Toe Walking Brace Features and Benefits
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Adjustable, Easy Application
This idiopathic toe walking splint could not be easier to put on, take off, and adjust to fit your child's foot or feet perfectly. Regarding orthopedics for children, comfort is a top priority in providing a correction that your kid wants to wear. To adjust, simply pull and secure the pressure straps to the desired compression level and support along the foot and ankle.
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Range of Sizes Available
Designed to fit young, small children to larger kids and teens, this tip-toe brace can be worn by a range of youth, boys, and girls. Commonly, toe walking starts at a young age, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a need in teens and older children, so we made sure there is a wide range of sizes available.
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Personalized Support and Protection
Unlike other casts and rigid splints, this tippy-toe walking wrap for kids adjusts precisely to your child's foot. Depending on the toe walking severity, you can personalize the level of pressure, support, and correction your child will receive. Plus, the soft and comfortable brace is easy to adjust as your young child grows, so you can continue to use the same correction splint over time.
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Cost-Effective Toe Walking Treatment
Several conditions and underlying conditions can cause your child to begin walking on their toes. While it may not seem like an issue, the more you walk on your toes, the more it is likely to become a habit that can cause significant foot, ankle, and leg pain or problems. Wearing a splint such as this lightweight wrap is an easy, cost-effective fix to avoid surgery, casts, or other expensive ways to fix toe walking.
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Made of Soft and Breathable Materials
One of the best features of this splint is its soft, breathable, and lightweight polyurethane foam construction. Additionally, the non-slip sharkskin material, made of neoprene, provides enhanced grip and stability. The PU foam promotes comfort during wear, while the neoprene retains heat to aid in pain relief and supports effective healing.
Who Can Benefit From An Idiopathic Toe Walking Splint?
Toe walking, or walking on the toes or balls of the feet, is common in children who are just beginning to walk. Children aged 10-18 months are most likely to experience tip-toe walking, as it helps with their balance while they learn to walk. While most children tend to outgrow stepping on their tippy toes, some carry it into their toddler years and sometimes further, up to the ages of 6-7. Toddlers are the most common group who can benefit from a toe walking correction brace, so you can kick the habit right away while they still learn to walk correctly.
When Should You Worry About Tippy Toe Walking?
Kids who continue toe walking beyond the toddler years often do so out of habit. As long as your child is growing and developing typically, toe walking is unlikely to be a cause for concern. However, if your child is still toe walking after age 2, talk to your doctor about it. Also, make an appointment sooner if your child also has tight leg muscles, stiffness in the Achilles tendon, or a lack of muscle coordination.
What Ages Will This AFO Brace Work For?
Toe walking can affect anyone from the toddler age up to adults, especially those with autism, ADHD, or other neurological disorders. This splint ranges in several sizes to benefit the use of small children and a larger size for adult men and women.
Toddler
Toddler sizes will fit young children between the ages of 1 to 3 years old.
Little Kid
Little kids' sizes will fit children between the ages of 3 to 5 years old.
Big Kid
Big kid sizes will fit boys and girls between the ages of 5 to 12 years old.
Adults and Teens
The largest size of this brace will fit teen and adult men and women within the size range.
Idiopathic Toe Walking Correction: How Long Will It Take To Stop Toe Walking?
If you notice your child is walking on their tip-toes, there could be several reasons behind Toe walking is often resolved on its own over time, but that is not always the case. To prevent further issues, it’s important to stay on top by monitoring their gait and implementing various treatment and correction methods. Once you begin treatment options, such as this toe walking correction brace, the timeline for prevention will vary. Based on outside conditions, such as ADHD or cerebral palsy, and how often your child walks on their tippy-toes, the toe walking brace can take weeks to months for correction to be seen. In most cases, your child is toe walking simply out of habit and will see a quick correction while using the foot splint as a reminder to walk with their heels on the ground.
How Do You Stop Tippy Toe Walking in Adults?
