Walking on Tip-Toes
What is Idiopathic Toe Walking (ITW)?
Idiopathic Toe Walking is when a child continues to walk on their tip-toes. 25% of children may walk this way.
Causes of Idiopathic Toe Walking
There are various causes including:
- Habit – many children simply get into the habit of walking this way
- Shortened Achilles’ Tendon – this is the tendon at the back of the heel
- Weak core muscles – this can cause changes in posture which makes it easy to walk on the toes
- Neurological – conditions such as Cerebral Palsy may cause a child to toe walk.
Treatment
Prompting
If walking on tip-toes has become a habit, encourage and remind your child to walk heal-to-toe.
Exercises
Increasing flexibility by stretching the calf muscles can help. Click here for a calf-stretch exercise you can do at home.
If symptoms do not improve, a specialist referral can be made to podiatry.
Also in this section
If your child has a problem which does not improve as you would expect with self-care, you should contact a healthcare professional for advice. This may be your GP, Pharmacist, NHS Podiatry Service or a Private Podiatrist.
Please make sure your podiatrist is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council and look out for the letters HCPC after their name.
