In terms of professional treatment, the truth is that most cases of children walking with pigeon toes—known more formally as intoeing—do not receive any treatment at all, because most cases do not require it. This relatively common gait abnormality almost always corrects itself in time as your child grows, and traditional methods that were thought to speed the process—bracing, for example—have not been proven effective.
The best “treatment” is to take your child in for an initial evaluation once you notice pigeon-toed walking (this is to rule out rare underlying conditions that do require treatment), but otherwise simply to watch your child closely and let nature run its course. If your child is learning to walk, run, and play along normal development timetables and shows no sign of unsteadiness or discomfort, there’s nothing to worry about.
If, however, you observe the pigeon toes getting more severe as time goes on, any pain or discomfort, difficulty walking, delayed development, or a lack of improvement by the time reaches 6 years of age or so, take them in to see Dr. Keith McSpadden at North Austin Foot & Ankle Institute. You can reach us by dialing 512-593-2949.
