Casts Part 1

Mr. R started walking on his toes when he was three or four years old.  We're not positive exactly when he started walking that way because it was a subtle change.  Right before he started Kindergarten however we saw that he walked entirely on his toes, with and without shoes.  He could stand flat footed and when reminded would try his best to walk normally.  However, after a few steps would revert back to toe-walking.  We asked his doctor about it and received a referral to an orthopedic specialist.  Apparently Mr. R has late onset toe-walking.  The majority of kids that walk on their toes start toe-walking from their first steps.  Only a few develop it later, lucky us!  The doctor said that his entire leg was overly tight and he couldn't even comfortably stand in a neutral position (standing up with your feet flat on the ground).  It took incredible force to bend his toes toward his head because his ankle was so stiff.  As a precaution we were referred to a neurologist to make sure there wasn't an underlying neurological illness causing his toe-walking.  While we waited to be seen by the neurologist, Mr. R went to physical therapy twice a week to work on stretching his leg muscles and tendons. He did show a little improvement but it would have taken years to get him stretched out enough to walk normally.  I am not that patient of a person so I opted for the doctor's suggestion of leg casts.  Once he received the all clear from the neurologist we went back to the orthopedic doctor for his casts.  Mr. R was super excited to be getting them!

Waiting for his casts to dry

Sporting his new shoes

The plan is that he'll wear double casts, just like he broke his legs, for two weeks.  Then he'll get a new set and wear those for another two weeks.  After three sets, or six weeks of casts, he'll hopefully be cured of his toe walking.  In order for the casts to work the doctor places his foot in a position before applying the casts to ensure that his legs will be constantly stretching for those two weeks.  Each time he gets new casts they will bend his foot even more until he reaches a satisfactorily angle that will allow his ankle normal, or close to it, movement.

Mr. R couldn't wait to pick out the colors for his casts and have everyone sign them.  After about an hour or so he got the hang of walking in them.  The only restrictions he has while wearing the casts are no running and no water or sand.  I sure hope this works!