The mild, passively correctable metatarsus adductus deformity tends to improve or correct itself spontaneously. Of the 379 patients with metatarsus adductus examined in the State Service for Crippled Childrens of Iowa, only forty-four patients (11.6 per cent) were treated with corrective plaster casts. The deformity corrected itself spontaneously in the others.
In feet not passively correctable, the deformity tends to become more stiff and should be treated. The technique of foot manipulation and plaster-cast applications is described. The two components of the deformity are corrected simultaneously. The valgus deformity of the heel is corrected by supinating the heel fully. The adduction of the metatarsals is corrected by abducting, not pronating, the fore part of the foot. In fifty-seven patients (eighty feet treated) with severe metatarsus adductus, the results of treatment were good in fifty-sevens feet, acceptable in nineteen feet, and poor in four feet.