My 5 year old needs splints but unsure what they are and if they do any good

myjakeys · October 2010

I recently went to an appointment with my son jake to see his specialist. He has spastic diplegia but thankfully can walk. He falls a lot because of his tightness. He is 6 next month and currently wears pierdios which he has been wearing for about 3 and a half years. When we seen jakes specialist she examined him and said he was very stiff and that splints may help this as they would continually stretch his muscles . I was a bit confused cause she explained to me that when a child only had one splint then they would have to have the shoe on that foot about 2 or 3 sizes bigger than the shoe on the leg without the splint. I then thought well maybe he is getting splints for both legs but then she said he will be getting the splint on his left leg (which is the worst ). Can anyone tell me how long children normally have theses for and also if they do any good and also what they are. I was in the doctors office a long time and was nt expecting her to say my jake needed splints so i never had any questions prepared , thanks , lesley xx

Ellie&#39smum · October 2010

Hi,

My daughter Ellie has a mild CP that affects her left side, she's 2 1/2 yrs and she had the boots from 6 months (she has really bending ankles) and has recently moved from the boot to the splints.

She wears the splits on both legs and they do make them a few sizes too big, she's a 7 and her new ones are a 10, however they can work wonders, she is much better at her walking now and can almost run (its really a fast walk but i'm hopefull!!) she can climb a few steps and has started to get more independant.

We have been told ellie will wear these till she's around 6 or 7 at the earliest but this is because she has really bendy ankles, if she walks barefoot she bends her feet right over and walks on her ankle bones on the inside of her leg.

Although it can seem scary and worrying to have such odd looking thing on there legs they usually don't care. They come in different colours as well, last time Ellie had pink, this time she's got white with little bunnys on

hope that has helped in some way

JDWilson · October 2010

Hi Jakey I wouldm't focus on How long he'l have to wear them at the moment (could be years) The main thing is You give them a try If they help or improve things they'l stay and he'l be measured for new ones when he grows out of them. My daughter has SD CP which both legs are affected so she has 2 braces. If you Broke your leg would they plaster both? He is younger than my child and she has worn them since age 2 she is 11 now and will be having operations soon She will need to wear her braces after that as well.Theyve told us until her bones have stopped growing. Each child is different so yours may not wear them that long. We have also Tried Botox and she is on Baclofen (muscle relaxant) she has pain every day.Try to Focus short term rather than years ahead No-one knows what will happen. Medical intervention is changing all the time.If you have physio to do try to do it Swimming is Great for my daughter she had very little muscle tone when she was younger But she is doing a lot better now Good leg muscles.Good Luck xxx

Alex_Alumni · May 2023

Hi @hotstuff this discussion was posted about 13 years ago now, so you may not get a reply! Thank you for sharing your thoughts though

I also used splints growing up, and never liked them much either.

My 5 year old needs splints but unsure what they are and if they do any good

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