. Capital Foot & Ankle offers custom-fitted orthotics specially designed for your child’s feet. Supportive bandages, braces, splints, and other devices can help by keeping pressure off the injured tissues while they heal.

Conservative treatments are usually effective, but if your child has a severe, painful condition that doesn’t improve, they might need surgery.

Call Capital Foot & Ankle today or book an appointment online to benefit from expert pediatric care.