How to fix flat feet?

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If such a problem with the legs has already begun, then it will progress rapidly, especially if a person wears the wrong shoes, does not engage in physical exercises, often sits in an uncomfortable position. That is why it is important to know how to correct flat feet in order to prevent disturbances in the functioning of the whole organism.

Correction Methods, Corrections

It should be understood that flat feet is different. In 80% of cases, patients have a static form of the disease. It is possible to correct flat feet in a child and in an adult, if you pay attention to the pathology in time, do not delay the visit to a specialist.

Correction of flat feet depends on the severity of the pathology, the presence of complications. Doctors use different methods to implement therapeutic tasks.

A useful method will be not only for children, but also for adults. It can be used from 5-6 years of age. Sometimes neonatologists and surgeons advise babies up to 3 years of age to do a light massage with rubbing and stroking movements, to perform “eight” rotations in the child’s foot from the heel to the pads on the toe. This will serve as a good prevention of foot deformation.

There are several types of massage for deformity of the foot. Spike balls are popular. They are specially designed to perform therapeutic exercises. Simply put the middle of the foot on the ball and rotate it from side to side, up and down the foot, from heel to toe. Classes really like kids.

For children under 7 years of age, massage movements are performed as follows:

The procedure begins with a general massage to warm up the whole body of the baby (rubbing, stroking, rotating movements can be used),
Performing a set of exercises of therapeutic gymnastics,
Short restorative massage (not exceeding 5 minutes).

Massage should be performed starting from the calf muscle, gradually moving to the Achilles tendon. After you need to stretch the outer and back side of the leg. Sole massage completes.

Adults should use classic massage for flat feet:

Initially, the outside of the foot is massaged,
The transition to the inside of the foot is performed,
The main part of the massage is the joint part of the thumb, the sole.

You can perform the procedure using various oils (olive, soy, castor), special creams. Contraindication is: high fever, bleeding, allergies, pregnancy, purulent processes, tuberculosis, cancer.

Exercises

Correction of flat feet includes the implementation of special exercises. They are included in the category of medical gymnastics. To make the treatment more effective, you should perform simple exercises daily for the feet:

Stand on the outside of the feet for at least 30 seconds, 3-4 times a day. Helps strengthen the muscles of the foot rolls with the ball. Better use a rubber ball with spikes,
You can perform exercises while lying down. It is necessary to stretch your legs, knees pressed to the floor. Legs should be in tension, be stretched. You should bend your feet towards you, while unclenching your fingers. Repeat the movement in the morning and evening for 5 times,
It is convenient to perform the exercise in the morning and evening with a blanket. It is necessary to bend the legs slightly, with your toes try to collect the blanket, carry it with your fingers 10-20 cm, release it. Repeat 6 times.

The necessary exercises will tell the surgeon, depending on the degree of development of flat feet.

The right choice of shoes

In therapy, flat feet of the legs can not do without the selection of special orthopedic shoes or insoles, depending on the stage of the disease, we are talking about how developed it is. If you exclude this item, correcting flat feet will not be effective.

Orthopedists and surgeons agree that shoes should be:

In adolescents and adults, it is mandatory with instep support. The heel in girls should not exceed 4 cm. This will support the optimal functioning of the foot, reduce the load on the arch. It is undesirable for adults to wear high heels, stilettos, flat soles,
Shoes should have breathable fabric up, in summer it is better to give preference to natural materials, with an open toe,
Shoes should be comfortable and light, not to cause discomfort. Parents should not choose it without coordination and trying on children, especially when it comes to orthopedic shoes.

Many orthopedists put a valgus flatfoot in many babies a year. To correct this ailment, from an early age (1 year - 5 years), children should buy orthopedic sandals, which they wear at home and outdoors in the summer. This will serve as an excellent prevention of the development of children's flat feet.

Orthopedic insoles are necessary for those people who already suffer from flat feet, have foot deformities of varying degrees. Individual insoles are selected independently. The protrusion should be located in the area of the arch of the foot in order to adjust its correct location.

Insoles are comfortable and practical; they can be carried from one shoe to another. Wearing them leads to a decrease in the symptoms of the disease. Patients noted a decrease in pain, swelling, aching legs, fatigue.

Doing sports

With flat feet, sports are necessary if it is about the 1st and 2nd degrees of the disease. When the foot is deformed severely, there is a 3rd degree of the disease, the question of physical activity should be decided by the doctor.

