Show Hlryt m ra—V" o reason foe ‘growing pain an imbalance foot or ankle could be caused Leg cramps By ROBERT JARRETT MD Standard Examiner correspondent House Calls Would all of you who have had “growing pains” please raise your hands Just as I thought most of you have But although many doctors use that as a diagno-- I sis most of us realize that there should be ! no such thing as a “growing pain” There really should be no reason for any normal bone joint muscle or cell to hurt as it grows and develops What most physicians mean when they say “Well it’s probably a growing pain” is in reality “I don’t know what it is but it probably won’t amount to much and is something you’ll occasionally have to live with” what we call pes xalgo planus (PVP for short) PVP is a problem that tends to be hereditary and runs in families It affects boys and girls with equal frequency It is congenital (an infant is born with it) but tends to become more obvious to the eye and painful with age The medical literature reports a wide range in what different doctors feel is the true inci- dence (percentage of population) of the problem I have seen different articles that estimate anywhere from 30 to 60 percent of the popu- lation have the problem This is probably because not all doctors look carefully for it in the exam In PVP what the doctor will see is a tibia (large bone in the lower leg) that doesn’t rest squarely in the middle of the foot Instead it inserts medially (toward the inside) over the arch When weight is applied it causes the arch to collapse and the child walks on the inside of his foot with his toes turned outward Now that shouldn’t in itself cause very : The problem with that second statement is that it’s not totally true either The most common problem labeled as growing pains are leg aches and most of them you don’t have to live with In response to a question from a reader in Harrisville let’s discuss children’s night leg cramps I would say approximately 5 percent of children at some time in their lives go to sleep after a hard day of running and playing only to awaken in the middle of the night with cramps in the calves of their legs The muscles are in spasm and are extremely painful Now if this happens only once or twice then it is most likely the discomfort that we all have after overusing a muscle If the cramps occur on a regular basis however it is a totally different story They most likely are being caused by some form of “imbalance” or malposition of the bones and muscles in the foot or ankle As you can well imagine there are several different types of misalignments that occur but by far the majority of them are from 1 10-1- Standard-Examin- 7C Thursday May 24 1984 er in by FAAP Ogden much pain However the internal tibial muscle (one of the inside calf muscles) has been assigned the job of keeping the arch up in its normal position All day this muscle overworks getting sore and at night it can go into spasm What relieves the pain? Aspirin massage hot baths and hot heating pads What makes it worse? Improperly fitting shoes without arch support and heavy use of the legs and feet How is it diagnosed? It usually is readily obvious to a physician who knows about the MEMORIAL DAY problem and looks for it Frequently I will tape the foot in a special way which gives more support to the arch during a week’s trial period Most often the child instantly notices the difference Is this problem serious? Although I have never heard of anyone dying of this problem I 'have heard of people who planned their entire life around their leg aches It probably is one of the most common ’causes of adult foot pain bunions neuroma (a nerve problem) hammer toes and other foot problems Can anything permanent be done? Definitely yes! Surgery may be totally corrective in an adult but is much less desirable in a child A firm arch support shoe insert called an orthotic may totally correct the problem and may be all that is needed It should be spe- cifically molded to the child’s own individu- al foot I Does every flat foot need an orthotic? Probably not Not every flat foot is painful L Howeyer some people — especially children — are so used to the way their feet feel that they don’t realize their legs are not sup- posed to hurt They think it’s normal so they don’t even complain That’s when the taping test can be used to see if it helps A set of orthotics usually costs around $150 and lasts a long time if the foot remains the same size They should be changed every other shoe size (approximately once a year) in a child Cowboy boots which have the best arch support of any shoe frequently subconsciously become the child’s favorite shoes because their feet feel better in them WHAT’S GOING AROUND? Chicken pox vomiting diarrhea conjuntivitis (pink !0 Selected PLAYWEAR & SWIMSUITS OFF D D D D D D D 0 a a - PRICES GOOD THRU ‘ MAY 28 1984 1 f: I I 2 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU! NEWGATE COUNTRY HILLS MALL PLAZA eye) Doctors’ charges could be coverup By ABIGAIL VAN BUREN Dear Abby Universal Press Syndicate DEAR ABBY: My problem is the man I’ve been dating exclusively for nearly a year He’s been divorced for nine years and I’ve been divorced for a year I’m 37 and he’s 40 He is also my doctor I switched to him about a year ago He says he “cares for me” and “needs me” but he never says “I love you” (I tell him I love him constantly) He has told me that his practice will always come first and he doesn’t want to be pushed His favorite expression is “I need my space” tw W We live 50 miles apart and - - I always have to drive to his place because he’s always busy his time is so valuable and he’s too tired to drive I am very much in love with him and will take him on his terms and he knows it What hurts me more than anything is that he charges me for my visits to his office He has a thriving practice and doesn’t need the money Why do you suppose he does this? Should I hang in there Abby? I want to be his wife DOCTOR’S SLAVE DEAR SLAVE: Perhaps he doesn’t want his office employ ees to know that he is seeing you outside of the office As for “hanging in there” I think you’re about as close to marriage with this man as you’re ever going to get DEAR ABBY: Our daughter lives in another state and we try to visit her as often as possible She has two children and we would like to be part of their lives Our visits are flawed because of our He’s is us he to but very hospitable d with our very in a to and talks her daughter tone we are not accustomed to It is not an exaggeration to say that he is verbally abusive son-in-la- around? She has always been very outspoken but she doesn’t say anything to him when he talks to her that way Maybe she is submissive because we are there and she doesn’t want to create a scene would like to talk to her about it but I don’t want to upset her any more than she already is My husband thinks I should speak to our but I don’t want to be a typical I son-in-la- meddling mother-in-la- w What w do you suggest? LOVING PARENTS DEAR PARENTS: Don’t And speak to your please resist the temptation to son-in-la- w criticize him to your daughter If she’s “upset” and feels verbally abused it’s up to her to handle it Just let her know that you are always there for her if she needs you but don’t offer any help unless it’s asked for DEAR ABBY: “Not Curious in Florida” inspired a lot of interesting mail for your column when he asked readers to write in and tell about their experiences having to do with adoptees searching for birth parents I hope it’s not too late to put in my 2 cents As an adopted child all I’ve ever known about my biological parents was that they were both music majors at Northwestern University in Evanston 111 How lovely! Outside of making babies I do hope they at least learned how to play the piano while they were “fiddling around” at Northwestern w short-tempere- This is very upsetting to my husband and me What worries us is that if he talks to her that way when we arc there what does he do when nobody else is The parents who adopted me raised me and loved me are the only parents I’ve ever known or want to know Sign me NOT CURIOUS IN PALM SPRINGS i A BoUses Our CONFIDENTIAL TO OUT OF WORK BUT PROUD IN HOLLYWOOD: Take anything m eaM stores and don’t be proud A short role is better than a long loaf msmh m Hdp if0U$ as yomi cam ovy prices 0cc afactotY As American Red Cross FACTORY ©HATLEYS Salt La ha City 1 Together we can change things A a A Puble Service of This Newspepef 4 The Advertising Council 760 South State 467-514- 1 Mldvallay Ogden The Family Center The Family Center 5960 South Redwood Road 2nd 968-771- 392-892- 0 & Washington 1 Oram 64 West Center 224-655- 5 St Oeerct 425 West 200 North 628-378- 9 Las Vagas 191 7 North Decatur Blvd Decatur Lake Mead Shopping Village Las Vegas Nevada 89108 4 (702) 646-044- 10 am to 6 pm— Monday gjj A —‘ - through Saturday Closed Sundays A yj |