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A flat foot is a foot condition in which a low or missed foot’s arch is present.
We can have three main degrees of the flat foot such as:
Flat foot can be associated with ankle instability determined by foot pronation.
There are different ways to assess flat foot, some are more advanced such as a 3D foot pressure scan, and others are less advanced such as a podoscope.
The simplest way to assess foot abnormalities is through a podoscope which identify the shape of the foot against a glass ground.
With this kind of diagnostic we can identify manly 4 types of foot abnormalities such as:
The best and most advanced medical diagnostic of a flat foot is through a high-tech gait analysis system with a 3D foot pressure scan on a treadmill and camera system.
With this kind of gait analysis system, we will be able to identify and diagnose flat foot and other related foot conditions such as foot supination and pronation, ankle instability, and excessive external or internal foot rotation.
A 3D foot pressure scan will give us information about how the foot interacts with the ground and the 3D map of the forces that each centimeter square of the foot produces on the ground.
This system allows us to do a complete body posture analysis which can gather other information about the body’s posture too, such as overloads on one side of the body or forefoot and heels
A flat foot is a condition that presents a risk factor for some foot injuries or foot conditions.
A person affected by flat feet has an increased chance of getting foot injuries such as:
Other foot conditions related to flat feet are:
The best physiotherapy plan to treat flat feet if that one focuses on these musculoskeletal parts:
In our sports injury clinic in London, we set up a physiotherapy plan in two steps:
Hands-on physiotherapy is performed to reduce the muscle tension and mobility restriction caused by weak lower leg muscles and reduced foot arch. Hands-on physiotherapy is performed with special tools and techniques such as Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) which is very effective in releasing muscle and tendon tension, and eventually adhesion and calcification.
Physio exercises are effective in the long-term to strengthen the weak lower leg muscles that are responsible for the low arch and flat feet.
The best physio exercise plan for flat feet must target the weak muscles of the lower leg mentioned above.
Please follow the below physio exercises three times a week for 12 weeks.
Exercise N° 1
Walk on your heels in small steps lifting your forefoot and doing plantar flexion
of the toes.
Exercise N° 2
Walk on the outer edge of the feet while doing plantar flexion of the toes.
Exercise N° 3
Walk with small steps holding a handkerchief doing a plantar flexion of the
toes.
Exercise N° 4
Stand facing the wall bar ( Swedish Ladder ).
Climb the ladder positioning the midfoot on the step and doing a plantar
flexion of the toes.
Exercise N° 5
Sit on a chair, trunk upright, hands on the hips, feet on the ground. Alternately
grasp and lift a handkerchief from the ground, doing a plantar flexion of the
toes.
Exercise N° 6
Sit on a chair. Roll a tennis ball under the sole of each foot by applying
downward pressure and doing a plantar flexion of the toes.
To these exercises, you can add daily walking and/or running to activate the foot muscle in synergy with the leg’s muscle.
Calf and foot stretching are advised before and after the series of exercises and walking or running.
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