By Rehan Iqbal
Many people experience myriad negative health symptoms because of flat feet (pes planus). The causes and results of this common problem may surprise you. Here are 12 of the most commonly asked questions about this common condition along with answers to help you determine whether you have flat feet and what you might do about it.
- 1What are the symptoms of flat footedness?
Symptoms of flat feet are many and varied. They can include pain, swelling and inflammation in your arches.
You may have a lot of pain if you try to stand on tiptoe, or you may not be able to do so.
You may experience a great deal of pain in your ankles, hips and back.
Your feet may get tired very easily. You may have a lot of pain if you try to stand on tiptoe, or you may not be able to do so.
You may experience a great deal of pain in your ankles, hips and back.
Your feet may get tired very easily. - 2Are flat feet a cause or a symptom of health problems?
Flat feet can be a sign of poor or deteriorating health or a sign of aging. Taking good care of yourself, resting your feet and exercising them, as well as wearing good supportive footwear throughout your life can help prevent developing health complications which may lead to the development of flat feet as you age. - 3What causes pes planus?
Just as the symptoms of flat footedness are many and varied, so are the causes. You may be born with flat feet, or you may develop flat feet for a number of reasons, such as:
You may experience an injury involving ligaments and tendons or other tissues leaving you with one or both arches fallen or flattened.
If you break your foot or even experience a hairline fracture, the result may be fallen arches.
If you are overweight or in poor health, your arches may fall.
Some types of nerve damage may cause flat footedness.
If you develop arthritis, your arches may fall. - 4Can surgery correct flat feet?
In most cases, surgery is not necessary, but sometimes it is the only answer.
Flat footedness can be caused by an extra bone or cartilage in the foot. This extra bone is called the accessory navicular bone. It can be found on the inner side of your foot above your arch.
If your doctor identifies this condition while you are a child, he or she may remove the accessory navicular bone to prevent flat footedness. If this condition is identified after you are grown, removing the bone can help to correct flat footedness. - 5Is it easy to tell if you have flat feet?
Pain elsewhere may indicate that you have flat feet. You may not realize that your arches are collapsing or that you have flat feet, but you may develop pain in your back, legs, knees or ankles. This can be a symptom of flat footedness. See your doctor, and you may be surprised to find that the cause of your aches and pains is pes planus. - 6When do arches form in the foot?
Babies and toddlers naturally have flat feet, but as they grow up the posterior tibia tendon grows and develops and arches are formed in the foot. Sometimes this tendon does not develop, and this can result in flat footedness in adults. See Video Here - 7Do people with flat feet have to avoid high impact exercise?
The idea that people who are flat-footed should not run for exercise is a myth. In the running community, many believe that flat feet can be more flexible and more shock absorbent than high arched feet. Whether or not this is true, the fact is if you are properly shod, you should be able to enjoy running and other high impact forms of exercise even with your flat feet. - 8What are the best ways to treat flat feet?
Doctors and podiatrists will often prefer conservative means of addressing flat feet (i.e. stretching, strengthening and corrective footwear) over surgery or even orthotics. The fact is, you can often correct your flat footedness or at least alleviate the pain and symptoms caused by it by simply engaging in stretching and strengthening exercises and wearing the right shoes. - 9Can flat feet be treated without corrective footwear?
Cases of flat footedness that do not cause a great deal of pain and misalignment may be successfully treated by the use of compression socks. These types of socks provide firm, yet gentle arch support and help encourage good circulation in the feet and lower legs.
If you're able to get by with just compression socks to treat your flat feet, you can enjoy wearing a wide variety of footwear. Compression socks can be a simple, affordable way to treat flat feet. - 10Why do flat feet affect your entire body?
Flat feet cause excessive pronation of the arches. This means that the feet turn inward too much when walking, and this can cause a lot of strain on the muscles of the ankles, legs, knees and back. This is why people who have flat feet often become very tired when walking and experience a lot of fatigue in the lower legs and feet. - 11Do high heels cause flat feet?
Like running, wearing high heels also greatly increases the demands on your feet. Just a modest heel of 2 1/2 inches increases the load on your forefoot by about 75%. - 12How can strong arches go flat?
Feet take a beating, so it's only natural that your arches might tend to flatten out as the years go by. Keep in mind that in an average lifetime, a person may walk more than 250,000 miles. Furthermore, if you are a runner, your feet will impact the ground with a force of more than 2 1/2 times your body weight as you run along. This is why it's so important to watch your health and your weight and give your feet excellent support when you walk, run or exercise.
