Flat Feet

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Flat Feet: If you have them-- How severe, what 'happened', and what are you doing about them?

I am wondering who else has this problem. I'm not trying to link it to AS or anything, just curious.

Mine are very severe. They prevent me from working, basically. I've always been flat-footed, but as a child it was dismissed as "your feet are just tired, stop complaining" but I always knew it was more than that. They have gotten significantly worse over the years, especially after my job in a warehouse with nasty concrete floors. Steeltoed shoes, no arch supports. I had to quit that job because I was going home in tears daily from the pain.

ANYWAY. It's been suggested to me that I get surgery. I cant find the website but it involves putting what looks like a screw in your foot to stop some space from closing. I don't really get it. Unfortunately it's very expensive...

Or I could go with a good old-fashioned amputation.

How about your feet?

Your feet sound a lot like mine. I was born very prematurely in the 1960s. My feet were not just flat but turned to the inside. I had large braces on my legs and ankles to turn my feet so I could walk. My feet haven't kept me from working but I would not be able to do the kind of work you describe especially not in the kind of footwear you describe. Arch supports are a very bad thing for me as I do not have arches to support and they end up very bruised and the pain is excruciating.

When I was in my 20s and anticipating a career involving a lot of travel and walking I consulted an orthopedic surgeon about my feet and about another problem I have with my hip. I wanted to know if I needed to change my career goals and college major. I did not. He told me that the therapy for my feet I had as a child was excellent and had worked very well to correct what it was supposed to correct but that there was no good way to correct my extreme flat footedness. He said there are surgeries but felt they would do more harm than good in my case (your situation may be different). He said that all the bones in my feeet were present but that they were generally underdeveloped and not capable of maintaining an arch. He gave me a series of exercizes to strengthen my feet.

I also had problems with my hip because of a sports injury during childhood. About twenty percent of the muscle supporting my right hip is not attached anymore. It's there but not doing it's job. He said I would likely need a hip replacement in my 30s. I'm more than halfway through my 40s and still have that original hip. He gave me exercizes and I've stuck with them all these years. I'm including this information to say how much of a difference the right exercizes can make. A replacement hip will probably be my best choice at some point, but those things don't last forever and if I got it now I'd need it replaced again a few more times during my life. You might want to ask about how long your surgery would last. Would it be once and done, or something you'd need redone every so many years.

I recommend getting into a good orthopedic surgeon and if possible getting some physical therapy. Surgery might be a great choice for you, but I'd want a second opinion before anybody cut me.

My feet haven't stopped me from doing anything I've wanted to do but I've had to manage them. I am very careful about the shoes I buy. Timberline often has a good shape that works for me. I'll pay a hundred dollars for a good pair of shoes, sometimes more. I also take every chance I can get to sit down if I know I'm going to be on them a lot.

Good luck!

I have flat feet, and my heels turn in. I know that losing weight will help. Another thing that's helping, are a good pair of runners and a good pair of orthopedics.

I was born a bit late actually, so it's not that my feet are undeveloped. The podiatrist that I have been seeing invented the surgery basically, so I'm confident he knows what he's talking about. He was even able to tell ME where my new footpain was before he let me tell him. He says I have a severe case and it will only get worse with time. (In addition, the house I am working in doesn't have a lot of carpet. Tile and hardwood hurt!) What's stopping me is the cost ($3300CDN PER foot! and it's not covered by OHIP [does that term need an explanation?]) and the recovery time of apporx. 3 weeks and having to kind of relearn to walk. There is no way to do that while I have this job, as there is no replacement for me. As for shoes, I always try to buy Newbalance brand. Very supportive, but I couldn't find any last time I needed shoes.

And thanks!



I'm not sure about my heels turning any way, but I do wear out the outside edges of my soles first, especially on the heel. I'm on my second pair of orthotic inserts from this doctor (they're being made now!), so hopefully these will stop things from worsening.

Feet always pretty flat - periods of serious arch supports in there, These days not so bad, but there are bursts where the whol feels collapsed almost to inside out - at which time I need eitrher arch supports or serious shoe exoskeleton. Number son works with splayed outr feet and extra HIGH archdes [shoes to fit are hard].