Toe walking is not always something you grow out of after childhood. There are several reasons adults may walk on their tiptoes, including various underlying health conditions. The toe walking treatment is much simpler for children, especially as most toddlers grow out of the condition. However, if toe walking goes untreated as a child, it will likely follow you to adulthood. Wearing a splint or AFO as this toe walking support can help relieve tightness in the calf muscles caused by toe walking over a long period of time. Wear the AFO correction splint day or night to stretch out your muscle and tendon at the back of the leg to provide adequate pain relief and allow for stretching to help avoid toe walking.
Toe Walking Surgery: When is it Needed?
Rarely used, an optional treatment for toe walking includes surgery to lengthen the calf muscle tendon. Following the surgery, a below-knee walking cast will be applied and work for six weeks, with a preferred use of an AFO splint to protect the tendon for several months. Toe walking surgery is more common for children. Speak with your doctor or medical professional to find the best treatment for your specific condition.
The Best Post Toe Walking Surgery Protection
This pair of foot braces help ensure your child doesn’t revert back to old tippy-toe walking habits following a correction surgery. Designed to prevent toe walking, wearing the correction braces before or after surgery is a great way to help break the habit of walking on your tippy toes. The splints are a perfect, cost-effective way to ensure toe walking doesn’t continue after the correction surgery.
Is Toe Walking a Sign of Autism?
Toe walking has also been linked to autism spectrum disorders. Several reasons a child with autism will begin to walk on their tiptoes. Sensory difficulties could cause toe walking due to the child experiencing discomfort or anxiety while feeling certain areas of their feet touching the ground. Vestibular challenges, such as the child's balance, movement, and coordination, may also cause difficulty walking, resulting in toe walking with their weight forward over the toes.
Other Neurological Disorders That Can Cause Tip Toe Walking
Cerebral Palsy
Toe walking and cerebral palsy often go hand in hand. Disorder of movement and abnormal gait patterns are associated with cerebral palsy, which leads to a child developing the habit of walking on their tippy toes. Cerebral palsy can also sometimes affect the legs (spastic diplegia), which can cause tightened muscles in the calves, making toe walking even more challenging to control and reverse. The early you get toe walking under control, the better, which is why this toe walking brace is available in sizes for toddlers and young children. Break the habit of toe walking early with this correction splint.
Asperger Syndrome
Toe walking has also been linked to autism spectrum disorders like Asperger syndrome. Children with Asperger’s begin walking on their tip toes for many reasons. Sensory difficulties could cause toe walking due to the child experiencing discomfort or anxiety while feeling certain areas of their feet touching the ground. Vestibular challenges, such as the child's balance, movement, and coordination, may also cause difficulty walking, resulting in toe walking with their weight forward over the toes.
ADHD
It is common for children with ADHD to develop idiopathic toe walking. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can cause issues with sensory processing and motor skills, which translate directly into toe walking. Kids with ADHD have more difficulty controlling their movement, especially in walking and learning to walk, resulting in gait issues like toe walking.
Frequently Asked Questions About This Pediatric Orthotic for Toe Walking
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What conditions / injuries does this support treat? Helps treat and correct toe walking in children caused by ADHD, autism, cerebral palsy, and other youth neurological disorders.
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Who can wear it? AFO splint Designed to fit small children to young teen boys and girls, the AFO splint will fit appropriately within the measurements in the sizing chart pictured above.
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How do I know what size to get? First, measure using a flexible measuring tape and refer to the sizing chart pictured above to find the perfect size for you.
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What is it made of? The splint comprises of polyurethane foam, non-slip sharkskin neoprene, plastic stay, and medical-grade fasteners. All components are latex free.
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When should I wear it? This tip-toe walking splint can be worn by your child day or night.
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How do I put it on? Undo fasteners and lay brace flat. Position stays around the base of three middle toes. Wrap the toe strap across the top of the toes and fasten.
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How does it work? Like a rock in your shoe, the stay hurts to walk on, so your child will stop toe walking to avoid stepping on "the rock."
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Is this splint only for kids? No, a range of sizes is available for toddlers, little or big kids, teens, and adults.
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Washing instructions: Hand wash in warm water with mild detergent. Air dry completely before reapplying. Do not use high temperatures to wash or dry.
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Other features:
- Completely adjustable and reusable
- Works for a range of ages
- Discreet, comfortable, and lightweight
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Color: Black.
