Correcting clubfoot is the start. Keeping it corrected is the work.
The Ponseti method corrects almost every clubfoot. Holding that correction through years of bracing is where children are lost, and where the evidence is thinnest.
What the research tells us.
Every figure below comes from published research. Follow the link under each one to read the source.
are born with clubfoot worldwide, around eight in ten of them in low- and middle-income countries.
Global Clubfoot Initiative, cited in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2024is the initial correction rate reported for the Ponseti method across published studies. Casting works.
Systematic review of the Ponseti method, PLOS ONE, 2017of 268 children whose clubfeet were successfully corrected went on to relapse and need further treatment.
Bone & Joint Open, 2025of recurrence when the brace isn’t worn as prescribed. Brace wear was the strongest factor the evidence could find.
Meta-analysis of prognostic factors, Acta Orthopaedica, 2022of 91 babies had blisters or sores within 24 hours of starting their brace. When boots hurt, they are harder to keep on.
Prospective study of foot abduction orthosis complications, PubMed, 2025The questions nobody can answer yet.
Not because they're hard, but because centres don't record the same things in the same way.
- Do feet that go into boots less well corrected have more skin problems?
- In one-sided clubfoot, does the unaffected foot get more skin problems in the boot than the treated one?
- Which brace designs cause the fewest skin problems?
- How closely does correction at brace entry predict relapse, centre by centre?
- Which skin problems come before families stop bracing, and how early can they be caught?
Our mission
To help every child treated for clubfoot keep the correction they worked for, by giving clinical teams one standard way to record treatment, catch problems early, and learn from every centre.
Sources
- Global Clubfoot Initiative estimate of 150,000–200,000 births a year, cited in Abdu, Seyoum and Ayana, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 25, 604 (2024).
- Ponseti method in the management of clubfoot under 2 years of age: a systematic review, PLOS ONE (2017).
- Rate and predictors of relapse and surgery in idiopathic clubfeet after successful Ponseti treatment in infancy, Bone & Joint Open (2025).
- van Schelven H, Moerman S, van der Steen M, Besselaar AT, Greve C. Prognostic factors for recurrent idiopathic clubfoot deformity: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis, Acta Orthopaedica 93: 11–28 (2022).
- Complications arising from the use of foot abduction orthosis (FAO) in Ponseti-treated clubfoot patients, Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics (2025).
See it with your own clinic's workflow.
A 20-minute call, walking through a new patient from first score to boots and bar.