Massage for valgus deformity in children

Valgus deformity in children is not uncommon. It can be congenital and acquired. The X-shaped curvature of the legs with the support on the inside of the foot is typical of many babies, which at an early age were often “hung up” in jumpers and placed in walkers, as well as in overweight children. Regardless of the cause, the first and second degrees of pathology can be treated conservatively. One of the main methods of treatment is massage.

How to carry it out, if your child is diagnosed with “valgus” or “flat valgus deformity of the feet”, we will describe in this article.

With a valgus foot in a child, the support falls on the inside of the foot, as a result of which the heels and fingers are displaced to the outer sides, and the inside of the foot collapses inside so that the internal bulging bones can touch if you ask the child to put their legs parallel to each other.

Very often, with this setting of the feet, the foot flattens, that is, the child simultaneously has flat feet. The child, in fact, rests not on the heel and the space under the toes, but on the inside of the foot. As a result of this, the ligaments are strained, and because of insufficient depreciation, the knee joint suffers, the load on which increases significantly.

The task of massage is to relax muscle groups and ligaments, which are constantly in tension, and strengthen those muscle groups that are forced to do nothing (for example, the little finger at the valgus does not work at all, it almost hangs in the air).

Massage is mainly prescribed to children with 1-2 degrees of valgus deformity of the foot. It is allowed to do it yourself, but only after the orthopedist who established the diagnosis will give specific instructions on the technique of the procedure based on the individual characteristics of the baby’s feet.

Before proceeding to the study of technology, You should familiarize yourself with the general rules and principles of treatment for valgus deformities with massage:

• Make the treatment daily. Try not to miss a massage.
• The procedure time should be increased gradually, starting with a few minutes. The load during the foot massage should also increase in stages. The peak load on the legs of the child should fall approximately in the middle of the massage cycle.
• All movements of an adult should be moderate to prevent the child from experiencing pain and discomfort.
• The classic scheme is two weeks of daily massaging followed by a break of 3-4 weeks.
• Watch the weight of the child - if it exceeds the norm, you need to lose weight after prior consultation with the pediatrician. With excess weight, it will be more difficult for a child to get rid of the valgus foot installation.
• Do not wait for a quick result - orthopedic massage is a long, painstaking, very thorough treatment. Deformity usually can be corrected as a result of complex treatment for a year or two.
• Shoes of the child should not squeeze the legs, and should not wear pressure shoes and socks.
• To correct the deformities of the lower extremities, study the special video course of orthopedic massage, ask the orthopedic surgeon to show you the main points on a personal appointment.

Usually valgus curvature of the feet is determined at the age of 2-3 years. It is precisely at this age that the massage effect, techniques and orthopedic massage techniques are calculated. For the baby, of course, such a complex will not work.

The basis of the impact - the techniques of classical massage, which include rubbing, kneading and vibration effects in exactly this sequence.

The initial position of the child - lying on his stomach. Place the child on a hard surface so that his body does not “fall through,” place a small pad or roller under your shins. Legs should be slightly raised above the plane. Before starting the massage, make sure that the body of the child is relaxed, the shoulder girdle is not tense.

It is in this position that the back, sacral area, buttocks, lower legs and feet are massaged. Start with stroking, easy grinding, gradually increasing the effect on the skin. When the skin becomes warm, slightly reddens, warms up, you can begin to knead more deeply with your fingertips.

In the area of ​​the buttocks, you can apply a more intense impact - shock and circular movements, the back of the thigh is massaged in the direction of the popliteal space up and on the sides. The upper back of the thigh should be massaged carefully, as it is usually tense with the valgus. After warming up and grinding, spend an intensive kneading the muscles with two hands.

It is not necessary to massage the knee joint, with such a deformation of the lower limbs, the knee is the “weakest link”, it is easy to injure it. After exposure to the back of the thigh, go directly to the ankle. It should be massaged from the bottom up, according to the natural current of the lymph. This part of the child's legs with flat-valgus deformation is also constantly in tension, so pay special attention to it. Massage gently - shin, if it is not enough to "warm up", massage is painful enough.

Starting from the Achilles tendon, upward after rubbing, make tweaks, grabbing the muscle and releasing it immediately. Then move on to kneading with both hands and striking technique with the edges of the palms.

After the completion of this complex, once again palm your hands on all the zones in which the massage effect took place, and turn the child on his back. Again under the legs, put a roller or a roll rolled up towel. Perform a light massage to the front of the upper thigh, acting on it in the same way as the back of the thigh was massaged.

Bypassing the patella, move down and massage the sides of the lower leg. Pay particular attention to the feet - knead each finger, massage the foot strictly upwards.

Massage alone cannot correct the pathology. To improve the efficiency of the procedure, it is necessary to approach the treatment in a complex way, supplementing the massage at home with special gymnastics, using orthopedic mat-applicators, a complex of exercise therapy. Children 2.5-3 years old can easily buy a bicycle - pedaling is considered an excellent exercise for the correction of flat and flat-valgus feet. It puts pressure on the most problematic part of the foot - the arch.

After the massage session is completed, you can go directly to the complex exercises. About 10 minutes you can walk, jump on an orthopedic mat.For correction, choose a rug with a hard texture, convex and needle elements. Such an effect on the foot after the massage will help to improve the blood circulation of the lower extremities.

After that, while the muscles and ligaments of the lower limbs are sufficiently “warmed up”, proceed to the complex of therapeutic exercises:

• do 10 circular motions with the feet in a sitting position on the floor clockwise and 10 counterclockwise movements;
• ask the child to depict a monkey - take a toy or a small ball with his foot, holding the object and holding it for some time;
• sit with your child in the Turkish position and sit like this for a few minutes;
• do 10-12 squats with your knees apart.

It will be good if the massage and gymnastics session ends with a foot bath. For her, use warm water, in which, if desired, you can add decoctions of herbs. After the baby holds the legs in warm water, pour cold water over your feet and place them in warm water for 2-3 minutes. Such contrasting water procedures will help to fix the result of the massage in the best way.

According to reviews of mothers who were engaged in the treatment of flat-valgus feet in a child, it is quickly possible to eliminate the deformity only if the child starts wearing orthopedic shoes from the very beginning. In this case, massage, gymnastics are effectively complemented by the constant finding of the feet in the anatomically correct position.

Some parents practice bandaging children's feet after a massage, for which, for several hours, an elastic bandage fixes the feet so that the child has a support on the center of the foot. Orthopedists warn that self-incompetent bandaging can harm the baby, since the blood circulation of the lower extremities is significantly impaired.

Many mothers speak well not only about bicycles for children with valgus feet, but also about swimming. With an integrated approach (massage, gymnastics, exercise therapy, physiotherapy and sports), the problem is most often solved within a year.

On how to make a massage with a valgus foot in children in the office exercise therapy, see the following video.