Club foot
Introduction
Parents always want for the best for their children. They want to see them grow normally and be with the society with such confidence and dignity. But what would they feel and how do they handle the circumstance when they discover that their child has a birth defect called Talipse equinovarus? Talipes equinovarus or better know as clubfoot is a birth defect or a congenital foot condition. The foot or both feet are curled shape into an unusual position at birth. If there is lacking of treatment, the person who has this kind of defect frequently happen to walk on the sides of his feet or on his ankles. Clubfoot is the most usual and familiar birth defect which occurs in about one to two per 1000 live births. However, in most cases, it is an exceptional deformity. There is about 50 percent of clubfoot’s cases are bilateral (see “Club foot”. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. September 7, 2006). But this birth defect is more common in boys than to girls. The abnormality can be mild or serious and it might happen to one foot or, the worst, the two feet. Clubfoot affects every joint, tendon and then ligament in the foot and is frequently insinuated as Congenital Talipes EquinoVarus (see “Club foot: Congenital Talipes Equinovarus”. Dr. Foot, copyright 2006).
The hearts of this study are to: (1) discuss what clubfoot is; (2) examine the description and causes of clubfoot; (3) figure out the statistics and incident rate; (4) identify with the type of image procedures that can be used to diagnose clubfoot; (5) describe different methods for treatment of club foot and; (6) the predicted outcome for someone diagnosed with club foot.
Description
We have learned from the previous discussion that clubfoot is a birth defect but then it is a defect of unidentified cause. A clubfoot is described by a defected bone structure in the foot or feet. The talipes calcaneus, talipes valgus, talipes equinus and
talipes varus are the four distinctions of clubfoot. The deformity cause by talipes calcaneus is that the foot points upward having the heel pointing downward. In talipes valgus, the foot turns out lie the letter L. While the talipes equinus case, the foot or feet point down just like a toe dancer. And last is the talipes varus which is the most familiar and usual form of clubfoot which the foot or feet usually turn inward and look like letter J (see Stonely, D.E. “Clubfoot”. Encyclopedia of Medicine).
Causes and Symptoms
The clubfoot’s cause is vague, but then again it is possibly the outcome of many related causes and not just only one reason. Environmental and genetic factors like drugs, alcoholism, infections, position of the baby in the uterus, oligohydramnios-which means a reduction of amniotic fluid that surround the fetus in the uterus- in the course of pregnancy might be the reasons for having a clubfoot condition. A true clubfoot is normally visible at birth. The undiagnosed clubfoot of an adult causes only a portion of the foot-normally the heel, the toes or the edge, to pat the ground (see Stonely, D.E. “Clubfoot”. Encyclopedia of Medicine).
Statistics and Incident Rate
The incidence annual of Clubfoot is approximately 1 per 1000 births and the incidence rate is about 0.10 percent or 1 in 1,000 or 272,000 people of United States of America. The table below tries to infer the incidence rate for clubfoot to the populaces of many countries or regions. These are just estimations and might be more relevant to the real incidence rate of clubfoot (see “Statistics by Country for Clubfoot”. CureReasearch. May 6, 2006).
