Flat feet (Collapsed arches)

A person whose arches are decreased or absent have an acquired flat foot (Pes Planus). The inside aspect of the foot appears to be wider, and the bones dropped to the ground more than normal, with  the heel bone appearing to be rolled in (everted). This is usually an inherited joint and postural trait passed from parents to their children. A Congenital Flat Foot is when the bones of the feet are rigid and flat on the ground, there is NO joint movement within the foot structure. 

Although babies (12mths -3 years ) feet first  look flat, their arches are just filled with excess fat. As the child grows, the bones become more prominent as the fat decreases and the foot starts to show more of a characteristic shape. If by the ages of two or three, your child still has undeveloped arches, consult your podiatrist. Weight bearing on young feet without arches places excess force on the developing bones, which may lead to bone and joint problems in the future, this may influence ankles, legs, knees and hips and create postural issues.

You should consult your podiatrist if your child is complaining of pain in their knees, feet including the arches, heels or ankles. Excessive inward rolling of the arches also makes the leg and knee turn inwards and pain may also develop long term issues in the knees, lower back and hip.

Prescription corrective Foot orthotics are moulded from your individual foot, designed to straighten structure while re-instating the functional movement within the joints (much like a car wheel alignment) and are worn within your shoes. Foot orthotics limit the abnormal movement of the joints reducing the compensations while improving the flat arch shape and rolling in of the heel bone during weight-bearing. This helps improve the mechanics of the foot that it often alleviates the pains associated with flatfeet quite quickly.

A quick way to indicate if you may be flatfooted is uneven shoe wear towards the inside of your flat foot. Also observe the prints left behind from your wet feet. Are you flatfooted? Ask your podiatrist!