Flatfoot and Orthopedic shoes

Today MEDI-REHATEK will introdue you the symptom and cause of flatfoot.

A symptom

1, symptoms: 

There are two types of flatfoot,that is renewable and stiff.The medial longitudinal arch can be observed in normal foot when sitting and standing.If the arch is disappeared when sitting,saying renewable flatfoot. If we can not see longitudinal arch of the foot, that is stiff flatfoot. It can be separated into postural and spastic type.

1.1 Postural flatfoot: 

The onset of the arch is no abnormal appearance. But it feels tired and pain after walking and foot fatigue.The outside ankle of shank has a sense of pain, sole center and instep may have swelling.The navicular tuberosity hasswelling and tenderness, local skin with redness as well as mild foot varus limitsstanding. Symptoms and signs of flatfoot and foot valgus may disappear after rest.

1.2 Spastic flatfoot: 

It occurs most in young adults, some evolve due to be mishandled from postural flatfoot.It feels severe pain when standing or walking and the footstep is like Chinese character “八”. Peroneus longus has tonic spasm, footvarus and valgus, abduction movement is limited. Heel is widened, sole turnsoutwards, the achilles tendon deflects outwards. Navicular tuberosity of forefoot abduction completely collapses and projects outwards. Much worse,the footbecomes stiffness. The movement of foot varus and valgus, abduction and dorsiflexion is limited.It is difficult to improve symptoms even after a long time of resting, it, partial patients may has secondary  low back pain and hip-knee pain.

According to the clinical severity of the disease,it can also be separated into three types. But the change needs to be observed when the longitudinal foot arch bearsweight:

① Light: longitudinal foot arch reduces;

② Medium: longitudinal foot arch disappears;

③ Heavy: longitudinal foot arch disappears with the projection of medial edge. The head of the talus is shifted to plantar side that is below the front of malleolus. Sometimes patients presents with shortened achilles tendon and heel turns outwards.

2 Complications: 

Early symptoms have the anteromedial ankle pain. Long time of standing or walking exacerbates the pain.Rest relieves pain. The pain joint has swelling around,much wore like scaphoid tubercle causes staggering step, achilles tendon splays like the Chinese character “八” .

Through footprints inspection, the vacancies of longitudinal arch disappear.The middle of foot becomes wider, and sometimes as well as heel does.The arch disappears after X-ray examination. The angle increases between the longitudinal axis of the calcaneus and talus.Bone bridge forms after 12 years old.

B  Cause of Disease

It has not been elucidated, but epidemiological studies have found that the disease has a significant genetic predisposition. Pathological inspection shows that tarsal has no developmental abnormalities, but the ligaments connection with joint capsule of articulationes subtalaris,articulationes talonavicularis,boat wedge joint is more flabby than normal people.Calcaneus beneath talus turns inwards when foot bears load,its front moves to back and outer side.The talus moves to plantar and interior side. It will cause with more slack ligament that can’t support the head of talus.Longitudinal foot arch is lowered.The slack calcaneal ligament makes the calcaneus turn inwards and exacerbates the decline of longitudinal foot arch.

Clinically the cause of disease is separated into four factors:

① genetic factors;

② congenital deformities of foot bone ;

③ foot trauma or chronic fatigue;

④ Intrinsic or extrinsic muscles of foot is weak or spastic or paralyzed.

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