What Should I Do About My Flat Feet?

The Importance of Healthy Arches

So before you even figure out what to do about your flat feet—or if, in fact, you need to do anything at all—you may be wondering why arches are such a big deal in the first place. What do they really do for you, anyway?

As it turns out, lots of things. Some of the key roles your arches play include the following:

• Shock absorption. When you stand, walk, or run, you land with a ton of force on a very small area in a very short amount of time. Arches, due to their shape and flexibility, allow those impact forces to be dispersed over both a larger area and, crucially, a longer period of time. Just like the shocks in your car, this greatly reduces the wear and tear on other parts of your foot (and body).
• Efficient propulsion. When the arch flexes to absorb the impact, those forces don’t simply “disappear,” or dissipate out into nothingness. Essentially, the energy gets “stored” by the arches, which then releases that energy in order to assist you with your next step as you pull your heel off the ground. In other words, part of the impact force gets converted by your arches into forward propulsion, which reduces the amount of energy you have to generate yourself—especially when running. Think of it like a pogo stick, except one that releases forward instead of right back up.
• Biomechanical alignment. People with flat arches tend to overpronate when they walk—in other words, their ankles roll too far inward under force loads. The thing is, alignment issues tend not to stay in the feet. In order to compensate, joints and muscles in the legs and even back need to shift position and endure greater stress than they otherwise would.

The end result of all this is that people with flat arches are more prone to a variety of common ailments, including heel pain (especially plantar fasciitis), shin splints, and other various overuse injuries.

What Should I Do About My Flat Feet?

It’s important to clarify that there are many different types of flat feet. Perhaps your arch is flat all the time (rigid) or only when bearing weight (flexible). Perhaps you were born with flat feet, and your arches simply never formed. Or maybe you used to have very normal arches, but they’ve flattened over time as you’ve gotten older.

At the same time, symptoms can vary tremendously from person to person. Some people experience a ton of pain from their flat feet. Others seem to get by with no problems at all.

With so much variation, you can probably see that there’s no one perfect solution to every case of flat feet. What you choose to do about them will depend on your age, your symptoms, the type of flatfoot you have, and the lifestyle you want to live.

But that probably isn’t very helpful advice for you, so let’s break it down a bit.

If you are (or are the caregiver for) a child or adolescent:

Most kids won’t develop a mature arch until around age 5 or so. If they are still very young and don’t show any signs of pain or difficulty with mobility, it’s probably fine to wait.

That said, keep a close eye on your little one, and follow up with us if you notice that the arches are still flat after age 5-6, or they show any signs of pain or abnormal gait patterns.

The exception we want to guard against here is rigid flatfoot conditions such as tarsal coalition. Although relatively rare, this is a much more serious form of flat arches and is best treated during or before the early teen years, before bones fully mature.

If you think you have flat arches and experience foot, leg pain (knee, hip) or back pain that’s keeping you from fully enjoying your activities, give us a call. It’s very likely we’ll be able to help you get back to doing what you love! Dial (775) 783-8037, or complete our contact form to request an appointment.