6 dangerous misconceptions about flat feet

Until scary terms like “valgus valgus of the thumb” come up, no one is particularly worried. And flat feet in children in general are often perceived as the norm of life and insurance from the army (the latter, by the way, is completely unreasonable – they call). Alexey Kuznetsovdoctor of applied kinesitherapy, founder and chief specialist of the NADO Fitness fitness club, talks about the most common misconceptions associated with flat feet.

Misconception No. 1. The problem is genetically determined

Despite the many materials on the Internet about “hereditary flat feet”, this pathology is not genetically determined. There are no clear statistics on this.

You just need to understand that all children have flat feet up to about 6 years old, because the muscles of the foot, and the entire musculoskeletal system, are not fully formed. Because of this, it seems to flat-footed parents that their child was born the same way. This is how legends are born. You should also not forget that children have an instinct of unconscious imitation of their parents: he sees how dad and mom move, and repeats after them.

Misconception #2. If you wear shoes with a heel as a child, then there will be no flat feet.

Another version is sandals so that the toes are open … Shoes with a small heel … High boots to fix the ankle …

If the back of the foot is fixed, then the muscles do not work and atrophy. You can prevent or eliminate flat feet by adjusting the proper functioning of the muscles of the foot. At home, it is best to walk in shoes with a closed cape or barefoot. The main thing is to concentrate on walking correctly: rolling from heel to toe, pushing off with your fingers at the end of the step.

Heels, by the way, seriously violate the biomechanics of the step, do not allow it to be performed correctly, with a roll, so flat feet, which did not exist in childhood, can quickly develop in adolescence and adolescence.

Misconception #3. You can’t get rid of flat feet, you can only slow down its development

This setting, as it were, relieves you of responsibility and gives you the right to do nothing. We deprive you of this right and self-consolation. You can get rid of flat feet, but only if you constantly work on yourself. Follow the correct step, do the exercises. For example, like this:

Initial position: lying, reclining or sitting (the leg is straight and lies completely on the surface). The foot is located at a right angle to the leg, the toes point to the ceiling.

4 movements are performed:

1) pull the toes towards you

2) we pull the whole foot towards ourselves (while the fingers remain, as in point 1)

3) pull the toes away from you

4) stretch the entire foot away from you (fingers, as in paragraph 3)

You need to perform 70-80 repetitions of the exercise once a day.

A good prevention of flat feet is exercises on various unstable supports (BOSU, reebokcore). They also develop the muscles of the foot.

It is possible to get rid of flat feet at any age. But children tend to heal much faster.

Misconception #4. During pregnancy, the size of the legs increases

During pregnancy, the center of gravity changes, as does the load on the foot, this often leads to the development of flat feet. The foot ceases to hold the correct slightly curved shape, “stretches” on the ground – accordingly, the size of the shoe increases. No need to console yourself with the fact that “the leg has grown”, this is flat feet! But if you start doing the exercises in time, you can quickly return to the previous parameters. Take it as seriously as you would take weight loss after giving birth.

Misconception #5. With flat feet, you need to wear special orthopedic insoles

Insoles do not solve the problem of flat feet, they artificially model the correct bend of the foot, and with constant use of them, the muscles and ligaments adapt and cease to perform supporting functions on their own.

With advanced flat feet, you can wear insoles for 2-3 months, while doing regular exercises to develop the muscles of the foot. After 3 months, you need to let the foot work without the help of insoles.

It is necessary to make insoles under the order, according to individual parameters, otherwise the situation can be aggravated.

Misconception #6. Flat feet do not interfere with life, so it makes no sense to spend a lot of energy on fighting it.

Flat feet is a disease much more serious than it seems at first glance. Gradually, it disrupts the functioning of the entire musculoskeletal system and can provoke or aggravate other existing diseases.

Flat feet can become one of the factors in the appearance of pain in the lower back, cervical region, head, knees, behind the sternum, lead to the development of varicose veins and arthritis.

Well, you know about hallux valgus and bumps on your legs without us …