The following sports help well in a complex cope with pathology:

Swimming (light water aerobics helps tone muscles, suitable for children and adults),
Pilates (improves the functionality of the foot, joint mobility, work with power load on the foot),
Jogging (only in orthopedic shoes under the control and with the permission of the doctor).

They may be included in the category of dance therapy, but the choice of a certain direction should be discussed with the doctor.

The difference in the correction of flat feet in children and adults

Orthopedists pay special attention to the correction of the feet of an adult and a child. But there are distinctive features in therapy, they relate to the age characteristics of the patient:

Children from birth to 5 years old do not undergo foot correction, since up to this age they have physiological flat feet. Orthopedists can prescribe preventive exercises, massage, taking vitamin D, wearing orthopedic sandals with a high side. Treatment or surgery can be carried out only in the presence of clubfoot,
From 5 years old should be careful about the condition of the legs. This is the period when the foot is plastic, can be regulated under the influence of therapy,

Parents should pay special attention to the choice of sections and sports for the baby. With incorrectly selected exercises, excessive load, deformation of the foot can occur.

Therapy for children from 5 years old includes a range of measures: massage, exercise therapy, therapeutic measures (vitamins, immunomodulators), water procedures, orthopedic shoes.

Adults are recommended a set of measures similar to the previous ones. Special orthopedic shoes should be worn, daily exercise, a complex of therapeutic exercises. Foot massage is optional, can be performed independently.

When the correction by standard methods does not bring results, doctors use surgery. It consists in installing implants inside the foot. Doctors offer retired doctors to remove a problematic joint to prevent pain. This procedure is called arthrodesis. Surgical methods show positive results, but doctors advise to respond in time to the manifestation of the disease so as not to bring it to surgery.

Not everyone can completely eliminate flat feet, but foot correction is possible at any age.

Causes of flat feet

There are two types of flat feet - longitudinal and transverse. In case of illness, the foot loses its shock-absorbing properties and thereby increases the load on the spine and legs. As a result, the functioning of the vestibular apparatus is disrupted, the coordination of movements changes, spinal diseases develop and severe pain in the legs and back can begin. How to fix flat feet? In some cases, this cannot be done (if the patient has reached adulthood or the disease has reached the final stage), but symptoms can be alleviated.

Reasons for the development of pathology:

obesity and overweight
non-physiological shoes,
high physical activity on the feet,
rickets in children,
calcium deficiency
pregnancy,
sedentary lifestyle.

Treatment features

This pathology most often occurs in childhood, when the ligaments and muscles are still very weak, elastic, and the bones are soft. Therefore, increased loads or wearing tight shoes quickly leads to deformation of the foot. But for the same reason, it is easiest for children under 7 to fix flat feet. And by 13-14 years, the full formation of the foot occurs. It is believed that after this, it is no longer possible to eliminate the deformations.

About 75% of adults suffer from flat feet to one degree or another. Not everyone goes to the doctor, which leads to the progression of pathology, to impaired functioning of the joints and spine. But many patients are interested in whether flatfoot can be corrected in adulthood. Despite the fact that many modern drugs and devices have appeared that supposedly completely remove foot deformities, in fact, after 14 years, flatfoot is not completely treated. You can only stop its progression and remove the discomfort.

The task of using any treatment methods for flat feet should be to relieve pain, improve blood circulation and metabolic processes, strengthen the muscular-ligamentous apparatus of the foot, and also distribute the load. After all, with the loss of depreciation properties, these functions are assumed by large joints of the legs and spine. As a result of increased load, they begin to gradually collapse. Therefore, in the treatment of flat feet, it is very important to protect the spine, knees and hip joints.

All conservative methods of treating this pathology help only in the initial stages. With severe deformation, only surgery can help the patient. With its help, the ligaments are shortened, the most obvious defects are corrected and the shape of the foot is corrected. Only in this way can one sometimes get rid of pain.

The set of symptoms characteristic of the disease

The following symptoms are characteristic of the disease:

tiredness and pain in the legs after walking,
gait disturbance
back and leg pain
clubfoot,
loss of normal coordination of movements,
difficulties with performing some physical exercises,
ingrown nails
bone growth on the feet.

How to cure flat feet in adolescents and adults?

Treatment of flat feet in adults should be aimed at relieving pain, discomfort when walking, strengthening the muscles and ligaments of the foot. That is why in the treatment of such a simple, at first glance, disease, various methods are used that will help cure flatfoot at home:

Wearing orthopedic insoles for arch support. This is the basis of treatment, as well as the prevention of disease progression. Such insoles help relieve the painful part of the foot, as well as correct the deformation of the foot at the initial stage of flat feet.
The right selection of shoes.
Foot massage.
Physiotherapy.
Surgical treatment if conservative treatment has failed.

