Nothing is cuter than baby feet!
So pudgy, so round, absolutely no definition or arches!
Very commonly, patients are diagnosed with fallen arches or flat feet. And often, the “treatment” for that is the use of an orthotic which would then form the foot into the arch position. The theory behind that is it “creates” arch formation, which would then help the rest of the body to align properly.
The body never just works in isolation to other parts. There is a reason why the foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. The foot is meant to be a very dynamic part of the body. The design of the foot is to be able to accommodate the ground when in gait. Soooo, a piece of rigid plastic does not allow for the accommodation ability of the foot as it forces the foot to be stuck in the one position, the position of the shape of the orthotic. As a result, the foot then is unable to accommodate for different weight distribution with different terrains. There may be increased strain in the soft tissue of the foot and over time, may cause the soft tissue to loosen, over stretch and thus create what is commonly called flat feet.
When we work on restoring arches in the feet, we first work on the alignment of the whole body. Starting with the pelvis and spine, then moving to the alignment of the hips, knees, ankles, and feet. When everything is aligned from above, weight should fall directly to the center of the feet. However, when alignment is off, it causes you to weight bear in areas of your feet that may not be designed to accommodate the weight of the body or not allow for the arches to adjust to the forces placed on them.
Our movement rehabilitation program always addresses the body as a whole. No matter where the issues are, everything is connected and thus will have effects elsewhere, even if it doesn’t seem so. In this incredible program, (shown here at https://thrivetherapeutics.ca/services/). Our Movement Rehabilitation Team always looks at your posture and determines where there is dysfunction. The exercise program works at correcting the dysfunction and eventually corrects the functional issues you may have, including flattened arches.