Flat Feet

Flat feet, also medically known as pes planus, is where the foot’s arch has a low arch height. The foot basically loses the curving arch on the foot’s inner side. The arch is the gap that’s between the foot’s inner side and the ground. If the arch gets flattened when standing, and it returns when the foot gets elevated/lifted, the condition is known as flexible flat foot.

If the arch happens to disappear in both elevated and standing foot positions, the condition is known as rigid flat foot. The flat foot condition generally occurs when there’s a misalignment in the hind foot (heel bone and ankle bone) which forces the natural gentle arch in the feet to lower.

Types of Flat Feet

There are 3 types of flat feet. They include:

Flexible flat foot: this is one of the most common type of flat feet. It means that there’s an arch when the foot is elevated, but when standing the arch disappears.

Semi flexible flat feet: with the semi flexible flat feet, there isn’t really much of an arch whether elevated or standing. However, the foot tends to flatten more when standing.

Rigid flat feet: with the rigid flat feet, the feet have no arch both off and on the ground.

Causes of Flat Foot

Flat feet normally occurs because the tissues which hold the joints in the feet together (known as tendons), get loose. Here are some of the more common causes of flat feet:

Flat feet can develop because of overuse of an injury.
Flat feet can be genetic.
The condition can be predisposed to at birth; this is known as, congenital flat foot.
Aging or illness can harm the tendons, which can in turn cause flat feet to occur.
In some cases, flat feet in children can develop when 2 or more of the foot bones grow or/and fuse together; the condition is known as tarsal coalition.

Do you have Flat Feet?