What you need to do to get rid of flat feet

The fight against foot deformities should begin as early as childhood. To do this, you regularly need to check the child with an orthopedist, and treatment should be started at the first sign of flat feet. This pathology develops due to the weakness of the muscular-ligamentous apparatus of the foot, so from an early age it is necessary to strengthen it. To do this, the child should move more, walk barefoot on sand, grass, uneven ground. It is very important that he choose the right shoes so that his leg is not squeezed or dangles freely. The back in children's shoes should be high, firmly holding the ankle joint. It is also very important that nutrition fully meets the needs of a growing organism in trace elements.

If the arch of the foot has already begun to flatten, it is necessary to begin treatment as soon as possible. With the complex use of medical gymnastics, massage, water procedures and physiotherapy, you can completely remove the flat feet of a child.

But often it happens that deformities begin in adulthood due to various pathologies, injuries or metabolic disorders. Sometimes flat feet, not treated in childhood, greatly progresses when exposed to provoking factors, for example, the presence of excess weight. How can flatfoot in adults be corrected? For this, the same methods are used as in children, the main thing is that they are used regularly and in combination:

you need to walk barefoot more: in summer on land or sand, in winter at home on orthopedic rugs,
wear only comfortable shoes with low heels (up to 4 cm), preferably with orthopedic insoles or arch support,
regularly perform special exercises to strengthen the muscles of the foot,
for flat feet, sports such as swimming or cycling are useful,
daily need to perform self-massage of the feet.

Physiotherapy

The most effective way to deal with flat feet with therapeutic gymnastics. You need to perform special exercises regularly, and preferably 2-3 times a day. The duration of such treatment depends on the severity of the pathology, but usually you need to do this for at least six months. In addition to exercises to strengthen the muscular-ligamentous apparatus of the foot, general developmental exercises should be included in the complex. After all, the work of the foot depends on the health of the entire musculoskeletal system, especially on the muscles of the lower leg, thigh and nerve conduction in the lumbar region.

Flatfoot correction is best done with a few special exercises. Each of them must be repeated at least 10-20 times. It is best to perform them barefoot. Together with the warm-up and additional exercises, the lesson usually takes 20-30 minutes. You can not use all the exercises at once, but alternate them so that the muscles do not adapt to the loads. For the same reason, you need to gradually increase the pace, the number of repetitions and the complexity of the execution.

What are the most effective exercises for flat feet:

walk on toes, on heels, on the inner and outer edge of the foot,
hold the small ball in your feet and move forward, leaning on the outer edge of the foot,
standing on the outer edge of the foot, rotate the body to the right and left, climb toes,
to move on a gymnastic stick, putting feet along or across,
sit on a chair, stretch your legs forward, bend and unbend your fingers, pull the socks towards and away from you, rotate in feet,
put your legs together in front of you, without lifting your socks off the floor, spread your heels out to the sides, do the same with socks,
sitting on a chair, grab and lift small objects with your toes - pencils, chestnuts, scarves,
with two legs raise balls of different sizes, holding them in feet,
roll soles with tennis balls, a gymnastic stick, a glass bottle or a special needle roller.

Other treatments

Correction of flat feet in adults is only possible using an integrated approach.It is necessary not only to regularly perform gymnastics, but constantly monitor the correct position of the foot. If you have to sit or stand for a long time, you need to do warm-up periodically. To relieve excess load on the feet try not to lift weights and do not gain weight.

You should also pay attention to your shoes. The doctor prescribes special orthopedic shoes or boots only in case of serious deformations, at the initial stages of the pathology they will weaken the muscles of the foot even more. The use of various accessories is usually recommended. These are backs that reduce the load, interdigital inserts stopping deformation, insoles, arch supports.

What needs to be done in order to stop the progression of pathology? Doctors often prescribe physiotherapy. These are paraffin baths, electrophoresis, magnetotherapy, ultrasound radiation. At home, you can use baths with sea salt or coniferous concentrate, do contrasting foot douches, salt compresses. This will help relieve muscle fatigue and spasm, improve blood circulation and metabolic processes.

Very useful for relieving pain and strengthening the muscles of the foot massage. Moreover, everyone can do it independently. In addition to rubbing and kneading the feet and fingers, you must not forget about the need to affect the lower leg muscles. For massage, you can also use special massagers. Needle rollers or balls and orthopedic rugs work best. Walking on them every day for 15-20 minutes helps to strengthen muscles and restore the arches of the foot.

