[Idiopathic congenital club foot: results of functional treatment (269 feet)]

Abstract

The manipulative treatment consisted of manipulations, muscular stimulations and fixation of the foot on a sole with non elastic strapping. This "functional" method used since the neonatal period was studied in 183 infants (269 clubfeet) with an average follow-up of 6 years and 2 months. A surgical release completed the correction in 139 feet. The initial examination permitted to distinguish 3 different grades of clubfeet, according to the clinical stiffness. The physiotherapist who treated the patients were separated in "specialized" and "unspecialized". During the evolution, 5 different categories were defined according to the clinical and radiological aspects. The criteria adopted for evaluating the results were scored with a screen of 100 points. The results obtained from 157 feet with a minimal follow-up of 4 years, were excellent and good in 86.6 per cent cases, fair in 10.2 per cent and poor in 3.2 per cent. The global results of the "functional" method, taking the insufficient follow-up into account, are for the whole series: success in 38.7 per cent, intermediary results in 15.6 per cent and failure in 45.7 per cent. The main factors which have a pejorative influence on the results are the irreducibility (according to the initial classification), the "unspecialized" physiotherapists, the socio-familial problems.