Functional Motor Skills In Children with treated Congenital Talipes Equino Varus (CTEV)(clubfoot)

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Clubfoot/feet is a common foot deformity seen in newborn infants. While it can occur along side other conditions, most babies with clubfoot are otherwise healthy. Clubfoot affects about one baby in every 1,000 born. Fifty percent of babies with clubfoot are affected in both feet, and males are affected slightly more often than females. The cause is unknown. Treatment for clubfoot aims to correct the deformity that is help the baby’s foot rest flat on the ground and be flexible and pain-free. After correction, bracing and splinting are important in preventing the baby’s foot from reverting back to the curved position. The treatment in total takes can take between 2-4 years. The treatment of the clubfoot deformity is very successful. What is less well understood in children with treated clubfoot/feet is their later ability to perform activities such as running, jumping, kicking a ball and participating in sports i.e. once the deformity corrected i.e the foot now straight- is the child able to do all the typical things a child of a similar age can do? The aim of this study is to look at the functional motor skills (i.e. the way a child can run, move, kick a ball) in children treated for clubfeet compared to children of the same age who were not born with clubfeet. Further, this study hopes to see if there is a relationship between the shape, flexibility and strength of the treated foot and the child’s later motor abilities. Also it hopes to examine how the child’s parents perceive their child’s quality of life related to their treated clubfoot using a quality of life questionnaire specific for clubfeet. Fifteen children who have completed treatment for clubfeet and 15 children without clubfeet will be assessed using a test that identifies and describes children with motor difficulties. The motor abilities of the two groups will be compared. The children with treated clubfeet will have 2 further assessments done. The first assessment looks at the child’s foot shape, flexibility and strength of the foot and the child’s ability to perform simple activities such as hopping, standing on one leg etc. In the second assessment, parents of children with treated clubfeet will also be asked to fill out a questionnaire on how they rate their child’s quality of life. Rating of quality of life will be compared to their score on foot shape, flexibility, muscle strength and motor abilities. All assessments will be completed within a one hour session with assessments conducted by an experienced paediatric physiotherapist. Children aged between five and six years have been chosen, as by this age, treatment is complete. The children are old enough to be able to cooperate in testing and also because at this age difficulties with motor abilities will be becoming more obvious as demands on the child’s motor abilities increase i.e. being able to run and keep up with playmates at school and the beginning of sporting and physical activities at school in a more structured way. There are no identified ethical concerns. No assessment causes pain or discomfort and the assessment in total only takes 1 hour. No interventions are involved

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