Embarrassing Bodies - Banana Feet

Embarrassing Bodies - Banana Feet

Banana feet, also known as pigeon toe or intoeing, is the name for a condition in which kids' feet turn inwards slightly while walking. It can affect one foot or both, and is usually just a natural stage in a child's development which eventually rights itself. In fact, most children appear to be pigeon toed when they start walking. The condition is very common, but there are a couple of different causes. If it's just the foot, rather than the whole shin, which turns in, curving like a banana, then the most likely cause is a condition called metatarsus adductus. Strictly speaking, this is a birth deformity, but it rarely has any serious impact on a kid's ability to be active, and by the time children get to five or six it may no longer be noticeable. This new series explores the conditions and ailments that leave many of us a little red-faced and aims to de-stigmatise common complaints.