Learn How To Combat Pes Planus
Overview
If you have flat feet, your arches are low or maybe even absent. The condition is also known by the medical terms "pes planus" or "pes valgus." Flat feet are often associated with excessive pronation, which is the action that causes the foot's arch to descend down and inward (flattening) as the foot strikes the ground. Pronation is a normal and necessary foot motion. Overpronation, however, means that feet pronate to an excessive degree while standing, walking or running. Because of their tendency to overpronate, flat feet are less able to absorb shock. And this impaired shock-absorption can mean increased stress on the feet, ankles and knees. You can sometimes identify overpronation in a person with flat feet by observing them from behind. You may see something called the "too-many-toes" sign, where the individual's toes and forefeet splay outward.
Causes
You can have a tendency towards fallen arches from birth. Up through the toddler stage, it is common to have flat feet. Throughout childhood, arches tend to normally develop. For reasons not well understood, however, in some cases the feet stay flat and the arch never forms. In many cases this abnormality does not cause symptoms or require any treatment. In other cases, it is due to a condition called tarsal coalition. This occurs when some of the foot bones fuse.
Symptoms
People will have a very heavily dropped arch and it won?t affect them at all and people will have it slightly dropped and it could cause fierce problems. It could cause things like plantar fasciitis, it could cause heel spurs, desperate ball-of-the-foot pressure, or pressure on the big toe known as the hallux which causes discomfort in the foot. It will create problems upwards to the knees, hips and the back once you?re out of line.
Diagnosis
You can always give yourself the ?wet test? described above to see whether you have flat feet. Most people who do not notice their flat feet or have no pain associated with them do not think to see a foot doctor. Flat feet can lead to additional problems such as stiffness or pain, however, especially if the condition appears out of nowhere. If you think you may have flat feet, you should seek medical attention to ensure there are no additional issues to worry about. Your doctor will be able to diagnose you with a number of tests. For example, he or she may have you walk around, stand still, or stand on your tiptoes while you are being examined. Your doctor may also examine your foot?s shape and functionality. It?s important to let your foot doctor know about your medical and family history. In some cases, your doctor may order imaging tests such as x-rays or an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to determine a cause of your flat foot. If tarsal coalition is suspected in children, a CT scan is often ordered.
arch support inserts reviews
Non Surgical Treatment
What we want to do is support the arch and maintain it in that curved position. So what you want is to bring the foot into a position where you hold and support the arch so you can get that correct heel-midfoot-big toe contact. You would achieve that with a level of arch support. People will take different levels of support, if you?re somebody who has movement in your arch, a strong level of support will hold and maintain you whereas if you?re someone whose arch has collapsed it could need more support and a level of correction built into the support to realign you. If you think of it, when your arch drops, it affects your foot but it also has a biomechanical effect on the rest of the body. But nothing that can?t be solved.
Surgical Treatment
Fallen arches may occur with deformities of the foot bones. Tarsal coalition is a congenital condition in which the bones of the foot do not separate from one another during development in the womb. A child with tarsal coalition exhibits a rigid flat foot, which can be painful, notes the patient information website eOrthopod. Surgery may prove necessary to separate the bones. Other foot and ankle conditions that cause fallen arches may also require surgery if noninvasive treatments fail to alleviate pain and restore normal function.
Prevention
Going barefoot, particularly over terrain such as a beach where muscles are given a good workout, is good for all but the most extremely flatfooted, or those with certain related conditions such as plantar fasciitis. Ligament laxity is also among the factors known to be associated with flat feet. One medical study in India with a large sample size of children who had grown up wearing shoes and others going barefoot found that the longitudinal arches of the bare footers were generally strongest and highest as a group, and that flat feet were less common in children who had grown up wearing sandals or slippers than among those who had worn closed-toe shoes. Focusing on the influence of footwear on the prevalence of pes planus, the cross-sectional study performed on children noted that wearing shoes throughout early childhood can be detrimental to the development of a normal or a high medial longitudinal arch. The vulnerability for flat foot among shoe-wearing children increases if the child has an associated ligament laxity condition. The results of the study suggest that children be encouraged to play barefooted on various surfaces of terrain and that slippers and sandals are less harmful compared to closed-toe shoes. It appeared that closed-toe shoes greatly inhibited the development of the arch of the foot more so than slippers or sandals. This conclusion may be a result of the notion that intrinsic muscle activity of the arch is required to prevent slippers and sandals from falling off the child?s foot.
After Care
Patients may go home the day of surgery or they may require an overnight hospital stay. The leg will be placed in a splint or cast and should be kept elevated for the first two weeks. At that point, sutures are removed. A new cast or a removable boot is then placed. It is important that patients do not put any weight on the corrected foot for six to eight weeks following the operation. Patients may begin bearing weight at eight weeks and usually progress to full weightbearing by 10 to 12 weeks. For some patients, weightbearing requires additional time. After 12 weeks, patients commonly can transition to wearing a shoe. Inserts and ankle braces are often used. Physical therapy may be recommended. There are complications that relate to surgery in general. These include the risks associated with anesthesia, infection, damage to nerves and blood vessels, and bleeding or blood clots. Complications following flatfoot surgery may include wound breakdown or nonunion (incomplete healing of the bones). These complications often can be prevented with proper wound care and rehabilitation. Occasionally, patients may notice some discomfort due to prominent hardware. Removal of hardware can be done at a later time if this is an issue. The overall complication rates for flatfoot surgery are low.
