Editor: What To Know
- New parents can quickly be overwhelmed with the demands of weekly doctor’s visits, the heavy casts, implementing daily stretches, checking that the casts and boots fit properly and simply managing the care of a newborn, especially if there are other children at home.
- This is arguably the most critical part of treatment, as non-compliance with the prescribed bracing protocol can lead to relapse of the clubfoot, but there is little information available to help uncertain parents manage this critical piece of their child’s care.
- While the physician plays a key role in the manipulation and casting portion of treatment, up to 95% of clubfoot treatment is managed –.
MD Orthopaedics, manufacturer of the gold-standard Mitchell Ponseti® orthotic solutions for the treatment of clubfoot, announces publication of the new book Clubfoot Chronicles, written by Brand Ambassador Maureen Hoff.
Clubfoot Chronicles offers an honest and heartfelt look into the ups and downs of raising a clubfoot child. While the physician plays a key role in the manipulation and casting portion of treatment, up to 95% of clubfoot treatment is managed – at home – by the parents. New parents can quickly be overwhelmed with the demands of weekly doctor’s visits, the heavy casts, implementing daily stretches, checking that the casts and boots fit properly and simply managing the care of a newborn, especially if there are other children at home.
Upon hearing her daughter’s clubfoot diagnosis, Maureen set out to find out as much as she could about the clubfoot defect and treatment options. She spent hours on the computer, finding plenty of information about the casting phase, but very little about the bracing phase of treatment – also known as the boots-and-bar phase. This is arguably the most critical part of treatment, as non-compliance with the prescribed bracing protocol can lead to relapse of the clubfoot, but there is little information available to help uncertain parents manage this critical piece of their child’s care. It was this struggle to find the information and resources she was looking for that motivated Maureen to write the book, so that other clubfoot parents would not face the same difficulties.
Clubfoot Chronicles tells the story of Maureen’s personal struggles in caring for her child and the fear, anxiety, and stress she felt trying to manage her daughter’s care. With brutal honesty, Maureen shines a light on the many challenges clubfoot parents face and shares the many resources she uncovered that helped her cope. It is her hope that other clubfoot parents will benefit from her experiences, wisdom and research and have a smoother, easier clubfoot journey.
Maureen Hoff has her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and is passionate about clubfoot advocacy, specifically providing support and resources for other clubfoot parents. She is the mother of 3 smart and sassy girls, the last of which was born with bilateral clubfoot in 2018. Maureen recently became a Brand Ambassador for MD Orthopaedics and is working with them to create supportive content for other clubfoot parents.
Clubfoot is one of the most common musculoskeletal birth defects, affecting one out of every 100 babies born worldwide. The non-surgical Ponseti Method is the gold standard treatment, used to remedy approximately 95% of clubfoot cases worldwide. This Method is safer, less expensive, and more effective, using weekly manipulation and casting of the clubfoot to “train” it to the proper position. After the casting phase is complete, the child is fitted with an ankle-foot orthotic (AFO) to keep the manipulated foot in position. The AFO is worn for 23 hours a day for three months, then during nap and overnight sleep time for up to five years.
Clubfoot Chronicles is available in e-book format on Amazon:
The book is also available from Amazon in paperback:
The paperback will also be available at Home – MD Orthopaedics – (easyordershop.com) beginning in mid-July.