Country/Region
Extrapolated Incidence
Population Estimated Used
Clubfoot in North America (Extrapolated Statistics)
USA
293,655
293,655,4052
Canada
32,507
32,507,8743
Clubfoot in Europe (Extrapolated Statistics)
Austria
8,174
8,174,7623
Belgium
10,348
10,348,2763
Britain (United Kingdom)
60,270
60,270,708 for UK3
Czech Republic
1,246
1,0246,1783
Denmark
5,413
5,413,3923
Finland
5,214
5,214,5123
France
60,424
60,424,2133
Greece
10,647
10,647,5293
Germany
82,424
82,424,6093
Iceland
293
293,9663
Hungary
10,032
10,032,3753
Liechtenstein
33
33,4363
Ireland
3,969
3,969,5583
Italy
58,057
58,057,4773
Luxembourg
462
462,6903
Monaco
32
32,2703
Netherlands (Holland)
16,318
16,318,1993
Poland
38,626
38,626,3493
Portugal
10,524
10,524,1453
Spain
40,280
40,280,7803
Sweden
8,986
8,986,4003
Switzerland
7,450
7,450,8673
United Kingdom
60,270
60,270,7083
Wales
2,918
2,918,0003
Clubfoot in the Balkans (Extrapolated Statistics)
Albania
3,544
3,544,8083
Bosnia and Herzegovina
407
407,6083
Croatia
4,496
4,496,8693
Macedonia
2,040
2,040,0853
Serbia and Montenegro
10,825
10,825,9003
Clubfoot in Asia (Extrapolated Statistics)
Bangladesh
141,340
141,340,4763
Bhutan
2,185
2,185,5693
China
1,298,847
1,298,847,6243
East Timor
1,019
1,019,2523
Hong Kong s.a.r.
6,855
6,855,1253
India
1,065,070
1,065,070,6073
Indonesia
238,452
238,452,9523
Japan
127,333
127,333,0023
Laos
6,068
6,068,1173
Macau s.a.r.
445
445,2863
Malaysia
23,522
23,522,4823
Mongolia
2,751
2,751,3143
Philippines
86,241
86,241,6973
Papua New Guinea
5,420
5,420,2803
Vietnam
82,662
82,662,8003
Singapore
4,353
4,353,8933
Pakistan
159,196
159,196,3363
North Korea
22,697
22,697,5533
South Korea
48,233
48,233,7603
Sri Lanka
19,905
19,905,1653
Taiwan
22,749
22,749,8383
Thailand
64,865
64,865,5233
Clubfoot in Eastern Europe (Extrapolated Statistics)
Azerbaijan
7,868
7,868,3853
Belarus
10,310
10,310,5203
Bulgaria
7,517
7,517,9733
Estonia
1,341
1,341,6643
Georgia
4,693
4,693,8923
Kazakhstan
15,143
15,143,7043
Latvia
2,306
2,306,3063
Lithuania
3,607
3,607,8993
Romania
22,355
22,355,5513
Russia
143,974
143,974,0593
Slovakia
5,423
5,423,5673
Slovenia
2,011
2,011,473 3
Tajikistan
7,011
7,011,556 3
Ukraine
47,732
47,732,0793
Uzbekistan
26,410
26,410,4163
Clubfoot in Australasia and Southern Pacific (Extrapolated Statistics)
Australia
19,913
19,913,1443
New Zealand
3,993
3,993,8173
Clubfoot in the Middle East (Extrapolated Statistics)
Afghanistan
28,513
28,513,6773
Egypt
76,117
76,117,4213
Gaza strip
1,324
1,324,9913
Iran
67,503
67,503,2053
Iraq
25,374
25,374,6913
Israel
6,199
6,199,0083
Jordan
5,611
5,611,2023
Kuwait
2,257
2,257,5493
Lebanon
3,777
3,777,2183
Libya
5,631
5,631,5853
Saudi Arabia
25,795
25,795,9383
Syria
18,016
18,016,8743
Turkey
68,893
68,893,9183
United Arab Emirates
2,523
2,523,9153
West Bank
2,311
2,311,2043
Yemen
20,024
20,024,8673
Clubfoot in South America (Extrapolated Statistics)
Belize
272
272,9453
Brazil
184,101
184,101,1093
Chile
15,823
15,823,9573
Colombia
42,310
42,310,7753
Guatemala
14,280
14,280,5963
Mexico
104,959
104,959,5943
Nicaragua
5,359
5,359,7593
Paraguay
6,191
6,191,3683
Peru
27,544
27,544,3053
Puerto Rico
3,897
3,897,9603
Venezuela
25,017
25,017,3873
Clubfoot in Africa (Extrapolated Statistics)
Angola
10,978
10,978,5523
Botswana
1,639
1,639,2313
Central African Republic
3,742
3,742,4823
Chad
9,538
9,538,5443
Congo Brazzaville
2,998
2,998,0403
Congo kinshasa
58,317
58,317,0303
Ethiopia
71,336
71,336,5713
Ghana
20,757
20,757,0323
Kenya
32,982
32,982,1093
Liberia
3,390
3,390,6353
Niger
11,360
11,360,5383
Nigeria
17,750
12,5750,3563
Rwanda
8,238
8,238,6733
Senegal
10,852
10,852,1473
Sierra leone
5,883
5,883,8893
Somalia
8,304
8,304,6013
Sudan
39,148
39,148,1623
South Africa
44,448
44,448,4703
Swaziland
1,169
1,169,2413
Tanzania
36,070
36,070,7993
Uganda
26,390
26,390,2583
Zambia
11,025
11,025,6903
Zimbabwe
3,671
1,2671,8603
