Flat Feet

FLAT FEET SPECIALIST

Foot and Ankle Specialist & Podiatric Surgeon in Midtown Manhattan, New York, NY

Flat feet commonly affect 2 in 10 children into adulthood, sometimes resulting in leg and foot pain. If your or your child’s feet have little to no arch and cause discomfort, visit Flex Foot and Ankle in the Midtown Manhattan area of New York City. There, dual board-certified foot and ankle podiatric surgeon E. Giannin Perez, DPM, FACFAS, takes the time to educate patients on their foot condition and forms customized treatment plans. Call her office or use the online booking tool to schedule an appointment today.

Book Online

Flat Feet Q&A

When your feet have little to no arch, you have flat feet (or flatfoot), a condition that affects people of all ages. You begin developing arches in your feet around age 6. Some adults, however, never develop arches, or their arches collapse, resulting in flat feet.

Causes of flat feet include:

Neurological conditions
Diabetes – Charcot foot
Obesity
Pregnancy
Rheumatoid arthritis
Posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD)

Typically, flat feet don’t cause many issues, but if not managed properly, they can result in leg cramps, muscle pain in the foot or leg, or toe drift, causing the front part of your foot and toes to point outward.

The type of flat feet you have depends on whether you develop the condition in adulthood or you’re born with a defect resulting in a lack of foot arches. The types of flat feet include:

Flexible

The most common type, flexible flat feet, occurs when the arches in your feet disappear when you stand. This type worsens with age and can lead to the tendons and ligaments in the arches of your feet stretching and tearing.

Rigid

This type of flat feet occurs when you don’t have visible arches when you sit or stand, making it difficult to have full range of motion with your feet.

Adult-acquired

Adult-acquired flatfoot affects adults who have a foot arch that suddenly falls or collapses. This issue may affect only one foot, potentially causing the foot to turn outward and feel painful.

Vertical talus

This is a birth defect in children where the talus bone in the ankle is in the wrong position, causing the bottom of the foot to resemble the bottom of a rocking chair.

If you or your child has one of these types of flat feet and is experiencing pain or discomfort, visit Flex Foot and Ankle to discuss treatment options with Dr. Perez.

With several nonsurgical options available to treat flat feet, Dr. Perez starts by performing a gait analysis and biomechanical exam to determine the severity of your flat foot and the underlying cause of your condition. She can then suggest conservative treatments to decrease the pain in your feet.

Treatments include rest, anti-inflammatory drugs, icing your arches, physical therapy to stretch and strengthen the tendons and muscles in your feet, and devices to support your feet, such as custom-made orthotics or foot and leg braces. If conservative treatment has been exhausted and you continue to have pain, then surgical treatment is discussed which might include a flat foot reconstruction.

To discuss your treatment options for flat feet, call the Flex Foot and Ankle office in Midtown Manhattan or use the online booking tool to schedule your appointment today.