Anybody Else got 'Charlie Chaplin' feet?

[JAK]

MD has got funny feet, or rather funny ankles! They have been problematic since she was a small child, click audibly when she walks & she finds it physically impossible to ride with her toes pointing forwards! (She can't even stand with her toes pointing forwards, as it hurts too much!)

This means her knees have a tendency to move away from the saddle & she finds it very hard to hold a long, relaxed lower leg position when riding with stirrups & is beginning to rely on her very strong back muscles more & more, rather than keeping sufficient weight in her heels!

Does this make sense to anyone suffering the same kind of 'conformation' problem & have you found anything that helped?
(If it doesn't make sense, try sitting on a chair with your feet first pointing forwards, then out to the side & imagine doing rising trot, you will see what I mean! lol)

 

[fairhill]

I've got knock knees instead, and RI has given up telling me to turn my toes in!
Yoga would help with her general flexibility in her ankles, and it might be worth getting a physio referral to see if they can get things moving for her?

 

[JAK]

I've never had much to do with yoga, is it safe for a 14 year old?
Referral to a physio will be on the cards too, as it had settled down for a while I'd thought but I could hear her the other day walking up the stairs, the 'clicking' was so loud!

 

[fairhill]

It should be very safe. My mum's class of 5 year olds were doing it last week in primary school!
I do this form as it's quite static but most sports centres should offer children's classes of some form.
http://www.iyengaryoga.org.uk/index.asp

My dad used to tell me it sounded like a round of machine guns going off when I walked down the stairs in the morning! I was incapable of sneaking up on folk!

 

[JAK]

Thank you, I will ask at the Sports Centre then.
We also have a very good sports injuries physio centre (though they treat things other than sports injuries too!) locally, so maybe I'll just bypass the slow NHS & take her down there, as they were very good with one of my other kids!

 

[bex1984]

I did yoga as a 14 year old, it's very good for you.

 

[JAK]

Oh, MD would probably enjoy it then!
She used to do a lot of gymnastics & is a sports fanatic, so is already very supple & toned for her age, just needs to be shown some specific exercises for her I guess!
Worth a try as I can only presume her ankles will get worse as she gets older, rather than better!

 

[bex1984]

...but on the plus side, she'll have strong back muscles as you say...I wish I had some of those!

 

[rara007]

I found it very painful to get my toes in, but managed to correct it over time,

Haz

 

[JAK]

There is some hope then?
I asked her the other day to just stand 'normally' & she just stood there wailing 'I can't, I can't, it hurts....!'

She's double-jointed pretty much everywhere too & every so often will be jumping or whatever & then wants her wrist 'putting back' or something!
(This is just too high a gross factor for me & I make her father do it! lol)

 

[Oldred]

Has she tried rotating from the hip ball and socket joint first? Trying to start low down is very difficult and what a lot of trainers tell riders to do. It helps to show someone a picture of the the hip joint (not the top of the pelvis!) so they can visualise the ball and socket. Then rotate, either on horse or standing up, the thigh bone high up so the inner thigh turns inward (kind of knock kneed). Also think of springing the heel outwards at the same time so the whole leg rotates inwards (anti-clockwise actually).

In the saddle she will feel as if she is taking more weight down her inner thighs - which is nice for the horse - and the whole leg not just the toe is turning in which is what you want. It is hard to do this without supporting your upper body by using your core muscles - Pilates or Mary Wanless can help with this!

Hope this helps.