Flat Feet or Over-Pronation
A very common condition, this refers to when the arch at the inside border of your foot is less curved than is required for normal walking biomechanics. Over-pronation is common in all age groups and occurs as a part of the natural development process of a child’s foot, as the bones are forming over time, and the structures are becoming used to walking. This usually resolves by the time the child is two and a half years old. However, if the child still has ‘flat feet’ by the age of three, it is prudent to get this evaluated by a podiatrist, as the child may grow up to have a flat arch which can later cause leg, knee, back and neck pains with an overall effect on posture.
Flat feet can be congenital, i.e. may be caused by an anomaly in the growth process during pre-natal development. Abnormal development or fusion of pedal bones during these stages can make the child’s foot pronate, and regular evaluation by at South Lake Podiatry can help manage this.