Do you suffer from flat feet? You may or may not be able to answer this question, but flat feet could be the cause of your various aches and pains. If you’re someone who always complains about problems in your knees, hips, or lower back, then it could all stem from having flat feet.
Flat Feet Explained
Flat feet is the common term for feet with fallen arches. Every foot has a natural arch that curves along the bottom. If you place your feet on the floor with no socks, then there should be a tiny gap between the inner sole of your foot and the floor. When your arches “fall” it means they basically flatten out, and your feet sit flat on the floor.
While it may not seem like a big deal at the time, flat feet can end up being one of the hidden health threats you should be aware of. Think of it as the beginning of a dangerous chain reaction – and you’ll see what we mean in just a moment.
How Flat Feet Affect Your Body
Having flat feet means that your ankles roll inwards because there’s no arch support. Immediately, this signals an increased risk of ankle injuries – but there’s more.
As your ankles roll in this impacts everything above your feet. Your knees turn in, and then your upper leg bone turns in as well, which internally rotates your hips. Everything moves out of its natural alignment, causing numerous problem areas.
- Pain on the outside of your knees is common because the ligaments and tendons are more stretched than they should be.
- Hip pain is remarkable common in various areas due to excessive internal rotation. It can give you a pinching sensation in your hip flexors or lead to hip impingement and bursitis.
- The muscles and ligaments around your hip are out of alignment and working overtime to sort things out, which causes your lower spine also to be pulled out of alignment. This leads to excessive arching in your lower back and chronic pain in the muscles there.
In other words, your flat feet affect your ankles, which then causes your knees to overcompensate, which impacts your hips, and then your lower back bears the brunt of the work.
If you experience pain in any of the areas mentioned – yet nothing seems to help – it could be because you’ve got flat feet and aren’t treating them.
How To Treat Flat Feet
First of all, get custom-made orthotics from a medical equipment store. Orthotics slip into your shoes and force your feet to have an arch. They stop you from walking around with flat feet and doing even more damage to the rest of your body.
Secondly, perform different exercises to build up the arch in your feet. This can take time – but there are loads of great videos online showing you what to do. Treat it like any other workout: perform multiple sets and reps a couple of times a week to build up strength in your arch. Eventually you’ll have a natural arch again and can ditch your orthotics.
Don’t underestimate the pains caused by flat feet. If your feet don’t have a prominent arch, then you need to do something about the problem. Flat feet will cause other biomechanical issues and this could be why you’re always in pain.
