People with flat feet often experience uneasiness when walking, running or jumping. Sometimes, they also experience difficulties when standing on their tiptoes with sudden pains in the calf, hip, knee, or lower leg areas. The reason behind these discomforts is the missing spaces under their arches, which allow their body to spring and evenly distribute weight across the feet and legs.
Genetics is the most common reason behind flat-footedness. Other factors include arthritis, foot or ankle injury, or rupture of the posterior tibial tendon. It can also develop when people age, with various levels of severities involved.
Apart from the mentioned discomforts, one can check by stepping onto a dry, flat surface like a patch of sidewalk. A person with proper arches will notice crescents of negative space in their footprint, while someone with flat feet will see a full imprint of his or her entire foot.
Is there a Way to Fix Fallen Arches?
There is no treatment for flat feet. However, there are ways to alleviate its discomforts and budding severities. Below are two of the commonly recommended.
- Wearing Better Footwear
Most doctors will recommend wearing shoes made specifically for flat feet because apart from being the easiest solution, it is also one of the cheapest. Getting motion control shoes and running shoes for flat feet are highly advisable.
- Doing Feet Exercises
Many exercises can correct flat-footedness. One is heel cord stretching, which aims to stretch and lengthen the Achilles tendon and posterior calf muscles. Another one is the golf ball roll in which a person stretches his or her plantar fascia ligament while rolling a golf ball under the arches—do this technique for two consecutive minutes daily.
Flat-footedness isn’t a severe irregularity that one should worry about. There are many ways to alleviate its discomforts to help you start moving freely again. Seek a doctor when doing so and remember always to make use of your feet.