5 Reasons to Seek Treatment for Your Flat Feet Challenges

The arches in your feet are there for a reason. They support your feet, ankles, lower legs, and knees and impact how your body moves (biomechanics). 

All babies are born with flat feet, and arches typically develop over time. Flat feet can result from genetics, in which case the arches never develop, or your arches can form but fall due to disease or injury.

Estimates vary as to how many people have flat feet, but it ranges up to around 25% of both the child and adult populations. 

At Austin Foot & Ankle Institute, we specialize in treating flat feet to help protect you — if your arches have fallen and your feet are flat, everything changes in your feet and legs.

Here are five reasons you should seek treatment for your flat feet:

1. To relieve knee pain

When you have flat feet, your ankles tend to pronate, or roll inward, more than they should. This change in the biomechanics of your leg causes a chain reaction up to your knee, where pain results. 

This condition is sometimes called patellofemoral pain syndrome because the pain often starts behind your kneecap, where your knee meets your thigh.

2. To avoid plantar fasciitis

Your plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot, connecting your heels to your toes. It can cause a stabbing pain in your heel if inflamed. The strain that a lack of arch puts on the rest of your foot can cause this inflammation and pain.

3. To prevent bunions

With flat feet, your feet might not sit in your shoes how they should. Your feet and toes might rub against your shoes where they shouldn’t, and your toes may be forced into positions that aren’t natural. Bunions, corns, and calluses can sometimes form as a result.

4. To protect your shins

Shin splints, a dull ache in your lower leg around your shinbone (tibia), can result from flat feet. The pronation mentioned earlier plays a big role, putting additional stress on your lower leg and affecting your tibia.

5. To protect your tendons

Flat feet can strain your tendons as they make up for a lost arch. That can cause Achilles tendinitis (heel pain, tight calf muscles) and tendinitis or rupture of the tibialis posterior that connects the inside of your lower leg to the back of your ankle bone to support your arch.

To help prevent all these issues, seek treatment for your flat feet. Dr. Pedro E. Cosculluela and our team at Austin Foot & Ankle Institute are experienced in dealing with these problems and can effectively guide your recovery. 

Treatment may include custom orthotics and footwear, physical therapy and exercises, or flat foot reconstruction if conservative measures are sufficient.

To get started on flat feet treatment, call our office in Austin or Bee Cave, Texas, or request an appointment online today.