Pediatric Functional Foot Typing

My name is Dennis Shavelson, D.P.M. and I am a podiatrist, board certified in foot and ankle surgery, practicing in New York City for more than thirty years.  I was Associate Professor of Medicine at the New York College of Podiatric Medicine, I practiced at The Weill Cornell Medical Center/ New York Presbyterian Hospital for five years and am retired as Acting Chief of Podiatry at The Continuum Beth Israel Medical Center in NYC.

I have developed for a new classification system for profiling feet based on architectural engineering called The Functional Foot Typing System and  this website page is extending an invitation to pediatricians to become more familiar with the pediatric applications of this excited new tool.

Imagine the world before blood typing and the advances that we have developed as it was applied to the general population.  Now imagine a genetically determined profiling system where the foot and posture can be classified into subgroups that predict specific weakness, strength, pathology and treatment for each of ten Functional Foot Types®.

Examining feet in both open and closed chain for about five minutes allows the diagnosis of a functional rearfoot type and a functional forefoot type which when combined classify each individual into one of the Functional Foot Types®.

For Example, a rigid rearfoot, rigid forefoot foot type has a muscular, high arched presentation with postural shock type problems, frequent ankle sprains, plantar fascitis and hammertoes and plantar 1^st and 5^th callus 

while a flat rearfoot, flat forefoot foot type has collapsing, bony, poorly functioning feet and posture with difficulty in fitting shoes, a lazy persona and postural pain and fatigue.

Functional Foot Typing® allows the selection of activities that will either improve the type or allow high performance.  Why let a child with a collapsing forefoot pursue ballet?

Furthermore, the casting, fabrication and dispensing of a new generation of foot orthotics called Foot Centerings™ reduce the development of foot and postural sequelae as they improve performance and quality of life.

This means fewer bunions and less back pain for your patients in the future.

In addition, functional foot typing allows parents to be educated about their children’s foot and postural destiny and in appropriate cases, consider foot type corrective surgery such as subtalar stenting that correct feet internally and prevent a lifetime of functional pain and suffering.

For thirty years, I have benignly treated children with ingrown toenails and juvenile warts and said to myself, I can give children healthier, more productive futures if only I had a way of educating the medical community and foot and postural suffering public about lower extremity biomechanics.  The Functional Foot Typing System and  Foot Centerings™ allow me to do just that.