Everyone should know how to get rid of flat feet. Indeed, no one is safe from deformation of the foot. Especially susceptible to this pathology are modern people who spend a long time in a sitting position. If you strengthen your muscles, eat well and wear the right shoes, you can keep your feet healthy.

1. Wearing insoles

Insoles for flat feet

These special medical inserts in shoes should be selected by an orthopedic surgeon. After all, there are insoles designed specifically for patients with longitudinal or transverse flat feet, with a mixed form of the disease. It is advisable to wear such insoles with every pair of shoes. In some cases, doctors recommend inserting them even in slippers (with backs).

2. Wearing the right shoes

A person with a diagnosis of flat feet should wear the right orthopedic shoes.

She must be:

on a low heel (from 1 to 4 cm). But the heel must be present, a flat sole does not fit. A small heel is necessary so that the joints of the foot are loaded correctly,
on the foot. Shoes, shoes should not be narrow or too loose. They must be clearly sized.
with a hard back so that the foot in the shoes does not dangle,

The best shoes are leather with low heels (3 cm) and flexible soles. Without a platform.

3. Foot massage with flat feet in children and adults

The main task of massage with flat feet is to relieve the pain that has arisen, tone the muscles, and normalize the blood supply to the foot. The massage technique is as follows:

It is always necessary to start a massage with stroking movements of the foot from top to bottom.
Then you can go to kneading movements: grabbing the foot in the palm of your hand, begin to knead it. With knuckles you can make circular movements in the foot.
Switch to acupressure: alternately press with your fingertips on the pads of the toes, and then on the heel.

In addition to foot massage, it is advisable to also massage the lower legs, femoral and gluteal areas for children. This will enhance the effectiveness of the procedure, relieve tension in the lower body.

Treatment of flat feet consists in a passive effect (wearing orthopedic insoles), as well as in an active effect (massage, exercises).

4. Therapeutic exercise

In the correction of a flat foot, the main treatment method is therapeutic gymnastics. Flatfoot can be cured at home with the help of special physiotherapy exercises, which must be performed regularly. The following basic exercises are recommended:

Walking on a corrugated surface, on the rug “Sea pebbles”, on a stick.
Performing back and plantar flexion of the feet.
Circular movements in the ankle joint.
Squats on toes.
The rotation of the feet around the circumference in a prone position.
Raising by the toes of various objects: pencils, balls, handkerchief, etc.
Walking on the outer surface of the foot according to the “Bear-toed” type, while making sure that the big toe also touches the floor.
Slips from heel to toes, including slips on the outer arch of the feet.
Low, soft jumps on the outer arch of the feet.
Exercise "Swallow": taking one leg back while standing on the other leg.
In the standing position on one leg, the movement to the right and left, without tearing the heel off the floor.
Standing on one leg, with the second foot, perform rubbing movements of the lower leg of the first leg with the inner arch of the foot.
In the sitting position, performing the Caterpillar movement: move the fingers of both legs forward, trying to take the foot back.
Needle roller exercises: rolling the roller all over the foot, rolling it from one foot to the second.

There are a large number of exercises in order to cure flat feet in adults and children, but the main thing to remember is the regularity and systematic nature of their implementation. Every day you need to spend at least 30 minutes on exercises against flat feet, especially since you can perform them even while sitting at work.

5. Surgery

Surgical treatment of flat feet can be offered to a teenager or an adult in the event that conservative treatment does not bring the desired results, the pathology only intensifies, the pain does not stop. With transverse flatfoot, the surgeon removes the overgrown bone, sometimes the metatarsal bones. In the case of longitudinal flatfoot, doctors resort to an implant, which corrects the longitudinal arch and eliminates the problem.

Activities in the pool, barefoot walking on grass, gravel, sand, cycling also help prevent the progression of flat feet.

Flat feet are a deformation of the foot, and if this problem is not treated, it can lead to inflammatory diseases of the joints, curvature of the spine, and deformation of the pelvis. Treatment must necessarily be comprehensive, systematic and regular, the only way to prevent the progression of the disease in adults and to cure it in children.

Varieties of treatment: a list of effective measures

How to fix flat feet in adults? This is harder to do than in children. In youth, joints and bone tissue are in the process of growth, so up to fourteen years of age the therapy is relatively easy. It is enough to perform daily foot massage and buy special orthopedic shoes for the baby. In most cases, you do not even have to resort to physiotherapy exercises.

