What is Clubfoot?
Clubfoot is a deformity present at birth that twists the foot downward and inward, making walking difficult or impossible. While the exact causes of clubfoot are unknown and it cannot be prevented, it can be corrected using a relatively inexpensive treatment process called the Ponseti method.
What Causes Clubfoot?
We don’t know exactly what causes clubfoot, but we do know it’s not because of something the parents did. Unfortunately, in many of the places where we work, mothers are usually the first to be blamed for the condition. Family and neighbors often incorrectly say the deformity results from unconfessed sin, a curse, a character flaw, doing too much hard labor, or a variety of other local beliefs and traditions. Some of our most important work is spreading the word that clubfoot can’t be prevented, but it CAN be treated at one of our local partner clubfoot clinics at no cost to the family.
How is Clubfoot Treated?
Clubfoot can be treated! We adhere to treatment through the Ponseti method, the globally accepted standard of clubfoot treatment. The initial process involves weekly casting for four to six to eight weeks and, in most cases, a minimally-invasive outpatient procedure to lengthen the Achilles tendon.
After this, in the maintenance phase, children wear a foot abduction brace for 23 hours a day for three months, and then at night and nap time until the age of five. Children born with clubfoot can take their first steps on completely straight feet thanks to early intervention and to this relatively simple, cost-effective treatment method.