Toe walking is common among young children with certain medical conditions such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida or muscular dystrophy.
Toe walking is also quite common in children on the autism spectrum. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder are more likely to be toe walkers than undiagnosed children.
Considering there are conditions related to brain and neurological development that seem to be correlated with toe walking, the solution may be caused in some way by our child's neurology.
Problems with the vestibular system (feedback system between the body and brain with relation to body motion and position) may be a contributing factor to toe walking. Considering that children with autism often have a poorly functioning vestibular system, this is potentially a major factor in your child's poor gait.
Despite some evidence of a neurological link, tiptoe walking is often thought to be caused by muscle weakness or lack of coordination. There's good reason for this. If the doctor sees a child after some time of toe walking, there tends to be muscular issues. Although the root cause may not have been muscular, it certainly looks that way to a doctor when they first assess the child. If the child continues to use their muscles incorrectly, particularly the foot muscles while walking, this may lead to more challenges as time passes.
There are often cases where Doctors can't find a cause of toe walking. In these cases, the child is considered to have idiopathic toe walking. Idiopathic toes walking is common in children as they begin to walk, however with normal development, this will not persist. If it persists, the child is otherwise healthy and the doctor can't find any cause, idiopathic toe walking may be given as a diagnosis. The doctor may recommend physical therapy, orthotics, surgery, or medication as a way to help the child.
Now I put on my Natural Autism Support hat and look at the causes from a slightly different angle. If you have read some of my other posts, you will know that I like to widen the net, explore more ideas and be curious.
For me, primitive reflexes tick some boxes. Retained primitive reflexes are often found in children on the autism spectrum. The symptoms that are observed will be different for each child, depending on the combination of reflexes that are retained. Toe walking and low muscle tone can be some of those symptoms.
Often the root cause of the autism related symptoms also affect a child's ability to normally and naturally resolve primitive reflexes. Each primitive reflex is expected to resolve through natural development at fairly consistent age ranges. There can be many reasons why this doesn't happen, often relating to inflammation of the brain and nervous system during the early years of a child's life.
I expect that having help from a practitioner skilled in resolving retained primitive reflexes will likely help many children. Retained the
Plantar or Babinski reflexes can be related to persistent toe walking. Along with helping your child with toe walking, primitive reflex therapy will likely help other symptoms as well, such as sensory issues. One of the benefits of primitive reflexes therapies are that they contribute to sensory integration.
I highly recommend combining help from a practitioner skilled in primitive reflexes, while implementing a diet designed to reduce inflammation at the same time. This will likely produce better results. Most common food sources of inflammation for children on the spectrum are gluten and dairy. For other ideas, please read our post for
healing autism and seek personalised advice from a professional trained in nutrition.
In some cases, surgery is the solution of choice. When other causes can't be found, or there is an obvious need for surgery, doctors may recommend a surgical intervention. Surgery can improve range of movement and correct some gait abnormalities. I would however, hate to see surgical interventions tried before any primitive reflex work is performed, unless there is an obvious need for a surgical correction.