How To Fix Flat Feet

What is flat feet (pes planus)?

Flat feet occurs when there is loss of the arch in your foot. So when you stand, your entire foot makes contact with the ground.

Flexible vs. Rigid Flat Foot

A flexible foot is when you have an arch when you’re sitting (non-weightbearing) but becomes flat when you stand (weight bearing). This is not a true flat foot and can be corrected. A rigid flat foot means there is no arch whether you are sitting or standing, and this would be considered a true flat foot. Many of us have a flexible flat foot and it can be corrected with exercise.

What are the causes?

Genetics, diabetes, and obesity can cause flat feet. However, a more common reason is from a lack of ankle mobility. Specifically, ankle dorsiflexion. If you’ve ever had a past injury to the foot or ankle, that can result in limited ankle mobility.

What is ankle dorsiflexion and how can it cause flat feet?

Dorsiflexion is when you lift your forefoot towards your shin, or when your shin comes down towards and past your toes like when squatting. You need ankle dorsiflexion when you walk, go up and down the stairs, squat, and lunge. So as you can see, you go into dorsiflexion a lot throughout your day.

Now, you might say that you can do all these activities without any problems so you must have a good amount of dorsiflexion. However, our bodies are very good at compensating. Our body will do whatever it has to to get you down those flight of stairs. Remember, movement takes place along the path of least resistance. And this is usually the area where you will have the most pressure and stress; in this case your arch. This means that due to your stiff ankles, your arch that is not as stiff will have to collapse in order to allow your knees to go past your toes when going down the stairs or when you’re squatting. Now imagine you’re doing this throughout your entire day. This will cause the arch to fall.

How do I fix my flat feet?

Watch the video below to learn how to increase your ankle dorsiflexion. Once you’ve got the mobility part down, you have to strengthen the muscles that hold the arch up. Start with the short foot exercise shown in the video. Once you have mastered this, you can progress by incorporating the short foot with squats and other standing exercises.

What about orthotics?

Your feet naturally goes into pronation (flat feet) and supination (arch) when you walk. Pronation is necessary during gait for shock absorption and allows your foot to adapt to uneven surfaces. Supination is necessary because it provides stability in your foot during the push off phase of gait. Using an orthotic stops these motions. When you have flat feet, the issue is that you’re stuck in pronation and cannot get out of it. So what you want to do is teach your foot how to create an arch instead. With that being said, orthotics may help in the short term but in the long run it will prevent you from proper foot mechanics.

Christa

August 24, 2020 at 10:38 am

Great tips! Much needed. Thanks, Ella!

Wellness With ELLA
August 24, 2020 at 11:15 am

Thank you! Hope it was helpful!

Livi Bee

August 24, 2020 at 11:42 am

I have flat feet, and I absolutely hate it. I’m almost certain I have a rigid flat foot. I’m going to try some of these exercises to see if they help. Wish me luck 😩