STRETCHING EXERCISE—TO HELP YOUR CHILD PUT HER
FOOT DOWN FLAT (TO CORRECT A ‘TIPTOE’ CONTRACTURE)
calf
muscles
tight
heel
cord
PROBLEM
The muscles at the back of the lower leg (calf
muscles) that hold the foot ‘tiptoe’, are too
short and tight.
For this reason the child cannot put her foot
flat on the ground.
EXERCISES 383
EXERCISE
SHEET
1
With one hand hold
up the knee so
that it does not
bend backward.
Use your arm to hold
the foot in position
like this. Gently
lift but do not force
the foot upward.
Push up on
the foot.
Hold the foot like this.
Turn heel inward a little.
Then pull the heel down hard.
While you push up on the
foot, keep pressing hard
on the arch of the foot like
this. (This helps prevent a
dislocation of the foot—a
common complication of
stretching exercises.)
Pull down on the heel and push up on the foot, firmly and steadily while counting
slowly to 25. Relax, then do it again. Repeat this exercise 10 to 20 times—in the
morning, at noon, and in the evening.
WARNING: Pushing here
can injure the knee
or cause it to bend
backward—especially
if the upper leg is
weak.
WRONG
Pushing like this can hurt
or dislocate the foot instead
of stretching the cord—
especially if the foot is
paralyzed or very weak.
WRONG
disabled village children