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Parent24 : Toddler 1-2 : care nutrition : Tibial torsion

Tibial torsion

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The most common cause of intoeing is tibial torsion, which usually becomes apparent when infants begin to walk.

Tibial torsion is a twist to the main shin bone. When you look at the leg from the front and the knee is straight, the foot joint is obviously turned inward. This is usually noticed around the time that the baby starts to walk. Most babies have a slight twist to this bone that disappears by the age of one year. The cause is thought to be due to the way the baby was positioned inside the womb, but can also run in families. This used to be treated with boots connected to a bar, but research showed that children that went untreated showed the same recovery as children that were treated. Most children will grow out of this by the age of 8 years. Even if the problem persists, research has shown that it doesn’t cause arthritis or problems with jumping and running.

Tibial torsion:

Affects boys and girls to an equal degree
Two-thirds of the time both legs are affected, but in most cases legs are not affected equally, with one leg rotated more than the other.
Occurs more frequently in the left leg than the right leg when in both legs

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