Does your child have foot pronation “flat feet” and is over 3 years old? If yes, they could benefit from skilled physical therapy services!
What does flat feet look like?
Children with flat feet do not have arches causing their feet to roll inwards when standing or when walking.
Their calcaneus “heel bone” is angled inwards resulting in poor ankle alignment.
This places extra strain on your knees, hips and back as it promotes atypical posture.
Pronation will cause the the medial malleolus "inside ankle bone" to be closer to the floor.
Individuals with flat feet will typically wear out the arch and inside wall of the shoe.
What causes flat feet?
Flat feet can be hereditary, but is typically a result from foot intrinsic weakness or poor supportive shoes.
It is important to address this as soon as possible to decrease the risk for postural abnormalities, compensatory patterns and pain.
The longer an individual walks with flat feet, the harder it will be to correct the foot posture increasing the likelihood of needing orthotic intervention to improve alignment and stability.
How can PT improve my child’s foot posture?
Our physical therapist will work with your child to strengthen their foot/ankle muscles, assist with obtaining proper orthotics/inserts and ensure no delays in gross motor milestones.
This fun activity is addressing single limb stance to encourage foot intrinsic strengthening while working on balance.
(Check out how hard the arch of the foot on the floor is having to work!)
Other great ways to strengthen the arches of your feet are to:
Squat on uneven surfaces (pillow, couch cushion, folded blanket, etc)
Strengthen all ankle planes (inversion, eversion, dorsiflexion and plantar flexion)
Pick up small objects scrunching underneath your 1-2 toes (marbles, cotton balls, bottle caps, jelly beans, etc)
Tandem stance
Arch lifts aka Mouse House
Backwards walking, ideally pulling a weighted object
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