- Postural clubfoot:
- not a true structural deformity;
- postural, or mild, club foot is uncommon & is corrected passively w/little difficulty;
- Moderate Club Foot;
- moderate club foot is fairly supple, a transverse crease is absent, and the heel is easily definable;
- most common group & responds most often to gentle manipulation or realignment, followed by application of a corrective plaster cast
- majority of these feet do not need operative treatment;
- Severe Club Foot:
- severe club foot is less common than moderate club foot, and it almost always requires surgical correction;
- foot is quite short, exhibits a transverse crease in the sole, and has very tight skin, and it responds poorly to realignment stretching
before application of a cast;
- it often is difficult to palpate calcaneus because of the underlying fatty tissue;
- Hind Foot:
- most severe deformities in club foot occur in hind part of foot;
- talus and calcaneus are generally deformed and in severe equinus, calcaneus is in varus angulation and medially rotated, & navicular is
severely displaced medially;
- these components of the deformity are inextricably interrelated;
- ligaments of posterior aspect of ankle & of medial & plantar aspects of foot are shortened and thickened;
- muscles & tendons of the gastrocnemius, tibialis posterior, and toe flexors are shortened