Toe Walking – Can You Treat It?

Did you know that toe walking is something that can be treated at a paediatric physio clinic? 

When you bring your child in for an initial assessment at PlayWorks Physio, this is typically what you can expect:

• Your physiotherapist will go over a detailed history of your child’s development (including pregnancy history, early development, toe walking habits as well as other medical history)

• • Why is a history important ?
    • If you know the root cause of the issue, then you’ll have more success in the treatment outcome. There are a few different reasons kids walk on their tip-toes:
    • 1) Neurological cause 
    • 2) Genetic cause 
    • 3) Sensory cause 
    • 4) Muscular cause  
    • Knowing the cause of the toe walking will help the physiotherapist create the most specific, and successful treatment approach for your child.

• Watching your child move (and play)! It’s one of our best-kept, “not-so-secret” secrets. Kids are smart, when they hear “the physio is going to watch you walk,” they’ll change their pattern to walk to what they think is better. Your physio will encourage them to play around the treatment room, getting them to walk, run, skip, jump, squat, crawl, spin and bend. This will allow your physio to watch and analyze your child’s usual movement patterns.

• Next, your physiotherapist will discuss the recommendations to fit your child’s (and family’s) individualized needs. This may include:
  • a plan for future physio sessions (if needed) 
  • exercises to work on at home 
  • orthotics (some kids need extra support to help your child achieve an appropriate walking pattern. Not all kids need this support, and the goal of these is typically a short-term solution to help achieve a normal walking pattern).
  • referral to any specialists if needed

Scroll down to see some examples of kids who are working on toe walking and some before/after pictures. Our goal is to get their heels to “strike” the floor when they take a step. In the examples below, you can see the progress made with coming to physio and following a home program!

Example A:

• This kiddo has been coming to physio since January 2020 (even virtually through the pandemic!) and his treatment plan includes weekly physio, custom orthotics, and a gait-retraining program. He’s very close to being completely discharged from physio. This family was extremely dedicated and were gold star patients in following the plan. As a result he’s had a change of 16 degrees of ankle range, and we’re not stopping yet!

Example B:

• Kiddo B has been intermittently coming to physio, and her physio plan includes exercises to do at home, and shoe recommendations. The before/after picture was taken in the same session! 

Example C:

• Kiddo C has been coming to physio once a month to work on her goals. Her plan also includes home exercises and custom orthotics. 

If you’re interested in what we can do for your kiddo’s toe-walking habits, email us at: [email protected] or book your assessment here.