What type of orthotic do you prescribe for a flexible metatarsus adductus foot type?
What if the patient is less than 8 years old? What if the patient is a teenager? A: If a metatarsus adductus is flexible and reducible, Dr. Volpe says one can treat this with an orthosis designed around a rectus positive model. If the adductus is reduced in the positive model, he recommends incorporating a shell with a high and long medial flange — extending at least to the first metatarsal head, sometimes further to the hallux — pressed to the positive model. He says this will produce a device that holds the foot out of adductus. With these patients, Dr. Volpe says it is important to accommodate for a potentially prominent styloid process in the negative casting and shell design/accommodations for the orthoses. Dr. Volpe says one may take this approach regardless of age as long as the deformity is flexible and the device can reduce the deformity. He adds that issues with prominence of the styloid and consequent irritation seem to be greater with increasing age. Like Dr. Volpe, Dr. Val