If you have flat feet, your arches are low or maybe even absent. The condition is also known by the medical terms "pes planus" or "pes valgus." Flat feet are often associated with excessive pronation, which is the action that causes the foot's arch to descend down and inward (flattening) as the foot strikes the ground. Pronation is a normal and necessary foot motion. Overpronation, however, means that feet pronate to an excessive degree while standing, walking or running. Because of their tendency to overpronate, flat feet are less able to absorb shock. And this impaired shock-absorption can mean increased stress on the feet, ankles and knees. You can sometimes identify overpronation in a person with flat feet by observing them from behind. You may see something called the "too-many-toes" sign, where the individual's toes and forefeet splay outward.
Causes
You can have a tendency towards fallen arches from birth. Up through the toddler stage, it is common to have flat feet. Throughout childhood, arches tend to normally develop. For reasons not well understood, however, in some cases the feet stay flat and the arch never forms. In many cases this abnormality does not cause symptoms or require any treatment. In other cases, it is due to a condition called tarsal coalition. This occurs when some of the foot bones fuse.
Symptoms
People will have a very heavily dropped arch and it won?t affect them at all and people will have it slightly dropped and it could cause fierce problems. It could cause things like plantar fasciitis, it could cause heel spurs, desperate ball-of-the-foot pressure, or pressure on the big toe known as the hallux which causes discomfort in the foot. It will create problems upwards to the knees, hips and the back once you?re out of line.
Diagnosis
You can always give yourself the ?wet test? described above to see whether you have flat feet. Most people who do not notice their flat feet or have no pain associated with them do not think to see a foot doctor. Flat feet can lead to additional problems such as stiffness or pain, however, especially if the condition appears out of nowhere. If you think you may have flat feet, you should seek medical attention to ensure there are no additional issues to worry about. Your doctor will be able to diagnose you with a number of tests. For example, he or she may have you walk around, stand still, or stand on your tiptoes while you are being examined. Your doctor may also examine your foot?s shape and functionality. It?s important to let your foot doctor know about your medical and family history. In some cases, your doctor may order imaging tests such as x-rays or an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to determine a cause of your flat foot. If tarsal coalition is suspected in children, a CT scan is often ordered.
arch support inserts reviews
Non Surgical Treatment
What we want to do is support the arch and maintain it in that curved position. So what you want is to bring the foot into a position where you hold and support the arch so you can get that correct heel-midfoot-big toe contact. You would achieve that with a level of arch support. People will take different levels of support, if you?re somebody who has movement in your arch, a strong level of support will hold and maintain you whereas if you?re someone whose arch has collapsed it could need more support and a level of correction built into the support to realign you. If you think of it, when your arch drops, it affects your foot but it also has a biomechanical effect on the rest of the body. But nothing that can?t be solved.
Surgical Treatment
Fallen arches may occur with deformities of the foot bones. Tarsal coalition is a congenital condition in which the bones of the foot do not separate from one another during development in the womb. A child with tarsal coalition exhibits a rigid flat foot, which can be painful, notes the patient information website eOrthopod. Surgery may prove necessary to separate the bones. Other foot and ankle conditions that cause fallen arches may also require surgery if noninvasive treatments fail to alleviate pain and restore normal function.
Prevention
Going barefoot, particularly over terrain such as a beach where muscles are given a good workout, is good for all but the most extremely flatfooted, or those with certain related conditions such as plantar fasciitis. Ligament laxity is also among the factors known to be associated with flat feet. One medical study in India with a large sample size of children who had grown up wearing shoes and others going barefoot found that the longitudinal arches of the bare footers were generally strongest and highest as a group, and that flat feet were less common in children who had grown up wearing sandals or slippers than among those who had worn closed-toe shoes. Focusing on the influence of footwear on the prevalence of pes planus, the cross-sectional study performed on children noted that wearing shoes throughout early childhood can be detrimental to the development of a normal or a high medial longitudinal arch. The vulnerability for flat foot among shoe-wearing children increases if the child has an associated ligament laxity condition. The results of the study suggest that children be encouraged to play barefooted on various surfaces of terrain and that slippers and sandals are less harmful compared to closed-toe shoes. It appeared that closed-toe shoes greatly inhibited the development of the arch of the foot more so than slippers or sandals. This conclusion may be a result of the notion that intrinsic muscle activity of the arch is required to prevent slippers and sandals from falling off the child?s foot.
After Care
Patients may go home the day of surgery or they may require an overnight hospital stay. The leg will be placed in a splint or cast and should be kept elevated for the first two weeks. At that point, sutures are removed. A new cast or a removable boot is then placed. It is important that patients do not put any weight on the corrected foot for six to eight weeks following the operation. Patients may begin bearing weight at eight weeks and usually progress to full weightbearing by 10 to 12 weeks. For some patients, weightbearing requires additional time. After 12 weeks, patients commonly can transition to wearing a shoe. Inserts and ankle braces are often used. Physical therapy may be recommended. There are complications that relate to surgery in general. These include the risks associated with anesthesia, infection, damage to nerves and blood vessels, and bleeding or blood clots. Complications following flatfoot surgery may include wound breakdown or nonunion (incomplete healing of the bones). These complications often can be prevented with proper wound care and rehabilitation. Occasionally, patients may notice some discomfort due to prominent hardware. Removal of hardware can be done at a later time if this is an issue. The overall complication rates for flatfoot surgery are low.
