People with flat feet are often said to have fallen arches. The arch is made up of the bones of the mid-foot. The foot actually has 26 bones all connected by tendons, ligaments and muscles. To enable you to walk and run the joints of the foot all work together in a coordinated sequence. The efficient, pain-free functioning of the foot requires that all these joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons work together in a sophisticated, coordinated sequence. The arch of the foot and the joints that makeup the arch, play an important role in the proper functioning of the foot. The heel hits the ground first when you take a step. As the middle of the foot starts to take up the load, the foot rotates toward the floor in a motion known as pronation. During pronation the arch flattens out a bit as the foot rotates toward the floor. Pronation is important because it allows the foot to absorb shock. In addition, pronation allows all the bones of the mid-foot to unlock and become like a bag of bones. Being a loose bag of bones enables the foot to adapt to uneven surfaces (uphill, downhill, rocky surface, etc. ). As you go further along in the step the foot undergoes a motion known as supination. Supination is the opposite of pronation. In supination the foot rotates away from the floor and relocks all the bones of the foot to allow the foot to become rigid as you push-off from the floor and propel yourself forward. One of the most important contributors to the proper functioning of the foot is the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a fibrous band of tissue that attaches from the bottom of the heel to the bones of all five toes. Tension in the plantar fascia is responsible for maintaining the shape of the arch. The plantar fascia acts like a spring. It allows the foot to pronate and unlock the bones of the foot and then the spring action allows the foot to supinate and relock the bones of the foot. For people with flat feet the plantar fascia is like a stretched-out spring. It no longer maintains the arch and does not allow the foot to supinate and relock the bones of the foot. People with flat feet remain pronated throughout the step. This means that the foot cannot form a rigid lever arm to propel you forward. This leads to very inefficient functioning of the foot. If the foot is not able to efficiently perform its job then the lower leg has to take over the function of propelling you forward. Flat feet can cause several problems. People with flat feet often develop heel pain known as plantar fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis is inflammation in the area where the plantar fascia attaches to the heel. The inflammation is caused by excessive stretching and pulling at this area of attachment. People with flat feet often experience painful, achy, and tired lower legs at the end of the day because the lower legs have to work so much harder to overcome the inefficient foot function. As a result people with flat feet often develop very bulky, large calf muscles because the calf muscles have to work so hard. People with flat feet can also develop pain in the arch are due to the excessive stretching of the tendons ligaments and muscles that try to make up for the malfunctioning plantar fascia. Many people do not realize that flat feet can also cause problems with the knees, hips and low back. The feet really are the foundation of the body. An over-pronated foot may cause misalignment of the ankle joint. If the ankle joint is not aligned then the knee joint is not aligned. height insoles This can lead to knee pain. The rest of the body must compensate to make up for this misalignment and this causes imbalance in the muscles of the pelvis and low back. This imbalance of the pelvis and low back muscles causes hip and low back pain. Please click here for Part II of Arch Supports For Flat Feet.
