Let’s do a flat foot quiz. This is a true/false quiz
1. All babies have high arches.
2. You have to have flat feet to be a police officer.
3. Most people who have flat feet are also left handed.
4. If you have flat feet, you have to have surgery to fix your arch.
5. You either have flat feet or not. Your feet don’t change from having arches to being flat.
Now for the answers –
All babies have high arches. False
All babies have flat feet. As part of their development, the ligaments in a baby’s feet strengthen and lift the foot bones to create an arch.
You have to have flat feet to be a police officer. False
No, this misconception comes from the way back machine. Police officers were called “flat foot” but that is because they used to walk a beat or neighborhood. It was supposed that with all that walking that their feet would be flat. The other myth that comes from the same era is that flat feet will keep you out of the Army. If you have problems with your flat feet it may keep you out of the Army.
Most people who have flat feet are also left handed. False
There is no correlation between left handedness and flat feet. Everyone knows that people who are left handed are creative, nice people but they do not necessarily have flat feet. I am left handed and I do not have flat feet.
If you have flat feet, you have to have surgery to correct them. False
No, many people with flat feet have no problem with their feet. Some people do have problems but there are many options to try before you would think about having surgery. The problem that people can encounter is pain when walking. This pain can lead to problems with your feet or calves from walking in an unnatural way. If you ignore the pain, you can end up with a bunion or heel spur or hammertoe from your foot not being in proper alignment.
You either have flat feet or not. Your feet don’t change from having arches to being flat. False
There are a variety of causes for your arches to fall. Some of the causes are obesity, rickets, wearing shoes that don’t fit right or decreased exercise along with increased weight gain.
What do you do about painful flat feet?
The first step is to go visit your friendly local podiatrist. The doctor will ask you about your symptoms and can either order some diagnostic test or perhaps, depending upon the severity, fit you for orthotics and give you some exercises to help strengthen your foot. As with many things, the sooner you go and participate in your treatment, the sooner you will feel better.
Your Pal,
Foot Blogger Chick
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