Have you been diagnosed with flat feet? Are your kids afraid to walk barefoot or play sports without orthotics because someone told them they need to wear these the rest of their life? The truth is, you can often solve flat feet without wearing orthotics.
Flat feet happen when the arch of your foot collapses toward the ground when you walk or run. They are often implicated by doctors, pediatricians, chiropractors and physical therapists as the cause of many different types of pain and injuries in the feet. Some of these providers commonly prescribe orthotics because they provide external support for the arch of your foot.
There are actually 2 types of flat feet. Check out the video below to see the difference.
You can train a flexible flat foot to have a functional arch again through a series of exercises. Some of the basic exercises are below.
Small Foot (Basic)
We like to start this with 5 sec holds for 10-20 reps. There is a lot of retraining happening here, so 2-3 times a day is good. Even practicing it when you’re sitting at work with shoes on can be helpful.
Toe Yoga (Basic)
The same exercise frequency as small foot is effective with toe yoga.
Toe Yoga and Small Foot Progressions
Single Leg Heel Raise
Adding in some dynamic strengthening is important as well. The single leg heel raise is good for this. Making sure you get your heel as high as you can is important. That’s what makes your toe muscles and arch work and get stronger.
Getting out of the orthotics
As these exercises get easier, you can start to try to wean out of your orthotics. The key thing to remember is, if you’ve been wearing orthotics for some time, it’s probably not a good idea to completely get rid of them cold turkey.
Start by trying to walk around your house without shoes on and getting used to some initial load through the foot without shoes on. As your feet get stronger and the exercises above get easier, you can start to gradually take the orthotics out of your shoes. The chart below gives you some rough guidelines.
Orthotic Weaning Guidelines
| When do you currently wear orthotics? | How to wean out of them |
| Any time you’re on your feet. Inside your house you wear shoes. | Start wearing no shoes in your house. Keep orthotics in your shoes. |
| Barefoot at home, wear orthotics anytime wearing shoes. | Start by reducing the orthotic usage in your shoes by about 1 hour every other day. |
| Wear orthotics if walking longer than a specific distance. | Gradually try to increase the walking distance without orthotics. |
| Only wear orthotics when running or playing sports | Gradually begin training without orthotics. If running, try short distances without orthotics and gradually increase mileage without. If sports, start with some agility drills and some light jumping drills to get used to loading the arch at speed. Gradually try to reduce use during practice and games. |
None of the exercises above should hurt. You will likely get some cramps in your feet the first few times you try them. It’s totally normal as you’re trying to get your muscles used to doing something they haven’t done in long time. As you do these more often it will stop happening. You may have some muscle soreness the next day as well, especially when you start to wean out of the orthotics.
If you’ve tried these and you’re not making progress, we can help you!
At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine in Alexandria, Arlington, and Springfield, VA, our physical therapists are experts at helping people solve flat feet.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to request an appointment.
A member of our team will schedule you an appointment with one of our expert physical therapists.
Why is it important for you to solve flat feet?
- You can feel confident that you can go on walks without having the perfect shoes
- You can play sports whenever you want without worrying about your feet hurting
- You can reduce the likelihood of overuse injuries to your feet.
Solving flat feet without orthotics can help you live a confident and active life!
If you want an expert to listen to your unique problems and guide you to success, a Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine physical therapist in Alexandria, Arlington, or Springfield, VA will create a plan specifically for you.
You’ll feel confident that you have the knowledge and ability to stay active and do all the things you want.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to schedule your appointment and get started.
Working to keep you living your best life,
The Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Team
