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11 years old - too young for orthotics?
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Wondering what folks think.
My 11-year old daughter has significant issues with pronation and one foot is dramatically worse than the other. I have some cheap orthotics from Roadrunner sports that she uses in her everyday shoes; neutral Nike running shoes and Converse hi tops. (As a side note she is a good runner and did cross country last year).

But do you think it's a good idea for her to have this "extra support" at such a young age? I'm afraid the extra support will be detrimental in the long run.
On the other hand, should she be using motion control shoes?

Personally after years of Achilles issues - and wearing Salomon shoes (10mm rise) daily for 10+ years I "got religion" and switched to zero drop shoes for daily wear, inspired by Kelly Starret's "Ready to Run". Sure enough, going to zero drops has been the largest contributor to reducing Achilles issues.

I would appreciate the wisdom of the crowd.

Thanks,
Twain
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Re: 11 years old - too young for orthotics? [twain] [ In reply to ]
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Has she had any injuries resulting from her pronation?Fwiw...my daughter(now 18) ,played competitive basketball both at school and AAU,has flat feet and some scoliosis...had a few lower leg injuries in middle school.We took her to an ortho and they made custom orthotics(yes they were kind of $$)-she wore them in all her basketball,PE and even for a while regular shoes.Worked great!
She is done with basketball but wears superfeet in her everyday gym shoes .
Hope that helps!
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Re: 11 years old - too young for orthotics? [twain] [ In reply to ]
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At that age I would try to figure out the root cause and address that.
Often it is posture, but it could be weak feet and/or lower legs.

Does she stand up straight?
Does she engage glutes and abs?
Does she stand in a way where the arches drop and the knees drop in?

I would tend to want to try minimal or even barefoot on a kid- with good posture at all times.

Another post mentioned Kelly Starrett- Look up some of the stuff he says about posture and kids- Now is the time to build good habits.
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Re: 11 years old - too young for orthotics? [twain] [ In reply to ]
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twain wrote:
Wondering what folks think.
My 11-year old daughter has significant issues with pronation and one foot is dramatically worse than the other. I have some cheap orthotics from Roadrunner sports that she uses in her everyday shoes; neutral Nike running shoes and Converse hi tops. (As a side note she is a good runner and did cross country last year).

But do you think it's a good idea for her to have this "extra support" at such a young age? I'm afraid the extra support will be detrimental in the long run.
On the other hand, should she be using motion control shoes?

Personally after years of Achilles issues - and wearing Salomon shoes (10mm rise) daily for 10+ years I "got religion" and switched to zero drop shoes for daily wear, inspired by Kelly Starret's "Ready to Run". Sure enough, going to zero drops has been the largest contributor to reducing Achilles issues.

I would appreciate the wisdom of the crowd.

Thanks,
Twain

I'm of the opinion that extra support does just that, acts as a crutch, which sometimes can be necessary in rehabilitation, but is otherwise detrimental to the long-term health of the person and their biomechanics.


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Re: 11 years old - too young for orthotics? [twain] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for all of your input.
- the "orthotics" at Roadrunner are really more like molded insoles so they aren't that corrective, I should mention.

I'm going to try getting new orthotics and having her do PE/running in a motion-controlled shoe (Nike Odyssey React). However, encourage barefoot/neutral shoes for day to day.

Check out what her current shoe looks like; these are less than 3 months old. The left shoe doesn't have that kind of wear.

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Re: 11 years old - too young for orthotics? [Thomas Gerlach] [ In reply to ]
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I'll provide the counterpoint. I got orthotics after having shin splint and other issues in middle and high school X-C and track. They instantly changed my entire outlook towards running - it sure is much more fun to run pain free. Remarkably pain and injury-free for decades through HS/college track-XC, marathons, ultra-marathons, IM, etc. Wear them all day every day.

If they've been detrimental to my long-term health I sure can't figure out how. Maybe it'll all hit me when I'm 70 or something.
Last edited by: trail: Aug 3, 18 16:42
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Re: 11 years old - too young for orthotics? [twain] [ In reply to ]
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take her to be evaluated by a podiatrist, you don't want to go over correcting her and causing more issues. Sometimes yes orthotics can be required young, she may just need a slightly supportive shoe, or maybe just an orthotic, or nothing, or both. let the pro decide.
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Re: 11 years old - too young for orthotics? [twain] [ In reply to ]
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I’m not clear on why you are feeling that she needs orthotics. Does she have pain? Some other issue? Are you simply looking at her feet and believing something is atypical? Kids are not little adults and should not be treated as such. Kids are developing and have issues that are unique to them. Anything structural that you see may be developmental in nature and may correct itself as she gets older. Or, it may be a necessity to her because body parts all do not develop equally at the same rate. Seeing a structural difference or something other than expected (unless definitively pathological) is NOT a reason to correct it. Be patient and let your daughter grow up. She should wear whatever is comfortable to her.
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Re: 11 years old - too young for orthotics? [AndrewL] [ In reply to ]
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AndrewL wrote:
I’m not clear on why you are feeling that she needs orthotics. Does she have pain? Some other issue? Are you simply looking at her feet and believing something is atypical? Kids are not little adults and should not be treated as such. Kids are developing and have issues that are unique to them. Anything structural that you see may be developmental in nature and may correct itself as she gets older. Or, it may be a necessity to her because body parts all do not develop equally at the same rate. Seeing a structural difference or something other than expected (unless definitively pathological) is NOT a reason to correct it. Be patient and let your daughter grow up. She should wear whatever is comfortable to her.

Great observation. She does complain of ankle pain and "running hurts a lot until I get warmed up". I'm not projecting anything to her. Looking at the wear pattern of the shoe was just shocking today.
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Re: 11 years old - too young for orthotics? [twain] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for everyone's input.
We were referred to a Podiatrist. The Doc thought it was most likely a Tarsal Coalition - meaning there is some bone or "gristle" that is connecting between the Navicular (basically the front of the heel bone) and the Tarsal bones (rearmost toe bones). Apparently this is not that uncommon; it relates to a child's development prior to birth-the bones start off joined but then separate. With some folks, they don't fulling separate. It was a bit alarming in that he sort of went straight to "we can do surgery to remove that piece of extra bone". The rehab is quite long; surgery, crutches, then a boot on one foot. Then, most likely, would need to do on the other.
In any case, he recommended an MRI on the right foot which we got yesterday. Incredibly we were able to schedule a follow up this morning at 7:45AM.

The great news - it's not a tarsal coalition! However there is a lot of "bone hyperemia" - blood pooling and bone edema (swelling) in many parts of her foot. Basically, her foot bones have been beat to crap.
The diagnose is:
- She is going through a bit of a growth spurt and the bones aren't catching up
- She has gone from virtually no running all during Summer to running every day at school; recess and PE
- She's essentially injuring herself every time she runs and the bones are unable to recover and heal
- She might have a Vitamin D deficiency (she doesn't like to drink milk; could be possible)

The doc advised getting both feet casted for 2 weeks; this should allow the foot to recover and for the bone to heal.
Remarkably, we just went to the next room and by 8:30, she had 2 orange casts on and we left to get a blood test (Vit D).
Home by 9:30!

Anyhow, hope this works and hope this is helpful for others who may have similar circumstances.

- Twain
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