Things you should know if you have flat feet.
“Flat feet” and “fallen arches” are terms often used in discussions about foot pains and deciding on footwear.
Your foot shape is related to many factors and there is a lot of misinformation about what is normal and the causes of foot problems.
Our feet are required to perform 2 functions:
- They need to be stable to be a solid base of support and to allow us to push off when we walk or run;
- They also need to be mobile so they can absorb the jarring of our daily activities or sports and uneven surfaces.
How can the foot perform these opposite tasks? It’s all in the structure of the bones of the foot which allow us to roll in and roll out. If you do these motions in standing, you will notice the arch of your foot will increase as we roll out and flatten as we roll in. When we turn out, the arch lifts and brings the joints into a more stable and rigid position, this is called supination. As we roll in, we flatten the arch and the foot becomes more mobile or sloppy, and this is called pronation. So by having the ability to control these movements we are able to have both a strong foot to push off with an ability to have the shock-absorption when we need it too.
So what are flat feet and fallen arches?
These terms are often interchangeably used to describe feet that flatten out. Actually, they are technically different situations.
When you look at your foot in mid-air, the vast majority of us will have some degree of arch. However, a small proportion of us are born with a boney foot structure that has no arch at all. These people have true “flat feet”, so the foot stays flat whether they are standing on them or not. This of course means they will have problems arising from the inability to absorb impact and will need to get advice about how to cushion their feet. For the rest of us, our feet will change in shape when we stand on them and the arches will adopt varying degrees of change.
About one-third of us have feet that roll in or “pronate” to different degrees. If the amount is significant they are commonly said to have “fallen arches” or “over-pronate”.
Are fallen arches or pronating feet a problem?
As mentioned we need feet that are able to be able to both pronate and supinate. Injuries arise when tissues are strained or overloaded to a point where soft tissue damage develops and then pains start. If you're suffering from foot pain, it's best to get your symptoms looked at sooner rather than later.
There are 3 factors that determine if our feet start to give us problems:
- Our anatomy - how we were born;
- How we move - our bio-mechanics;
- And what we do - the loads we put on our feet.
Using our Gait technology to scan your feet, we can determine whether your foot biomechanics is causing you pain. If your feet is the cause of your problems, there are multiple solutions to relieving your symptoms including custom orthotics and hands-on physio treatment; it's best to consult with your physiotherapist so they can properly assess the area.
- The Team at Back In Motion Brighton
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