title: Current conservative management and classification of club foot: A review.
abstract: Clubfoot, known as congenital talipes equinovarus, is one of the complex paediatric foot deformity with the incidence of 1 in every 1000 live births. It consists of four complex foot abnormalities such as forefoot adductus, midfoot cavus, and hindfoot varus and ankle equinus. There are a number of surgical techniques (soft tissue releases, arthrodesis) used to correct clubfoot. However currently the conservative management (manipulation, serial casting, and braces) of clubfoot is considered as the best choice and it is widely accepted among orthopaedists. Clubfoot treated with surgical techniques might suffer various complications such as soft tissues contractures, neurovascular complications, infections, and shortening of the limbs. Although conservative method is generally considered as an effective method, it is still challenging to cure clubfoot in advance stages. Also, the classification of the initial severity of clubfoot is essential to evaluate the outcome of the treatment. In this review, the aim is to review the different types of conservative method and the assessment of clubfoot severity.
authors.affiliation: Department of FEIT, University of Technology Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Ganesan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Balasankar
authors.affiliation: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Ameersing
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luximon
authors.affiliation: Department of FEIT, University of Technology Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Adel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Jumaily
mesh_terms: D003025:Clubfoot / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D000072700:Conservative Treatment / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Clubfoot conservative management; Copenhagen method; French functional or physiotherapist method; Ponseti method; clubfoot