You probably love to be active and don’t even think about how much your feet go through in a given day. Your feet are important, and no doubt you know that. You take thousands of steps per day, and most likely don’t give it a second thought – unless you have flat feet pain, that is.
While flat feet don’t cause pain for everyone, many people who have flat feet or fallen arches suffer from pain in their feet, legs, knees, hips and back. This can lead to a lot of discomfort and to reduced motion and activity. In other words, it can really limit your active lifestyle. Crucial to finding out how to fix your flat feet is finding out why you have flat feet in the first place. In another post, we listed several reasons and contributing factors to flat feet. Today, we want to focus on the main underlying culprit behind this condition: foot misalignment.
Underneath it All
About one quarter of all bones in the body are in the feet. When these bones get out of place, it is called foot misalignment. It is estimated that approximately 35-40% of people are unaware that they have misaligned feet. This condition can lead to flat feet, or collapsed arches when not treated properly. What is foot misalignment exactly? Simply put, it happens when the ankle bone and heel bone are not properly aligned due to the ankle bone slipping off of the heel bone. The ankle bone turns inward and the rest of the foot turns outward. This is also referred to as over-pronation or hyperpronation.
Why is Foot Misalignment a Problem?
Left untreated, foot misalignment leads to flat feet pain and issues with the foot such as plantar fasciitis, metatarsalgia, bunions, and hammertoes, among others. Further complications lead to an internal rotation of the leg, which then leads to a twisting in the knee and causes the hip to pull away from the pelvis leading to extra pressure on the spine. All of this from foot misalignment!
Can it be Treated?
There are various methods seeking to treat the symptoms related to foot misalignment, with some actually failing to treat the misaligned foot structure. Sometimes surgery on the tendons or ligaments is performed, but nothing is done to change the underlying foot structure and the problem is not corrected. In the less extreme cases, arch supports are used to fix misaligned feet. However, there is no evidence that something placed on the bottom of the foot realigns the displaced ankle bone. Another option is a minimally invasive procedure where a titanium stent is placed into the naturally occurring space between the ankle and heel bone.
Now that we’ve gone over the underlying causes of flat feet pain, you can be more educated as you talk to your foot care specialist. If you are experiencing flat feet pain due to misalignment of your feet, getting it treated is essential to living an active and enjoyable lifestyle. The wrong treatments can be a waste of time and money, and won’t fix the underlying problems with foot structure.
