Do the flat surface test to determine flat feet. Moisten your feet and step onto a dry surface that shows your footprint. If the entire surface of your foot can be discerned from the print, then you have flat feet. A person with normal arches has a crescent of negative space on the inside (medial) part of their footprint due to lack of contact with the surface. Flat feet in children rarely cause pain.
The main treatment options for flexible flat feet with a congenitally short Achilles tendon are either an aggressive regimen of stretching or surgery, which are explained in more detail below. In addition to arch and heel pain, other common symptoms of flat feet include: calf, knee and/or back pain, swelling around the ankles, trouble standing on tiptoes, difficulty jumping high or running fast.
A rigid flat foot often creates more symptoms because the entire biomechanics of the foot are altered. Rigid flat feet are most resistant to accommodative therapy such as shoe inserts, orthotics and physiotherapy.
Flat feet is not always bilateral — it can occur in only one foot, especially after suffering a fractured ankle or foot. Adult-acquired flat feet often respond to accommodative therapy, but losing weight is often the key to fixing the problem.
Avoid shoes with heels higher than 2 1/4 inches because it leads to short / tight Achilles tendons. However, wearing completely level shoes is not the answer either, because too much pressure is put on the heel, so wear shoes that are elevated in the heel by about 1/4 or 1/2 inch. Get fitted for shoes by a trained salesperson later in the day because that’s when your feet are at their largest, usually due to swelling and slight compression of your arches.
Orthotics and similar supports don’t reverse any structural deformities of the foot nor can they reconstruct an arch by wearing them over time. Health professionals who make custom orthotics include podiatrists, as well as some osteopaths, physicians, chiropractors and physiotherapists. Wearing orthotics often requires taking the factory insoles out. Some health insurance plans cover customized orthotics, but if yours does not, then consider off-the-shelf orthopedic insoles — they are less expensive and may provide adequate arch support. In fact, they have been shown in some cases to be equally effective when compared to custom orthotics.
Many obese people have flat feet and tend to over-pronate their ankles (the joints collapse and turn in), which then leads to a knock-knee posture. Sometimes women develop fallen arches during the late stages of pregnancy that then go away once their baby is born. To help promote weight loss, eat lean meat, poultry and fish, whole grains, fresh veggies and fruit and drink lots of purified water. Avoid sugary drinks such as soda pop.
A common stretch for tight Achilles tendons involves placing your hands against a wall with one leg at a time outstretched behind you in a lunge-like position. Make sure you keep the outstretched foot flat on the floor to feel a stretch above your heels. Hold for about 30 seconds and repeat five to 10 times daily. A physiotherapist can tape your foot with sturdy tape that can help relieve symptoms by providing a temporary artificial arch. A physiotherapist can also treat inflamed and tender arches (called plantar fasciitis and a common complication of flat feet) with therapeutic ultrasound.
Adult-acquired flat feet affects women four times as often as men and tends to occur in later years (around 60). X-rays are great for seeing bone problems, but they are not diagnostic for soft tissue issues, such as those of the tendons and ligaments. Your podiatrist is trained for relatively minor operations of the feet, but more complex surgeries are typically the domain of orthopedic surgeons.
Surgeons typically operate on one foot at a time so as not to incapacitate the patient and impact their lives too significantly. Possible complications from surgery include: failure of fused bones to heal, infections, reduced ankle / foot range of motion, chronic pain. [8] X Research source Recovery times for surgery vary depending on the procedure (whether bones need to be broken or fused, tendons severed, or ligaments altered), but can last several months. Diseases that are contributive factors for flat feet include diabetes, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ligament laxity diseases such as Marfan or Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. [9] X Research source
