serial casting

[Guest guest]

Just to help you out, we've had some past posts on this. You can find them in a

message archives search for 'serial casting'.

Gretchen

[Guest guest]

I had it done as a child and I have known a few other children to have had

it done.

In a message dated 4/15/2010 4:38:47 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,

mattheiss137@... writes:

Anyone ever hear of this or have it done to your feet? It was just

suggested to me for my son to stretch out the muscles in his feet. I have never

heard of this or anyone mentioning having it done.

Thanks

Lori

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Guest guest]

hi. i am new to this group, but years ago, i was sent to a rehab clinic to

supposedly help me with my condition CMT 2 but the therapist there gave a super

long wide rubber band and told me to stretch my feet daily,sadly to say i never

done it,b/c she let me know then that she didn't know anything about my disease

and that was all she had to offer me.

Now,i have to remind you that was about 10 or so years ago.so maybe there was

something to it? i don't know,but i can't see now how it could hurt?? anyway

best of luck to you and your son..

God Bless....

tracey

P.S. with this disease being considered so " common " why is it that not that many

people know about it or how to deal with it? if anyone has any answers to that

it would be greatly appreciated....

From: Lori Mattheiss <mattheiss137@...>

Subject: serial casting

Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010, 5:06 PM

 

Anyone ever hear of this or have it done to your feet? It was just suggested to

me for my son to stretch out the muscles in his feet. I have never heard of this

or anyone mentioning having it done.

Thanks

Lori

[Guest guest]

Yes. I had it done for a semester in college. It didn't work for me but I was 18

at the time. The guy said it would have made a difference if I had been younger

and still growing. They put a series of casts on your feet as they slowly work

them to a 90 degree correct angle. It did relieve my drop foot for a little

while.

T.

>

> Anyone ever hear of this or have it done to your feet? It was just suggested

to me for my son to stretch out the muscles in his feet. I have never heard of

this or anyone mentioning having it done.

>

> Thanks

>

> Lori

[Guest guest]

Lori,

When I was a toddler, I learned to walk in casts. I clearly remember the

doctor's office and the furniture in the waiting room, even though I was only 1

1/2 years old. I did NOT like that doctor! They put me in them because I had

flat feet. Of course, at the time they did not know that I had CMT and that I

would wind up with classic CMT high arches and hammer toes! I HAVE always

wondered if my feet wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't had the casts as a kid. My

Dad and sister's feet aren't as deformed as mine.

I have also seen some kind of shoes that were both attached to a bar that a

child had to wear in bed at night to keep the feet in a specific position and

keep them straight.

>

> Anyone ever hear of this or have it done to your feet? It was just suggested

to me for my son to stretch out the muscles in his feet. I have never heard of

this or anyone mentioning having it done.

>

>

>

> Thanks

>

> Lori

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I have not logged onto in years and I cannot seem to do it now

to check the archives. Frustrating!

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of

gfijig

Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 7:38 PM

Subject: Re: serial casting

Just to help you out, we've had some past posts on this. You can find them

in a message archives search for 'serial casting'.

Gretchen

[Guest guest]

Lori, they talked about this for our Zack, but it is not a permanent kind of

cast that he got. It is a plastic one that you strap on and he is only supposed

to wear it at night. He is a typical 16 year old and getting him to wear it is a

whole other battle! But it might be an alternative for your son.

Mark

>

[Guest guest]

THAT is interesting. I have to ask about this..

Thanks

lori

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of

meandcmt

Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2010 8:28 AM

Subject: Re: serial casting

Lori, they talked about this for our Zack, but it is not a permanent kind of

cast that he got. It is a plastic one that you strap on and he is only

supposed to wear it at night. He is a typical 16 year old and getting him to

wear it is a whole other battle! But it might be an alternative for your

son.

Mark

>

[Guest guest]

Oh, and I forgot a big part. All of the people at that part of the visit at

Wayne State when they were discussing the bracing said to us to start slow. They

said even if he wears it for 2 hours a night, it is more than he had before. Of

course,they said that away from Zack. Besides the amazing staff at the Wayne

State clinic, we were there during the time Dr. Josh Burns was doing his

Fulbright studies with Dr. Shy. What an incredible man and experience that was

for Zack.

I know that from when I had to start when I had to start wearing the C-Pap

machine you have to build up your time. It was horrible to get used to, but now

I sleep all night with it. You have to give it time and you will develop a

tolerance at first, and then it just seems natural to have it. I keep telling

Zack this, but even I don't keep up the " reminders " too much. Fine line between

" reminding " and nagging. With a 16 year old, you have to pick the battles, you

know what I mean?

I have a cousin that has 2 sons, both have CMT. One had surgeries on both legs

and NEVER wore his night braces. The other religiously wore his night braces and

is out of college and walks so well that you would never know he had CMT. They

work, but it is hard to convince a teen of this.

Mark

>

> THAT is interesting. I have to ask about this..

