FLATFOOT IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN.

Abstract

The subject of flatfoot in children has received but little attention and the condition is often overlooked. The former opinion that all children were flatfooted at birth has been rendered untenable by the investigations of Dane, who demonstrated that a normal arch exists at birth, but that in well-nourished children a pad of fat is present in the sole of the foot which fills up the natural hollow of the foot and leads to the appearance of flatfoot. In thin children this pad does not exist and the imprint of the foot then resembles the adult type. Section of the bones shows that the arch of the foot exists from birth. FLATFOOT IN INFANTS. Heavy children who walk early, and especially if they have any grade of rickets present, are apt to show soon after beginning to walk a tendency to tread on the inner border of the foot, which is likely to attract attention.