Flatfoot (pes planus)

What causes flatfoot?

Flatfoot can be congenital and/or hereditary but may also develop due to other problems such as:

• A short Achilles tendon, resulting in congestion of the plantar tendon strokes when walking. The muscle fibres are overstretched
• Disorders of the central nervous system, such as spina bifida (meningocele) and cerebral palsy
• Tearing or weakness of tibialis posterior, one of the most important stabilizing muscles in the lower leg
• A fracture in the rear or midfoot
• Polio or rheumatoid arthritis

If you have severe discomfort due to your flatfoot, surgery may be the solution. Surgery often has good results but it takes a long period, sometimes even years, of training for the patient to experience the positive effects of surgery. Flatfoot in adults is a chronic condition. Left untreated, flatfoot will gradually worsen. To prevent chronic pain, especially in older people, it is important to start treatment as soon as the condition is diagnosed. Corrective insoles help to relieve pain and prevent a worsening of the condition.

If inflammation of the tendon occurs, this can be treated with anti-inflammatory medication, e.g. analgesic cream. Make sure you rest your foot.

Children and young people with flexible flat feet must use pads, which push up the heel bone in order to encourage a normal gait.

How can Align Footwear® insoles help me?

Align Footwear® insoles adjust the foot into a more neutral position. Rather than place an artificial arch under the foot, Align Footwear® insoles seek to maintain the foot’s full mobility and activate the foot muscles.

In people who over-pronate, the source of the problem may seem to be the sole of the foot, but it is actually the ankle. When the ankle rolls inward, it forces the middle section of the foot and the forefoot into a sub-optimal position, adding to pronation or flat feet. The body then finds it more difficult to move forward, resulting in fatigue and biomechanical stress.
Over-pronation can affect overall posture negatively and cause undue stress on ankles, knees, hips, and back. Align Footwear® insoles improve mobility, comfort and performance. They encourage a better posture and physical adaptation in the kinetic chain, to make you improve well-being.

When the insoles coax the body into a correct natural posture, the strain of each step is more evenly distributed. Our insoles reduce the destructive shock waves running through your entire body every time your feet touch the ground. This reduces strain in your joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments.For optimal performance, Align Footwear® insoles have three patented points. The insoles focus on correcting heel position so that the knee, hips and shoulders are also aligned in a natural, balanced position.