Stretching Exercise to Help Your Child Put Her Foot Down Flat (to Correct a “Tiptoe” Contracture)

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HealthWiki > Disabled Village Children > Chapter 42: Range-of-Motion and Other Exercises > Stretching Exercise to Help Your Child Put Her Foot Down Flat

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In this chapter:

 

In this chapter:

EXERCISE SHEET 1

calf muscles tight heel cord	PROBLEM
	The muscles at the back of the lower leg (calf muscles) that hold the foot “tiptoe,” are too short and tight.
	For this reason the child cannot put her foot flat on the ground.

With one hand hold up the knee so that it does not bend backward.

Use your arm to hold the foot in position like this. Gently lift but do not force the foot upward.

Push up on the foot.

While you push up on the foot, keep pressing hard on the arch of the foot like this. (This helps prevent a dislocation of the foot — a common complication of stretching exercises.)

Hold the foot like this.Turn heel inward a little.Then pull the heel down hard.

Pull down on the heel and push up on the foot, firmly and steadily while counting slowly to 25. Relax, then do it again. Repeat this exercise 10 to 20 times — in the morning, at noon, and in the evening.

This page was updated:04 Apr 2024