ACCESS

What is the reason for neglected clubfoot?
The answer to this question is both simple and hard. The reasons for this are multi-fold and may be hard do imagine in a well-developed and relatively well-functioning country. They can be trivial or simply absurd.

SPECIFIC DIFFICULTIES

On many levels neglected clubfoot generates multiple complications. Medical issues are the most significant and have large impact on other areas of live. However, untreated defect creates social, economic and mental dysfunctions.

FROM MEDICAL SIDE

Deformed foot has inappropriate structure. This results in pain, stiffness, limitation of mobility. Makes everyday life impossible. Walking, jumping, running become insurmountable. Sport is not even an option. Inappropriate structure, thus inappropriate gait forces rest of the body to work unnaturally. Anatomically, we are as combined vessels: knees, hips, spine that are overloaded and in forced positions hurt and stiffen. Pain shoots through not only foot, but also  through the rest of the body.

FROM SOCIOLOGICAL SIDE

Children with idiopathic clubfoot are often abandoned and condemned to live in poverty. However, if a family decides to undertake the treatment, most of the responsibilities are taken on by mother, who has less time for other children, housework, economic or agricultural activity. Living standard declines burdening whole society. Both children and adults are treated as worse. Their disability is a reason for rejection. Women with clubfoot marry rarely and are more often victims of physical, mental and economic violence. Event though clubfoot children are capable of operating in normal educational system, they do not stand a chance as their needs are not treated with precedence. They cannot take part in everyday life activities, such as sport.

FROM THE ECONOMICAL SIDE

The condition of foot and health in general are the most common reasons for poverty. The disabled and their family have low living standard, which inflicts loss. Unfortunately people who suffer from neglected clubfoot do not have many options when it comes to employment or even everyday activityes: digging, tillage, harvesting crops, collecting firewood or water becomes impossible for children, youth and adults whose feet are not operative. Undergoing treatment at a later time or relapse treatment imply financial and time costs that may exceed family’s possibilities. This means expenses for travel, consultations, equipment. Initiating treatment within the first 8 weeks after birth can significantly limit those expenditures. This is particularly important in the developing countries, where ex. traveling or appointment costs can be partially omitted. The whole another aspect is the necessity of governmental support, where the cost of help exceeds potential profits, making the whole precedent unprofitable for the country.

FROM THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SIDE

Psychological background of people suffering from neglected clubfoot is significant. Usually they feel excluded, forgotten, rejected because of their physical challenges. Often they have low self-esteem and self-acceptance, avoiding or having hard time establishing relations. They step back and withdraw, making the vicious circle of depression impossible to overcome. Helplessness, the sense of injustice, rejection can be expressed by self-mutilation.

UNBELIVABLE?

As you can see, it is unbelievable that somewhere in the world, this relatively simple defect could not be treated at all. And yet it is! What is more, problems associated with neglected clubfoot are multifold and affect the disabled even more, excluding them from everyday life and taking away desire to live.