One of the most common foot/ankle questions answered.

By Leading Physical Therapist, Dr. Carlo Sayo, DPT, OCS

Chino Hills –

One of the most common questions we get at the clinic has to do with people’s feet.

We get asked:

“Can I fix my flat feet?
or

“I have flat feet (or overpronate), I can’t do anything about that, right??”

Before I answer this question, we must first go over the basics of ankle and feet.

A normal foot should have an arch. This arch in the middle of your foot is “held up” by different things. Namely, your bones, joints, ligaments, muscles and other tissues.

Let us consider that, like any other part of the body, there is a structural component to the foot and ankle. In other words, how high or low your arch is will be determined by the structure of your feet. You may be genetically predisposed to have lower arches.

Now consider the fact that (like any other part of your body) there is a MECHANICAL component to your foot and ankle.

Meaning, like any other part of the body, you can influence your foot and ankle (and your arch) by addressing things that influence the structure of your foot!

I’ve used this to illustrate this concept: If you are genetically more prone to having rounded shoulders, it does not mean you are forever going to have bad posture! You can work on improving your flexibility, your strength and your posture, you will most likely prevent having a hunched back.

So, to answer your question:

“Can you improve ‘flat feet’?”

The short answer is: YES!

Next question is typically: How do I fix it?

Answer:

Have an expert P.T. perform a comprehensive assessment to determine what things are contributing to your foot/ankle issue.

Chances are, there are MECHANICAL issues that can be addressed with simple advice, treatment and exercise.

It is worth pointing out why this question is so common in the clinic. It is brought up so often because it is simply the root cause of many foot/ankle issues, knee pain and even back pain!

Overpronating (flat feet) can cause you to have poor control of your lower body causing stress to muscles, joints and even nerves!

I won’t get into too much detail about that here. That would be a whole other conversation.

But, if you are interested in finding out more about what could be causing your ankle/foot pain,

Or if your flat feet are causing your aches and pains, all you have to do is sign up for a free Discovery Visit.

During this Discovery Visit, an expert PT, would be able to tell you what is contributing to your aches and pains.