For example, throughout childhood, normal bone and muscle growth changes in the legs may contribute to heel pain and flat feet. And since children and adolescents can be tough on their feet, ingrown toenails, and even warts are common problems.
Ingrown toenails are a problem that can affect anyone regardless of age, but they do occur frequently in children, especially teens. This may be due in part to shoe wear since a child is more likely to experience tight-fitting shoes as growth spurts occur.
What is often seen in podiatry is an adolescent patient with an ingrown toenail that may have been present for a few days or even weeks—the result is an infection of the skin surrounding the ingrown nail. The infected skin will often appear very red and swollen and may be warm to the touch.
The classic sign of a wart is the appearance of tiny “black dots” within the lesion. Warts can occur on any area of skin, including around toenails, but they tend to occur on the sole of the foot because this area is the most susceptible to microtrauma which creates an entry point for the wart virus.
Warts seem to be more prevalent in children and young adults. One theory as to why this is true is that adults have had more time to develop immunity to the wart virus.
Treatment becomes necessary if flat feet are associated with foot or leg pain, lead to difficulty walking, or if one foot is flat relative to the other. Certain congenital foot defects that cause severe flattening will also require treatment.
A common treatment for flat feet is orthotics or arch supports which control pronation. Pronation is the tendency for the arch to collapse and the foot to splay outward.
Heel pain in the back of the heel is common in adolescents and may be caused by a condition called Sever’s disease. Sever’s disease is pain along with a growth plate at the back of the heel and usually, occurs in active children aged 8 to 14 years. The pain is caused by strain from the Achilles tendon which attaches to the back of the heel.
One reason children may be susceptible to heel pain is that calf muscles and the Achilles tendon are tight during growth spurts, which puts stress on the heel bone.
