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Flat Feet and Foot Orthotics

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Foot orthotics are designed to deal with abnormalities in the biomechanics of your feet which can affect other parts of your body, including your hips, knees, ankles, neck and lower back. Your feet plant you to the ground and if your feet, which act as the base of your body, are unstable, it can cause instability in the rest of your body as well as the pain associated with abnormal feet.

Foot orthotics are then designed to correct these abnormalities by reshaping the contours of the feet to be more natural. Orthotics is derived from "ortho", meaning to straighten and the word orthotic is often used as an adjective or noun to describe or name a foot-supporting device or insole.

For example, many people have flat feet, which means there is very little to no arch in their foot. Flat feet (also called fallen arches) typically develops in adults, but is also found in small children who often grow up having flat feet. Most adults who have flat feet acquire it either injury, illness, unusual or prolonged stress to the foot, or poor foot biomechanics.

For many people, flat feet are asymptomatic - meaning it causes them no pain and there is no real cause for concern that requires treatment. However, if the flat feet are associated with lower leg pain or pain in the foot, knees and lower back, foot orthotics can be used to help correct these biomechanical abnormalities and recreate the arch that has collapsed. Over the course of several weeks, the foot orthotics are adjusted and more padding is used to gradually raise the arch. The raising of the arch should permanently alter the foot, however, foot orthotics must be worn for the rest of a patient's life to maintain the foot arch.

A podiatrist usually diagnoses flat feet, but a simple test can be done at home to see if you have flat feet and may require foot orthotics. Simple wet your feet and step on hard cardboard or concrete and look at the imprint left by your foot - the more the sole of the foot leaves an imprint (remember the sole of your foot is where your arch is), the flatter your feet.

Once foot orthotics are put in, they typically provide relief to the foot, especially during periods of long standing or walking, where the symptoms of flat feet usually are most severe. In sports, the use of foot orthotics has been documented to help performance as foot orthotics have been designed to counteract the extra stress on the feet, as minor problems biomechanical problems are often exacerbated by weight.

The foot orthotics that are used to treat flat feet can be custom made or off-the shelf, typically on the internet. Custom orthotics are expensive and often times are not covered by normal health insurance. For many people, off-the-shelf foot orthotics, typically purchased on the internet can begin to provide relief to all the pain associated with flat feet.