Type of image procedures that can be used to diagnose clubfoot
*MRI- means Magnetic resonance imaging which was previously insinuated to as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or magnetic resonance tomography (MRT). It is a method used to see the inner of living organisms which also to spot and distinguish the composition of geological structures (see “MRI”. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. September 18, 2006).
*Cat scan- is a method of uniting images from compound x-rays under the computer’s control to supply three-dimensional or cross-sectional images of the internal organs that can be able to distinguish deformities (see “Glossary of Prostate Cancer Related Terms”).
*Nuclear Medicine- it is a medical imaging that utilizes open radioactive substances in therapy and diagnosis. The said substances comprise of pharmaceuticals or radionuclides which have been identified with radionuclides (see “Nuclear Medicine”. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. September 8, 2006).
Different methods for treatment of club foot
A definite treatment for a clubfoot patient will be identified by the physician of the child based on the following: (1) the age of the child, the general health whether the child is healthy or not, and the medical history; (2) the condition’s extent and; (3) the tolerance of the child for the particular procedures, therapies or medications.
*Non-surgical treatment- there are many ways or methods of non surgical treatment for babies that suffer from clubfoot. These methods may contain taping, splinting, utilization of a machine which gives incessant passive motion, physical therapy, and serial manipulation and casting. The first type of treatment for a clubfoot patient must be the non-surgical treatment. And Ponseti treatment is the most common method in curing a clubfoot (see “Clubfoot”. Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia, August 28, 2006).
*Surgery- this method may only be applied if nonsurgical treatment is unable to correct the abnormality or the abnormality happens again and does not give positive result to nonsurgical treatment. The definite surgical process and degree of surgery will rely on the degree and type of the abnormality (see “Clubfoot”. Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia, August 28, 2006).
The predicted outcome for someone diagnosed with club foot
The patient who is diagnosed with club feet feels a lot better compared to a patient that never been diagnosed but then from time to time, the patient still feel pain in its ankles. But patients who undergone treatment try to live a normal lives as much as they can be.
________________________________________________________________________References:
“Club foot”. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. September 7, 2006.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_foot
“Club foot: Congenital Talipes Equinovarus”. Dr. Foot, copyright 2006.
http://www.drfoot.co.uk/club%20foot.htm
3. Stonely, D.E. “Clubfoot”. Encyclopedia of Medicine.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2601/is_0003/ai_2601000324
4. “Statistics by Country for Clubfoot”. CureReasearch. May 6, 2006.
http://www.cureresearch.com/c/clubfoot/stats-country.htm
5. “MRI”. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. September 18, 2006.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging
6. “Glossary of Prostate Cancer Related Terms”. http://www.prostate-
cancer.org/resource/gloss_c.html
7. “Nuclear Medicine”. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. September 8, 2006.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_medicine
8. “Clubfoot”. Rector & Visitors of the University of Virginia, August 28, 2006
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/uvahealth/peds_orthopaedics/clubfoot.cfm
