[Clinical examination of the child's foot]

CLINICAL EXAMINATION OF THE CHILD'S FOOT. The clinical examination of the child's foot is part of the musculoskeletal examination and requires a good knowledge of morphological and physiological features of foot during growth. This article describes the stages of the clinical assessment of the child's foot from walking age onwards, as well as the main disorders to be investigated. The examination consists of a complete physical and musculoskeletal assessment, followed by the foot examination. The latter includes a static examination with inspection of bare feet, followed with a podoscope evaluation, a dynamic examination including an overall analysis of walking, and finally an examination of the footwear. The main static disorders to investigate are the flat foot, defined by the collapse of the internal arch of the foot and considered physiological until the age of 5 or 6, and the Pes Cavus, defined by the accentuation of the plantar arch. A thorough examination, followed by a synthetic clinical reasoning, is necessary to guide the diagnostic and therapeutic management of some disorders.