A healthy foot arch helps to distribute the weight of your body and makes it easier for you to maintain your balance. However, everyone isn’t blessed with a perfectly shaped foot arch, and in fact many people have a fallen or flat foot arch. Flat feet may not be painful, at least at the outset, but this fallen arch can put you at an increased risk for a number of different conditions, including arthritis, shin splints, bone spurs and more.
But what causes your foot arch to flatten, and is there anything you can do to prevent this? We take a closer look at common causes of a flattening foot arch in today’s blog.
Why Is My Arch Flattening?
A number of different issues can lead to foot arch flattening, so it’s important to connect with a foot specialist to understand the root cause so that you can follow the best prevention and treatment protocols. Here’s a closer look at some of the most common causes or foot arch flattening:
1. Tendon Problems – Your Achilles tendon is connected to your posterior tibial tendon, which connects your ankle to the inside bottom of your foot along with the plantar fascia ligaments. Damage to either of these tendons can make it harder for these tendons to help support your natural foot arch, leading to gradual flattening. Treating tendon inflammation or tears can ensure that tendon problems don’t linger and affect your foot arch.
2. Foot Fractures – A fracture to one of the many bones in your foot can also lead to arch issues. Your bones play a pivotal role in a network of structures that help to form and support your arch. If fractures don’t heal correctly or the injury changes how weight is distributed on your foot (potentially affecting your posterior tibial tendon), your foot arch’s integrity may be at risk.
3. Genetics – Everyone has a different foot shape, and some people never develop a healthy natural foot arch. Conversely, some people develop an unnaturally high foot arch, which can cause problems of its own. You can’t change the genetics you’ve been dealt, but that also doesn’t mean that you are doomed to suffer from problems caused by flat feet. Getting regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and fully treating any foot problems can help to protect your feet.
4. Arthritis – Finally, rheumatoid arthritis is another condition that can affect your foot’s natural arch. RA is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack healthy tissues like the cartilage, ligaments and synovial lining in your joints. You have 30 joints in each of your feet, and if they are chronically affected by rheumatoid arthritis, the condition can end up changing the shape of your feet.
While not all of these problems can be prevented, we touched on some of the ways you can work to protect your foot arch. Get regular exercise to help develop and strengthen supportive tissues in your feet, maintain a healthy weight, as being overweight can put chronic pressure on your foot arch and speed up natural tissue degeneration, and be sure to treat any foot injuries fully so that your arch isn’t taking on more stress as it attempts to protect your feet from pressure when walking or running.
If you do all of these things and choose Dr. Silverman and the team at Silverman Ankle & Foot when you need foot care, your foot arch will be in great shape. For more information, or for help with a different foot issue, give Dr. Silverman a call today at (952) 224-2277.
