When you are dealing with your feet, you can find that they go through a lot of stress. If you do not give them some of the rest they deserve, it can lead to a whole bunch of foot conditions, many of which can cause discomfort and pain along the way.
Ignoring the problem will often just make it worse and could end up limiting your mobility too. One of the conditions that many people experience when it comes to their feet is flat feet.
When the arches start to fall a bit, this can lead to a flat-foot problem. This can seem like a minor problem, but it does affect your gait and the way that the weight is distributed throughout the foot.
Once you start to notice you have a problem with flat feet, it is time to get to work on fixing it. Even if you do not notice symptoms of the problem right now, it is possible that pain and other symptoms can show up later.
Let’s take a closer look at what flat feet are all about and some of the best treatments that you can use to help solve this problem.
What are Flat Feet?
Before we dive into some of the home remedies that you can use, it is important to take the time to look at flat feet and what they are all about. Flat foot is a condition where you have a very low arch or no arch at all in your foot.
This means that the foot will start to press flat into the ground any time you take a step or put pressure on it. It is possible for this condition to be congenital, which means that you were born with it, or you may wear out the arches with age.
Most of those who get this condition will end up with no symptoms or side effects. For some, this issue can cause pain and discomfort and they will want to get it fixed as soon as possible.
When the flat foot condition starts to cause you a lot of pain and discomfort, then it is time to find a good treatment to help. The good news is that there are a lot of great options that are available to treat the flat foot and keep you mobile and moving for years to come.
There are a few symptoms that you can notice when you are going through the issue of flat feet. It is likely that you will notice there is some pain in the arch or the heel when the condition gets bad enough and starts to pull on the tendons at the bottom of the foot.
You may notice that the pain will get worse the more active you are. Some patients will notice that there is more swelling than usual in the foot. This is most true when they look along the inside of their ankle.
You may experience one or more of these symptoms at the same time when suffering from flat feet. It is also possible to have flat feet and never notice a symptom at all.
Best Treatments to Eliminate Flat Feet
Now that we know a bit more about flat feet and what happens with this condition, it is time for us to take a closer look at some of the best treatments to help you handle the flat feet and see some relief from the pain that may be bothering you. Some of the best treatment options that you can choose include
Wear the Right Shoes
The first step to taking care of your flat foot condition and alleviating the pain you feel is to wear some supportive shoes. We all wear shoes each day, but if you do not go for a pair that can fit on your feet well, then you will cause the feet to hurt.
You need to find supportive shoes that will take care of you and give your feet the care they need. For those with flat feet, a good pair of shoes will be one with strong arch support.
This arch support can take some of the pressure off the foot and redistributes some of the weight that you put on the foot while walking around. This can provide you with a good deal of relief from the foot and leg pain you have dealt with.
Be careful when choosing these shoes though. You do not want to get a pair that has a heel too high. Keep the heel lower than 2.25 inches.
You can cause some extra strain on the foot and arches that are not good. Make sure that the shoes are going to be supportive, but not restrictive, so the foot won’t move around too much.
Custom Orthotics
Another option that you can choose is a pair of custom orthotics. If you have to spend a good deal of time on your feet, then custom orthotics can be the right choice for you.
These orthotics are designed to match up with your feet, which will ensure that you disperse your body weight and can lift some of the burdens from your feet. There are two different types of flat feet that you need to be aware of before choosing custom orthotics.
Knowing which one you have will ensure that you pick out the orthotic that is right for you. The two types of flat feet that you may encounter include:
- Rigid flat feet: If you have a lot of pressure that causes the feet to be flat and they remain flat, even when you do not have weight on them, then you are going to suffer from rigid flat feet. You will need to go with an orthotic that has a lower arch to be safe.
- Soft flat feet: If you have a foot that is curved when you have no weight on it, but it goes flat when you add some pressure, then you suffer from flexible flat feet. A higher arch support in the custom orthotic can make sense for this one.
Orthotics can work well for many patients, even for conditions that do not include flat feet. For example, if you have plantar fasciitis or bursitis, you will find that a pair of custom orthotics can help solve some of these problems and give your feet the relief that it needs.
Lose Weight
The more pressure that you put onto the feet, the more they are likely to wear out and you will end up with flat feet. Being overweight or obese can greatly increase the chances that you will have flat feet overall as well.
This is why those who are overweight and suffer from flat feet are often recommended to lose weight to help with the condition. If you are able to lose weight, it can take some of the pressure off the feet and will help give you some of the relief that you need.
It can also provide better blood flow to the feet and disperses the pressure, which can cause issues to the feet as well. Find a safe and effective weight loss program to give your feet some relief.
Exercise or Workout
While we do mean working out in order to help lose weight, in this case, we are going to discuss some of the exercises that you can do to specifically target the arches and other muscles of the legs so that you can combat the issues of flat feet. There are a lot of good options for this and just a few minutes a day can be enough to give you some of the strength that you need.
You can try out a few different exercises to see which ones feel the best and seem to stretch out the tendon a bit more so that you are strengthening the foot the right way. There are a ton to choose from but using a tennis ball to massage the area, a stair arch raise, and more can be great options to protect your feet too.
Finding the Right Treatment for Your Flat Feet
While many people will suffer from problems with flat feet over time, it is important to look for signs of this condition and then take the proper steps to work on healing it and making it feel better. With some of the simple remedies above, you will be able to take control and finally make the issue of flat feet disappear for good.
One solution that you can try when your flat feet start to cause you pain and discomfort is a pair of custom orthotics. Our team at URthotics.com can provide the best in custom orthotics, all from the comfort of your own home.
With more than 25 years of experience and many great products to choose from, we feel confident that our custom orthotics will help with your flat feet.