>

>

>

> Thanks

>

> lori

>

>

>

> From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of

> meandcmt

> Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2010 8:28 AM

>

> Subject: Re: serial casting

>

>

>

>

>

> Lori, they talked about this for our Zack, but it is not a permanent kind of

> cast that he got. It is a plastic one that you strap on and he is only

> supposed to wear it at night. He is a typical 16 year old and getting him to

> wear it is a whole other battle! But it might be an alternative for your

> son.

>

> Mark

>

> >

[Guest guest]

Thanks I agree.

He is doing well with his night splints but they are not custom and little big

on him so they probably do not stretch as much as

possible so I might just look into that. He is so bad with his stretching

exercising and his feet are getting worse.

Lori

[Guest guest]

Lori, ,

Can I ask what may seem a stupid question? I have never heard of this? Is it

different from the stretching one would get from the use of AFOs?

Ziegler

[Guest guest]

,

Not a stupid question at all. The cast is heavier then the AFOs forcing

more of a stretch but for all I know maybe an AFO would work just as well? What

I remember about the serial casting (on me) it was done by adding a little less

of a heel on the cast over a period of weeks. I assume the process has changed a

bit since the early 70's.

[Guest guest]

It may not have anything to do with the lack of stretching. He might be

having a growth spurt. CMT acts up during growth spurts.

In a message dated 4/20/2010 10:28:57 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,

mattheiss137@... writes:

He is so bad with his stretching exercising and his feet are getting

worse.

Lori

[Guest guest]

oh that is an interesting thought!

thx

lori

Re:  serial casting

 

It may not have anything to do with the lack of stretching. He might be

having a growth spurt. CMT acts up during growth spurts.

In a message dated 4/20/2010 10:28:57 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,

mattheiss137@... writes:

He is so bad with his stretching exercising and his feet are getting

worse.

Lori

[Guest guest]

_http://www.vjortho.com/cgi/content/abstract/1011_

(http://www.vjortho.com/cgi/content/abstract/1011)

Mentions serial casting

_HOME_ (http://www.vjortho.com/) _HELP_

(http://www.vjortho.com/misc/help/) _FEEDBACK_

(http://www.vjortho.com/cgi/feedback) _PURCHASE OPTIONS_

(http://www.vjortho.com/subscriptions/) _ARCHIVE_

(http://www.vjortho.com/contents-by-date.0.shtml) _SEARCH_

(http://www.vjortho.com/search.dtl)

____________________________________

Related Collections:

_Foot/Ankle_ (http://www.vjortho.com/cgi/collection/foot_ankle)

_Streaming Video_ (http://www.vjortho.com/cgi/collection/streaming)

_Streaming Video - Foot/Ankle_

(http://www.vjortho.com/cgi/collection/streamvidfoot)

_Click here_ (http://www.vjortho.com/cgi/content/full/1011) to access

this Full-length streaming video Surgical Management for Club Foot: The

Posteromedial and Lateral Approach

Saul Bernstein, M.D.

Material Covered:

The pathogenesis of one of the classic orthopaedic malformations, the club

foot, remains today unclear and the center of much controversy. Likewise,

the treatment of this not uncommon condition (1 in 1,000 births in the

U.S.) also remains subject to varying opinion and considerable controversy.

Most pediatric orthopaedists do agree that the congenital club foot should be

conservatively, nonoperatively treated. For many, this applies to even the

severest presentations of this condition. Unfortunately, residual

malformation remains evident in the majority of children treated conservatively

in

the first years of life. Failure rates reported in the literature over the

past several decades vary considerably from 50% to as high as 90%.

The best time to perform a reconstructive operative procedure for club

foot also remains controversial; however, most pediatric orthopaedists agree

that surgical intervention should be delayed until the infant is 4 to 6

months of age. Debate continues as to what is the best surgical approach for

such reconstruction. Today, there are approximately three primary surgical

approaches for club foot; posterior release, posteromedial release, and

circumferential. There are procedures which involve soft tissue release,

lengthening and/or tendon transfers (of soft-tissue structures to remove a

deforming force or to correct a muscular imbalance of the foot and/or ankle).

Pediatric orthopaedic specialist Dr. Saul Bernstein, of the Southern

California Orthopedic Institute, routinely employs a unique, posteromedial and

lateral approach for the reconstruction of club foot abnormalities.

According to Dr. Bernstein, this approach provides optimal access to the medial

back and lateral aspects of the foot to fixate the bones and secure the

ligaments in the exact position required to completely correct any degree of

deformity present. " The problem or limitation of other surgical approaches for

club foot is that all you're doing is lengthening tendons, but you're not

changing any of the excursion of the foot, so the tendons and the muscles

will still remain weak, and this accounts partly for the atrophy that these

children experience after serial casting. " In addition, this type of

approach minimizes the most serious of intraoperative concerns --

overcorrection

-- which accounts for a significant percentage with other reported

approaches.