Flat feet – something about posture defects

Platfus – in small children, physiological things are undesirable in the elderly and adults. Flat feet is the most common disease of the foot and consists in lowering its arches, thus the foot touches the ground with its entire surface. One of the reasons for the formation of flat feet is a static, sedentary lifestyle, which apparently does not serve us very much – the recently described dead buttocks were also a consequence of it. Do you want to know more about it or maybe you want to learn a few exercises that will help you fight this disadvantage? We invite you to read on.

At the beginning of our development, i.e. until the age of 3-4, a flat foot is a physiology, because the muscular-ligamentous apparatus is not yet developed, then careful observation is recommended to see if the foot is developing properly. A properly shaped foot rests on the ground on 3 points of support: the head of the 1st and 5th metatarsal bones and the heel tumor, with arches forming along these points. The effect of foot arch trapezoid may be transverse or longitudinal flatfoot, and the cause of, among others, weakened muscles or ligaments or other posture defects, such as valgus knees.

The reasons

The causes of flat foot include the previously mentioned immobility. Especially disadvantageous is sitting with dangling legs, where there is ischemia and malnutrition of the muscles in the feet. Other reasons include wearing uncomfortable shoes – narrow ones that prevent the toes from moving freely or with too hard soles. More often flat feet affect people who are overweight or simply with a large body weight, because the entire muscular-ligamentous apparatus is not able to support the lifting load. It happens that flat feet arise as a result of failure of the posterior tibial muscle or due to damage or weakness of the muscles, ligaments or joints of the foot.

Diagnostics and treatment

Flat feet are best diagnosed with a pedobarographic device or podoscope. It is possible to evaluate the shape of the foot and the pressure distribution. It is not uncommon for flat feet to be accompanied by the halluxes mentioned in this article. It should be remembered that flat feet do not really affect the foot itself, but it can cause discomfort in regions distant from the foot, e.g. in the area of ​​the knee or hip joints, as well as in the area of ​​the spine. Treatment mainly involved exercise and patient education. If there is no satisfactory improvement, orthopedic insoles are recommended.

How to prevent flat feet?

- wear wide shoes with soft / medium soles 
so that your fingers can move freely
- walk barefoot - your muscles will be more active!
- walk on uneven terrain - walking in the woods is great!
- take care of the proper tension of your muscles throughout the body - 
remember about stretching and rolling!

HERE ARE A FEW EXERCISES THAT WILL HELP TO STRENGTHEN YOUR FEET, LET’S GET STARTED!

1. ball between the ankles and climb on toes
2. the ball between the feet at the level of the toes, lift it up
3. roll the ball over the ball, roll the ball in all directions
4. roll your foot over the disc, from heel to toe – as is the anatomical gait pattern