Fallen Arches or flat foot is a foot problem wherein the arches of the feet have lower height as compared to normal ones. In this condition, the inner aspect of feet tends to touch the ground on standing or walking. Medial arch plays an important role in distributing body weight across the feet for stability. Flat feet may be present since childhood and is painless in most of them. However, as the time progresses, it can lead to pain not just in the foot and ankle region but may also predispose to plantar fasciitis, shin splints, knee, hip and back pain. Hence the entire body may be affected by this problem as altered biomechanics of the feet causes changes in the whole body.

This condition can be caused in early years due to genetic factors, abnormal connection between the bones of feet or presence of abnormal bones like accessory navicular in some patients. In older age, it may be caused due to wear and tear of tendons of feet, old age, overweight, inflammatory conditions and arthritis. A proper diagnosis is needed for finding out the exact root cause of the problem. There are lot of treatment options available for flat feet. While insoles may be the most commonly prescribed treatment, exercises have been shown to be beneficial in not just reducing the pain but in improving arch of the feet as well. If you think you are suffering from flat feet, you should consult an expert like Dr. Anuj Chawla, the most trusted foot and ankle doctor in Gurgaon.

Simple foot exercises to correct fallen arches/flat foot

The first and most important exercise to do while dealing with a patient having flat feet deformity is stretching of calf muscles, specifically gastrocnemius muscle. Once the gastrocnemius is stretched, then one can work on strengthening the muscles that can help in rebuilding the lost arch and proprioception exercises to improve the balance.

Stretching exercises:

1. Sitting calf stretch

The calf muscles are located at the back of the lower leg. People with flat foot are more prone to have tight calf muscles and that can be a cause of symptom exagerration. Calf stretches can be helpful to improve the flexibility of the lower leg and hence alleviating the symptoms arising from flat feet.

When you are stretching the calf,  make sure your leg is inverted else the exercises won’t be effective. You can do this by pulling the inner band more than the outer band.

For towel stretch, sit down on the floor and stretch your legs at your front. Take a towel or a cloth strap and wrap it around the upper sole of your foot. Pull the towel in inward direction so the toes move towards you. Hold the position for 15-30 seconds and then repeat with the next foot. Please note that you should gently stretch the calf muscles. This exercise can provide relief in calf muscles of the foot.

2. Standing Calf Stretch

• Stand straight facing a wall and place your palms on the wall for balance.
• Extend one leg to place it behind and keep the knees straight of that leg with the foot facing in the forward direction. Make sure that the heel is placed on the ground when doing this exercise.
• Slightly lean on the wall by bending the knee of the front leg. You will feel a stretch in the leg placed behind.
• Maintain this position for 30 seconds to 1 minute and repeat this at least 4 times with each leg.

Other exercises to improve flexibility in flat foot are passive ROM exercises of ankle and all foot joints and stretching of peroneus brevis muscles.

Muscle strengthening exercises

1. Tibialis posterior strengthening exercises:

The muscle responsible for maintaining the arch of foot is tibialis posterior. Exercises targeted to strengthen tibialis posterior help in attempting to build arch and improve symptoms in those having flat feet.

• Sit with knee extended and legs crossed to each other.
• Loop one end of theraband around the affected foot and pass it thorough the other foot so that it is pulling the foot outwards (in eversion)
• Slowly bring the foot inward by inverting against resistance thus contracting the tibialis

posterior muscle.

2. Short Foot exercise

It is an exercise which works on the muscles present below the arches on the sole of the feet. It is one of the simplest and effective exercises to improve flat feet problem.

• Sit straight on the chair and place your feet on the ground.
• Keep the toes in the flat position. Try to slide the front portion of the foot while keeping the toes flat in normal position.
• Maintain this posture for 5-10 seconds and repeat this exercise at least 10 times with each foot.
• It should be noted that the foot remains touched with the floor. And heel and toes remain in the normal posture, and only the middle part of the foot is raised.

3. Toe Yoga

As the name suggests, this exercise helps to strengthen the toes and improves dexterity of toes.

• Sit on a chair and position your feet flat on the ground
• Lift your big toe up and at the same time, keep the toes on the ground.
• Hold the posture for 5 seconds
• Then change the order and raise the other 4 toes and keep the big toes on rest, placed on the ground. Keep holding the position for 5 seconds before starting the second round
• Try doing these steps for 10 times with each foot

4. Heel Raises

It is quite a simple foot exercise that helps to improve flexibility and muscular strength of the foot muscles. It is somewhat similar to Tadasana. Just perform the below steps:

• Stand on the ground, and the feet should have some distance between them (at least shoulder-width distance)
• Take a deep breath and try to raise your heels higher, as much as possible. At the same time, the front part of the foot remains on the ground.
• Hold this position for 1-2 seconds and then return to your normal position.
• Perform this exercise 10-20 times and twice a day.

5. Towel curls:

Towel curls is another good exercise to strengthen the intrinsic muscles of the foot and hence can help in improving the arch.

• While sitting on a chair, place a towel under your feet
• Grip the towel with your toes and curl your toes so that thw towel is pulled towards you.
• Using this toes push the towel away from you.
• Repeat this exercise with both feet.
• Do 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions in a day.
• To further increase the strength, a 2-3 kg heavy object can be placed at the end of the towel

Other strengthening exercises that can be tried are strengthening of tibialis anterior, flexor halluces longus, single leg weight bearing and toe walking.

Proprioception and balance exercises

These exercises are performed to improve your control and sense of joint position. Few exercises for the same are toe and heel walking; single leg weight bearing and descending on inclined surface.

These were a few foot exercises which can help in treating flat feet, but at the same time, one needs to take all the precaution and follow adequate training for the feet. To know more about exercises and personal consultation for foot problems, you can book your appointment with Dr. Anuj Chawla.