Your foot contains 26 bones and more than 100 tendons, muscles, and ligaments. Together, they form a complex structure designed to support your entire body. When you consider how much weight presses down on just 25 square inches of bone and tissue, it becomes clear how easily foot pain can develop. The arch of your foot distributes weight evenly and keeps your ankles, knees, and hips aligned.
However, arches sometimes fail due to injury or repeated stress. If you feel pain in the arch of your foot, or notice that your arch touches the floor when you stand, you may be developing fallen arches—also known as flatfoot.
What is Flatfoot
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Flatfoot describes several foot conditions, but they all share one feature: a partially or completely collapsed arch. The most common type is Flexible Flatfoot. In this condition, the arch collapses while standing but appears normal when the foot is at rest.
This often begins in childhood when arches fail to develop properly. All babies have flat feet, but the arch usually forms as they learn to walk. When development doesn’t happen as expected, the problem may go unnoticed until pain or deformity appears. In other cases, flatfoot develops later in life due to injury, arthritis, or medical conditions that affect joint movement. Over time, it almost always leads to foot arch pain.
If left untreated, flatfoot can cause toe drift, bunions, hammertoes, and tight Achilles tendons. It may also affect your knees, hips, and back due to long-term gait changes. Flatfoot usually occurs in both feet, although one foot may hurt more than the other.
How Flatfoot Causes Foot Pain In the Arch
Flatfoot pain usually stems from inflammation or small tears in the tendon along the bottom of your foot. This is the same tendon affected by Plantar Fasciitis. When both conditions occur together, the discomfort can worsen quickly.
How to Treat Flatfoot
Orthotic Devices
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Well-fitted shoes with solid arch support may help if your symptoms are mild. For stronger support, specialty footwear or custom orthotics can restore alignment from the feet up. When your posture improves, your entire body benefits.
Exercise
Simple exercises that stretch the Achilles and Plantar Facia tendons and strengthen the muscles can help to relieve pain in the arch of the foot, as well. Your doctor or physiotherapist can recommend specific routines for this purpose.
Massage
Your feet have an abundance of nerve endings, meaning that they are very susceptible to pain, but also to the amazing relief that a good massage can bring. When looking for relief for arch pain, whether it’s caused by flat feet or just a ‘knot’ in the muscles, massage is an invaluable resource.
Simply working that spot at the centre of your arch can be one of the most satisfying massage techniques. Just working in light pressure, small circles, can alleviate the tension whether you are massaging your own feet or letting someone do it for you.
Professional massage therapists will know how to take this even deeper, warming and stretching the strained muscles and tendons of your feet to improve circulation and triggering your body’s own ability to heal and restore tissue. A massage therapist who is well versed in the art of reflexology can also work the trigger points in your feet to bring relief to your entire body.
The massage therapists at Easy Cozy Wellness in Nanaimo, British Columbia are trained to do just that. Call to book an appointment today and let the professionals help you find your way to foot pain relief.
For a broad overview of many different types of foot pain, read our new article, Finding Foot Pain Relief.
References:
- Foot Health Facts “Flexible Flatfoot” https://www.foothealthfacts.org/conditions/flexible-flatfoot
- PainScience.com “Massage Therapy for Tired Feet” https://www.painscience.com/articles/spot-10-foot-arch.php