Does my child need gait plates?
What are gait plates?
How do they work?
Does my child need them?
If your child has a toe-in or toe-out gait then he or she may certainly benefit from having gait plates. If left untreated, toe-in or toe-out gaits may impair the proper development of the lower limb and lead to permanent structural, strength, balance and coordination deficits.
Gate plate orthoses can effectively limit in-toeing or out-toeing caused by rotational deformities of the lower limb. This is done by altering the break of the ball of the foot during propulsion to aid a realigning of the hip when walking or running. Gait plates also deal effectively with foot pronation (typically associated with childhood gait abnormalities) by incorporating the features of a functional foot orthosis (i.e. deep heel cup, medial rearfoot posting and skive) to control subtalar joint pronation during contact and midstance phases of gait.
Do an assessment now with your child or contact us for more information about our littleSTEPS® gait plates, or to set up a virtual consultation for your child. Your child will not simply outgrow any challenges they have with their feet – it is best to attend to any issues now rather than leave them untreated.
