What is Pediatric Flat Feet?

Some physicians believe pediatric flat foot should not be treated and that a child will grow into their “normal” feet as they become adults

There is another group of physicians who say it’s better to treat flat foot sooner rather than later. The entire body rests on the ankle and heel bones. Their alignment and stability is what determines whether the foot is stable and aligned, or unstable and misaligned. The ankle bone (talus) should be located on the top of the heel bone (calcaneus). Located between the two bones is a naturally occurring space called the sinus tarsi. The sinus tarsi canal should always stay in an open position as indicated by the arrow in the picture to the right. Ankle bone displacement is a common condition. You can not acquire it with age. It is something you are born with. It can occur every time you place weight on your foot. The weight of your body causes the ankle bone to displace from its normal position, shift forward and angle downward. There are two types of ankle bone displacement—flexible and rigid. There is no medical evidence that a partially dislocated ankle bone (misaligned foot) will correct itself. This means that a child who is born with misaligned feet will not “out-grow” this condition. In fact, the opposite is true. A misaligned foot won’t get better, it will get worse. This is because excessive forces from everyday movement (standing, walking, running, etc.) continue to push the ankle bone out of alignment. The ligaments, tendons, and muscles in the foot cannot tighten-up to realign and stabilize the ankle bone.