How to fix flat feet in adolescents and adults is a difficult question, and most often it is impossible to do it. The listed measures can help only at the very initial stage of the disease, and in adults it is most often at least the second. In any case, compliance with flatfoot therapy measures will help alleviate the manifestation of pain in the back and legs, which is already a lot for a sick person.

The list of treatment methods for flat feet:

therapeutic massage of the feet and calves,

unhurried walks in running sneakers,

some types of physical activity,

physical therapy exercises,

baths to relieve fatigue and pain.

Massage with flat feet

How to fix flat feet with massage? Of course, it’s better to be done by a professional. But the services of modern masseurs are quite expensive. It is quite possible to learn the skills of therapeutic massage and do it yourself.

In the process of various massage techniques - stroking, rubbing, patting, etc. - blood circulation is enhanced, and this brings recovery faster. If we talk about home massage, then massage mats and specially designed massagers will cope with this role.

Choosing the right shoe

Perhaps one of the most important points. Do not save on shoes. Specialized stores offer medical shoes for flat feet for both children and adults. Its cost is slightly higher, but it is usually sewn from quality materials.

Can flat feet be corrected with shoes alone? For a child under six, this is usually enough. For adults and adolescents will also have to resort to the use of physiotherapy exercises and massage. Even after a complex exposure, no one will guarantee that an adult will undergo both transverse and longitudinal flat feet. Most often, you can only alleviate the symptoms.

How long can you walk with flat feet?

This issue is of concern to many orthopedic patients. The main condition for walking is to make them in the right shoes. Ideal professional running sneakers.

Walking a distance further than five kilometers in ordinary non-orthopedic shoes will inevitably lead to the development of pain in the ankle.

The recommended distance for walking in orthopedic shoes with flat feet is about two to three kilometers.

If you have the opportunity to walk barefoot on the ground, sand or water - this is wonderful! The main thing is to make sure that there are no broken glass and other sources of possible injuries and cuts on the surface.

What types of sports load are allowed with flat feet

How to fix flat feet in a child using sports? Firstly, do not give it to strength training. The optimal sport for foot pathology is swimming. Secondly, you should not do athletics, especially running and jumping.

For adults, this rule is also true. Moreover, when doing weightlifting, even in healthy people, flat feet can partially form. It is very important to choose high-quality weightlifters - these are special shoes for weightlifting sports.

Is it possible to run and jump to people who have been diagnosed with flat feet? You should do this carefully, do not run more than one kilometer and abandon intense jumps, aerobics and plyometric exercises.

Baths to relieve fatigue and pain in the feet

Bath recipes that perfectly relieve foot fatigue after a long working day:

Mix one tablespoon of mint and nettle, pour half a liter of boiling water. Let it brew for an hour, during which time the infusion will just cool down. If necessary, dilute a little with cool water. Take a bath for half an hour.
Boil a glass of chopped zest of orange or grapefruit in half a liter of water for ten minutes. After the infusion becomes room temperature, lower the feet into it. Sit like this for twenty minutes.
Boil dry crushed inflorescences of linden and chamomile (200 grams) for five minutes in half a liter of water. If desired, you can add citrus or peppermint essential oils to the finished infusion. Dip the feet in water after the infusion has become acceptable to the skin temperature. The total length of time for taking such a bath is about twenty minutes.

Drugs that can help reduce pain with flat feet

All of the above measures may be ineffective if an adult has the third stage of the disease. In this case, it remains only to use methods to combat flat feet only in order to mitigate the manifestations of pain and fatigue in the legs. Pharmaceuticals will also help.

"Diclofenac" - removes any kind of pain after twenty to thirty minutes after taking the pill.
"Indomethacin" - acts similarly to "Diclofenac", is also a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
Ointment "Neovit" will give the feet relaxation, relieve stress and relieve pain.
Ibuprofen tablets is one of the fastest, safest and most affordable painkillers.
"Paracetamol" - will help relieve pain in the ankle and at the same time relieve heat, fever, fever.

Prevention measures: what to do so that the pathology does not develop

Effective preventive measures (it is always more effective to prevent the development of an ailment than then to look for how to correct flat feet):

prevent the development of obesity and not gain excess weight,
during pregnancy, do special exercises and foot massage,
occasionally drink vitamin and mineral complexes with calcium,
give preference to quality shoes with physiological insoles,
if you suspect the development of foot pathology, you need to order insoles-arch supports in a pharmacy,
every evening do yourself a therapeutic foot massage,
not to allow physical overfatigue, not to zeal in the gym, not to bore yourself with athletics marathons.