Balanced On My Tiptoes: Why Do People Toe-walk and How Can Professionals Learn From Them?

This journalistic and personal essay is about idiopathic toe-walking (ITW) and makes a case for more thoughtful communication between the scientific world and individual toe-walkers. ITW is the medical term describing when a person lands on the ball of the foot instead of the heel, usually occurring when learning to walk. While there have been many studies on effective ways to treat ITW, they tend to emphasize observational methods and behavioral and structural changes, neglecting to focus on the individual’s personal experiences and understandings of why they toe-walk. In fact, after treatment for tendon structure or foot gait, many toe-walkers resort back to toe-walking because the underlying reasons for toe-walking have not been addressed. This essay explores the personal perspectives of toe-walkers themselves, sharing how societal views and treatments affect their day-to-day lives. I reference my own experience with ITW and draw from 12 conversations I shared with people in and supporting the toe-walking community to highlight this gap in the current conversation. Without input from toe-walkers, the scientific community currently operates by treating muscular and structural symptoms of toe-walking, while I found in conversations that for many toe-walkers, sensory processing, overstimulation or balance are important factors for their toe-walking. It’s important for the voices of toe-walkers to reach those shaping decisions for adequate treatment and research and to focus on eliminating negative experiences for toe-walkers, especially in a group whose ability to reach out during the process of treatment is constrained by age and communication level.