Not all flat feet are created equal. What do I mean by this? The height of the arch whether you have one or not, and whether the foot is flat, isn't really the whole story. The real story has to do with how much motion the foot goes through to get to the flat-footed position.
There are people with flat feet who have no pain whatsoever. Is having a flat foot good? No, I didn't say that. But it's the degree of motion that strains the tissues along the joints, the plantar fascia arch, tendons, ligaments, and put stress on other joints. The more the foot overpronates is what determines whether or not a flat foot might have trouble.
Foot Conditions Associated With Flat Feet
With that said, what are some of the associated conditions along with the flat foot? Where does it lead to trouble?
- Arch pain--arch pain can develop when a foot collapses too much. The earliest sign of that is pain along the band of tissue that attaches from the heel to the ball plantar fascia called the plantar fascia.
- Midfoot foot to ball of foot pain-- when that foot is flat and overpronating there is stress on the joints anywhere from the middle of the foot into the ball of the foot.
- Bunions—Overpronation (common in flat feet) can put strain on the big toe joint causing it to move over to the little toes, creating the characteristic bump.
So if you have flat feet and your experiencing arch pain, symptoms around the great toe joint, under the ball of the foot, back in the arch, up over the outside under the ankle, behind the outside of the ankle, you likely have flat feet, come and see us today. We’ll find out exactly what’s going on to get you the right treatment.
