If you notice that your foot or your feet come into complete or near complete contact with the ground, you may have the condition known as pes planus, or flat foot. Flat foot is a condition wherein the arch of the foot collapses or never normally develops. Having this condition does not, however, affect normal movement of the foot. Your footspeed will relatively remain normal and various reflexes and reactions of the feet will still be considered active.
In the early stages of growth during childhood, your “baby fats” partly masks the developing arch of the foot, which eventually have the appearance of this flat foot condition. But, this arch in the foot will continue to develop normally as part of your regular muscle growth along with your ligaments, tendons and bones. Various activities can be undergone to further aid the development of the arches. Training through foot gymnastics and your basic walking around barefooted can help facilitate the growth of your foot arches during the early stages of childhood towards adolescence.
This condition is easily identified. If you notice a child while walking and, through observation, realize that he or she is walking oddly, or start to limp during long walks, it is a good precaution to check for flat-footedness. One very successful test for both children and adults is called the ‘wetness’ test. Very simply, the foot is immersed in water and then you are asked to stand on a concrete surface. When asked to leave and there is no dry area where the arch in the foot should be located, it is a very sure sign that you may have this condition.
What Is Flat Feet (Pes Planus)? (Signs And Symptoms)
Although this condition may occur in you, it would be well to know that being flat-footed does not have any major or massive effects on your body’s total motor movement. Studies show that having this condition relatively has no effect on physical movement. Walking and running would still be normal and no complications will arise due to your having this flat footed condition.
If you would still want to treat this, there are exercises and foot gymnastics available through a licensed physician. One sure fire way to treat this is through surgery by a flat foot specialised podiatrist. It is almost 100% effective in placing an arch where it was not present. Yet this surgery is often too costly, and is only available for those who have resources to spend.
