Wear and Tear Strain, overuse, and wear on the muscles, ligaments, and plantar fascia (arch) of the foot can cause the foot to flatten too much–and roll inward excessively–as it strikes the ground, leading to overpronation.

The main treatment options are:

1. choosing supportive shoes.
2. wearing orthotics.
3. doing exercises that strengthen the arches and muscles around them.

There are many causes of flat feet. Obesity, pregnancy or repetitive pounding on a hard surface can weaken the arch leading to over-pronation. Often people with flat feet do not experience discomfort immediately, and some never suffer from any discomfort at all.

A tight calf muscle, medically termed Equinus, is considered to be the most common cause of flat feet by many feet and ankle surgeons. The tight muscle transmits a pronating force on the foot, resulting in arch collapse.

Veterans with severe bilateral flat feet can receive a disability rating of 30%. Veterans with severe unilateral flat foot can receive a disability rating of 20%.

For years, the flat-footed have been warned that their lives would be plagued with pain and injury and doctors have tried using surgery and braces to correct the “deformity.” But after decades of derision, new research is showing that flat feet are perfectly functional and may even be an advantage in sports.

Best shoes for flat feet

• Women’s work shoes. Alegria Duette Black Shoe: $89.95.
• Men’s work shoes. Dansko Wyatt Black Full Grain: $140.
• Women’s dress shoes. Vionic Minnie Kitten Heel Pump: $139.95.
• Men’s dress shoes. Vionic Shane Oxford: $149.95.
• Children’s shoes. Saucony Baby Jazz Lite Sneaker: $40.
• 6 and 7.
• 8 and 9.
• 10 and 11.

Treatment

1. Arch supports (orthotic devices). Over-the-counter arch supports may help relieve the pain caused by flatfeet.
2. Stretching exercises. Some people with flatfeet also have a shortened Achilles tendon.
3. Supportive shoes.
4. Physical therapy.

Are the rumors true that being flat-footed actually makes you slower, and if so, what can I do to fix this? It is not true that people can’t run fast and well because of flat feet. It is true that runners with fallen or weak arches do have problems with excessive pronation.

For those who have flat feet, running barefoot may help strengthen muscles in your arch and ankles. Those who do a lot of physical activity or run often may experience their flat feet lacking pronation when the arch compresses to help with shock absorption as force exerts on the feet.

Running on true flat feet is akin to running on Jell-O. Flat feet tend to overpronate. This often causes the legs to collapse inward with each footfall. Left unchecked, this can lead to overuse injuries ranging from shin splints to aches and pains in the ankles, knees, hips and lower back.

In fact, there are many flat-footed individuals among the ranks of elite professional athletes, including marathoners and NBA players. For many people, flat arches are asymptomatic. When this is the case, they do not necessarily require treatment. The bad news, however, is that some cases aren’t asymptomatic.

You can’t have flat feet. While someone who has flat feet can serve in the military, it depends on the severity. If someone has “symptomatic” flat feet, which indicates that the condition causes the person chronic physical pain, then he or she cannot serve.

Having flat feet makes your balance more unstable and therefore more prone to fatigue and lack of power. And when you’re not properly supporting your body weight in your lower half, your upper body gets a less effective workout – in short, you become a less successful athlete.

What is flatfoot reconstruction? Flatfoot reconstruction is a combination of surgical procedures that repair the foot’s ligaments and tendons and correct deformities of the bones to restore and support the arch. These adjustments can reduce pain and help the patient return to an active life.

The most common symptom of flat feet is pain in the feet. This can occur as a result of strained muscles and connecting ligaments. Abnormal stresses on the knee and hip may result in pain in these joints. These stresses are likely if the ankles turn inward.

Balance nerves (mechanoreceptors) are responsible for our balance. They send messages to the brain letting us know how feet are working and where they are in space. Not getting this feedback can reduce our balance and put us at greater risk of having falls. So your feet can affect your balance.

Your feet tend to look smaller than your hands because of the height perspective; i.e. your feet are further away from you eyes than your forearm, so your forearm looks bigger; actually this is an optical illusion caused by perspective. So it is nothing to do with age but a direct link to the proportions of you body.

Women with smaller feet have prettier faces, at least according to the men who took part in this study. So do women with longer thigh bones and narrower hips, as well as women who are taller overall. These morphs were then rated for attractiveness by 77 heterosexual male students.

This study investigated the relationship between foot size and human balance performance. In general, the bigger the foot size, the lower mean sway velocity and the bigger the normalized foot size, the higher balance strategy score (more ankle strategy), especially for the young group.

The toes provide support and balance to a person when they are standing, walking, running or doing anything on their feet. When a person takes a step, and force is exerted to each foot, the toes help to bear the weight from a person’s body.

When the end of the toe bends down, it presses on the insole of your shoe, causing a callus to form at the tip. You may experience cramps in the muscles of your toes, as well, and sometimes not being able to straighten them affects your stability and balance.

In this cross-sectional study, it was found that plantar fasciitis, one of the foot problems that increases the risk of falls in the elderly population, also increases the risk of falls in the population younger than 65 years compared to the healthy control group and has a negative effect on balance.

When you have plantar fasciitis, you usually feel pain in the bottom of the heel or the arch of the foot. Some people describe the pain as feeling like a bruise or an ache.

Some patients have a duller pain before they notice the stabbing heel pain. While many people with plantar fasciitis also have heel spurs, the spurs are not usually the cause of pain. When a heel spur is indeed responsible, the jabbing pain may be centered in the heel.

Bone spurs can feel like a hard lump or bump underneath the skin. The chances of developing a bone spur in the foot increases with age. It’s impact on your everyday routine depends on the severity. Some people don’t even notice a bone spur on their foot.