Development of Foot Length in Children with Congenital Clubfoot up to 7 Years of Age: A Prospective Follow-Up Study

Abstract

Background: Clubfeet are typically shorter than normal feet. This study aimed to describe the development of foot length in a consecutive series of children with congenital clubfoot and to relate foot length to development of relapse and motion quality.Methods: Foot length was measured every 6 months in 72 consecutive children with congenital clubfoot (29 bilateral) aged from 2 to 7 years. The initial treatment was nonsurgical followed by standardized orthotic treatment. Foot length growth rate was calculated every half year. In children with unilateral clubfeet, the difference in foot length between the clubfoot and the contralateral foot was calculated. Motion quality was evaluated by the Clubfoot Assessment Protocol (CAP). Student’s t test, the Mann–Whitney U test and Spearman’s correlation were used for group comparisons. Bonferroni correction was used when multiple comparisons were performed.Results: Clubfeet were smaller (P < 0.001) than reference feet at all ages but had a similar growth rate up to age 7. Unilateral clubfeet with greater difference in size compared with the contralateral foot at the first measurement, relapsed more frequently (P = 0.016) and correlated with poorer motion quality (r = 0.4; P = 0.011).Conclusions: Clubfeet were smaller than reference feet at all ages but had a similar growth rate. Children with unilateral clubfeet and greater foot length difference at 2 years of age had a higher tendency to relapse and poorer motion quality at 7 years of age.