The Truth About the Arches in Your Feet
There have been many conversations I have had with people about their feet. I have treated numerous individuals for foot pain ranging from plantar fascia pain to achilles tendinitis. A common discussion I have with patients when addressing foot pain are their arches. Whether people have seen someone before for insoles or not, many people ask if they are an appropriate addition to their current plan of care for pain relief. The answer is more complex than yes or no!
When discussing arches, I like to bring up ‘functional arch loss’ versus ‘structural arch loss’ if someone truly thinks they have flat feet or arch problems. A functional arch loss is someone who, in a non-weight bearing position, has moderate to high arches, but when they go to stand, their arch ‘collapses.’ This shows that though they physically have an arch, they cannot control it. Conversely, if someone has no arch or is ‘flat footed’ in non-weight bearing positions, they already have a structural arch loss and it could drop further in weight bearing or could stay the same.
In these cases, the person who benefits from arch support the most is the structurally flat footed individual. No matter how strong their arch controlling muscles are, their structure is still flat. The person who wouldn’t necessarily need arch support would be the functional arch loss individual. They have an arch present, so they also have the capacity to maintain it! They just need to work on training it. This is where physical therapy for foot pain comes in! Physical therapy can provide arch control and arch training drills to make sure that foot pain can go away for good. This is certainly only the tip of the iceberg that can be the journey of curing foot related pain, but a great point to sink your teeth into if you have been battling foot pain.
We would be happy to discuss further how Loon State Physical Therapy can be a teammate in getting you back to moving and feeling your best while eliminating your foot pain! Our convenient Minneapolis physical therapy, Edina physical therapy, and Stillwater physical therapy locations will happily welcome you to get you back to moving at your best. Call us at (612) 405-8503 or book with us online at www.loonstatephysicaltherapy.com for an in-person or virtual appointment.
We look forward to being your teammate through this recovery journey!
Andrew Eccles
Owner and Physical Therapist at Loon State Physical Therapy
