Painful flat feet or high arched feet can make it difficult to walk and to find the right shoes. Dr. Schoenhaus can help you find a comfortable but elegantly looking solution to your problems. Having studied the flat foot extensively, Dr. Schoenhaus has a thorough understanding of the mechanics of the foot during locomotion and what needs to be done to control or accommodate those deformities.
Other conditions associated with flat or high arched feet include bunions, hammered toes, heel pain, arthritis, arch pain, knee pain, and low back pain.
Pediatric flatfoot condition can cause pain and ache in the arch, heel, or legs. Young children will not directly complain of pain, however, they will complain of tiredness in their feet. They would opt out of sports and may wake at night with cramps in their feet. This condition is either flexible or rigid (bone bridge causes two bones to block motion at a joint). Long-term pain can be avoided with early intervention.
A child can’t outgrow a flatfoot. Dr. Schoenhaus has extensively studied the pediatric flatfoot and has performed studies on over 100 children with this condition.
This is more advanced than the pediatric flatfoot. Some adults may have a flexible flatfoot that is easily corrected or the joints have adapted and can be arthritic.
The most effective ways to treat adult flatfoot are:
1. Orthotics or shoe inserts : Orthotics or shoe inserts can help control the mechanics of the foot. This may help alleviate pain and ache by creating an arch in the shoe.
2. Surgery : The flatfoot is a structural and mechanical problem. If you have pain on a consistent basis, pain that prevents you from performing activities you desire and causes an inability to work and function, surgery may be your best treatment option.
Surgical intervention for a flat foot consists of the following: