Fallen arches or Flat Feet: What Causes and Managing Foot Pain

What is Flat Feet or Fallen Arches?

You have flat feet when the arches on the inside of your feet are flattened, allowing the entire soles of your feet to touch the floor when you stand up.

A common and usually painless condition, flat feet can occur when the arches don’t develop during childhood. In other cases, flat feet develop after an injury or from the simple wear-and-tear stresses of age.

Flat feet can sometimes contribute to problems in your ankles and knees because the condition can alter the alignment of your legs. If you aren’t having pain, no treatment is usually necessary for flat feet.

Test Yourself for Flat Feet

You can easily test yourself to see if you might have fallen arches or flat feet. Follow these three steps:

Get your feet wet.
Stand on a flat surface where your footprint will show, such as on a concrete walkway.
Step away and look at the prints. If you see complete imprints of the bottom of your feet on the surface, then you’re likely to have flat feet.

Many young children have flat feet, a condition referred to as flexible flat feet. When the child stands, the feet look flat. But when the child rises to his or her toes, a slight arch appears. In most cases, as children grow older, the arches develop.

Causes of Flat Feet

Flat feet are a common condition. The condition is normal in infants and toddlers.

Flat feet occur because the tissues holding the joints in the foot together (called tendons) are loose.

The tissues tighten and form an arch as children grow older. This will take place by the time the child is 2 or 3 years old. Most people have normal arches by the time they are adults. However, the arch may never form in some people.

Aging, injuries, or illness may harm the tendons and cause flat feet to develop in a person who has already formed arches. This type of flat foot may occur only on one side.

Rarely, painful flat feet in children may be caused by a condition in which two or more of the bones in the foot grow or fuse together. This condition is called tarsal coalition.

What are the symptoms of Flat Feet or Fallen Arches?

A symptom is something the patient feels and reports, while a sign is something other people, including the doctor may detect. An example of a symptom may be pain in the ankle, while a sign may be a swelling.

Symptoms may vary and generally depend on the severity of the condition. Some have an uneven distribution of bodyweight and find that the heel of their shoes wears out more rapidly and more on one side than the other. The most common signs or symptoms of flat feet are:

Pain in..
- ..the ankle (inner side), there may also be swelling
- ..the foot in general
- ..the arch of the foot
- ..the calf
- ..the knee
- ..the hip
- ..the back
- ..the general lower leg area
People with flat feet may also experience stiffness in one or both feet.
One or both feet may be flat on the ground (either no arch, or very slight arch).
Shoes may wear unevenly.

Treating Flat Feet

Treatment isn’t usually needed for flat feet because the condition doesn’t usually cause any significant problems.

Aching feet can often be relieved by wearing supportive shoes that fit properly. You may need to wear shoes that are wider than normal.

If your feet overpronate, you may need to wear a special insole (an orthotic) inside your shoes to stop your feet rolling inwards when you walk or run. These will usually need to be made and fitted by a podiatrist.

Stretching your calf and Achilles tendon may also help as a tight Achilles can make your foot overpronate. To stretch your calf and Achilles tendon:

step forwards with your left leg and bend it, with your right leg straight and both feet pointing forwards
push your right heel into the ground while keeping your right leg straight; you should feel the stretch at the back of your right leg, below the knee
hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds and repeat with the opposite leg
repeat the stretch two to four times on each leg, and repeat the overall exercise three to four times a day

What are the risk factors for Flat Feet?

A risk factor is something that increases the likelihood of an illness or condition developing. For example, people who are obese are more likely to develop diabetes type 2 compared to slim people. Therefore, obesity is a risk factor for diabetes.