Flat Feet

The foot is an automatic structure divided into three parts which comprose of the forefoot, the mid foot and the hind foot respectively. The heel is part of the hind foot. The mid foot forms the foot arches, which absorb vibration in the foot. The midfoot is joining the forefoot and the hind-foot. The forefoot contains five toes at the front of the foot. The mid-foot has a transverse arch and two longitudinal arches called the medial longitudinal arch and the lateral transverse arch. The arches of the foot are connected to the forefoot and the heel bone of the hind-foot. The medial longitudinal arch forms a curve with the ground and rises a little from the ground. The foot’s lateral longitudinal arch is placed at a much lower position than the lateral longitudinal; therefore, the longitudinal is closer to the ground. The arches move aiding walking and running as the movement makes the arches absorb shock (France, Diane 1). The divisions of the feet are the normal feet and the flat feet. The aim of this paper is to give the comparison of the flat feet and the normal foot.

Normal feet are the kind of feet that has a gap under the feet when one is standing, that is, arch of the foot is forms a curve with the ground. Flat foot is a medical condition where the arch of the foot falls and is nearly in contact with the ground or is actually in contact with the ground. Flat feet are extremely common in children due to the fat covering the developing arches. Flat foot can be either a flexible flat foot or a rigid flat foot. Flexible flat foot is the condition where the foot seems flat when one is standing but an arch is present when one stands on heels. In the case of flexible flat feet, the medial longitudinal arch is intact and the arch has not fallen entirely. The condition of a flexible flat foot can be easily be rectified through exercises. In the case of a rigid flat foot, the medial longitudinal arch is entirely absent (Aetna 14).

Flat foot is associated with pain in the ankle, the general leg, the knee, the arch and the calf. In contrast, people with the normal foot don not experience pain in areas where their counterparts with the flat feet experience pain. Flat feet may also cause swelling of the ankle. People with flat foot also tend to walk oddly and clumsily and fatigue much faster than those with the normal foot. Other problem associated with the flat foot is the shoes of those with the flat teeth tend to wear faster than the shoes of their counterparts with the normal foot.

Flat foot is associated with over-pronation. Pronation is the mechanism of absorbing shock when one is walking or running. The mechanism involves the foot rolling inwardly when a person walks or runs. Over-pronation involves too much of the inward rolling which causes the shock absorbed from running to be distributed unevenly in the foot. Pronation involves most of the toes while over-pronation involves involved two toes. People with the normal feet experience normal pronation, which is helpful in absorbing shock. People with flat foot experience over-pronation, which brings other complications. Complications of over-pronation include the knee injury and the foot.

Conclusion

People have either normal feet or the flat feet. Normal foot has the raised arch and the flat foot is where the arch is in close contact with the ground. The flat feet can be either flexible or rigid where the flexible flat foot is reversible by performing basic foot exercises.