Also called Pes Planus or Fallen Arches. Flat foot comes in many varieties. Most people mistakingly think that they have an arch and are not flat footed. The truth is that the arch you see when you look down at your feet disappears when I look while you are standing straight up. The nature of the arch is flexible and dynamic unless it is rigidly locked in place by bone structure. This means that when you are standing upright, the ground forces up against your foot and your body weight presses your foot down into the ground. The battle that is fought is over your arch height. There are a few extra factors that go into whether someone has an arch or not. The height of the arch is either higher or lower depending on the position of your knee. If your knee is turned outward (as it would be if you're looking at your own feet) then the heel twists inward and your arch gets higher. Consequently, if your knee is turned inward (as it would be when you're standing straight up and looking ahead) then the heel twists outward and your arch gets lower. You can test this yourself by having someone try to put their index finger under your arch while you're standing with barefeet. The other person will witness your arch going up or down based on how you turn your knee.
One of the other things you can evaluate at home is how big of a foot print you make when your foot is wet. Can you see the whole foot or just the heel and toes?
Generally picture #3 usually means you're flat footed. #0 means you have a high arch.
You can also look at someone's Achilles tendon's. They tend to curve outward if a person is flat footed. Notice in this picture, the left foot is flat and the right foot is straight or rectus. You can also see a number of toes on the outside of the leg as compared to normal. Usually we only see the 4th and 5th toes but also in this picture you can see the flater foot has more.
Is having flat foot a problem?
Well, the answer is a bit vague. Having flat foot alone is not a problem. However, there are many foot problems that occur specifically due to flat footedness. Flat footedness can lead to "walking like a duck", bunions, hammer toes, the more common heel pain, and many others.
What to do if you have flat foot
First thing is to relax. Flat foot is very common. About 30% of the population develop flat feet. You may develop or notice you have flat feet well before any problems arise. For those people without actual problems yet, supportive shoes and over the counter arch supports are a good idea. For those people with problems or pains in the foot, the first thing you need to do is have the condition evaluated by a professional to tell you exactly what you should do. Each person's problems are individual and the treatment of those problems should be tailored to the individual. Having said that, most flat foot problems can be prevented or treated with custom molded orthotics. The orthotics are a prescription device that are molded especially to your foot for your particular problem. They provide a change in the way you foot interacts with the world around it similar to the way a pair of glasses makes you see.
Products:
We at Advanced Foot Care Center offer a variety of treatments and products for flat foot including:
Dr. Comfort Diabetic Shoes with heat moldable inserts
Surgery
There are a few options regarding surgical correction of flat foot. The surgery to correct flat foot must solve the problem of what is causing the patient's flat foot. Usually this is accomplished with a variety of reconstructive bone procedures either involving joint fusions or moving bones around.
An alternative to this type of surgery and lengthy recovery is through a procedure called subtalar arthroereisis. What this means is that through a small incision over outside of the foot and small device is implanted into the natural anatomic space between your heel bone and your ankle bone (the talus). It is important to note that not all people will qualify for this type of procedure and that they may require more extensive reconstructive procedures as mentioned above. The arthoereisis procedure is a soft tissue procedure that produces good quality of life results to alleviate most of the problems that are caused by flat feet. The results from the surgery are visible immediately. On the first visit to the office after surgery, you notice that the arch is lifted, various tendons do not have the strain they once had, the Achilles tendon is mostly straight again, and the heel is noticeably less rotated outward. At Advanced Foot Care Center, we are certified by Gramedica to use the HyProCure implant and Dr. Megara is considered a Master Surgeon in this technique. He is only one of a few in the area of Southern New Jersey that is able to offer this type of surgery.
Think you have flat foot? Make an appointment to see us today!