Flat foot is characterized by collapse of the plantar vault, which can be due to congenital (child’s flat foot) and acquired (adult’s flat foot) situations.

Diagnosis of flat foot:

The footprint shape that the foot leaves on the ground defines the type of flatfoot. With a special podogram, following a baropodometric examination, the footprint is detected and analyzed, defining a flat foot as one that has an isthmus bearing surface greater than 1/3 of the front heel bearing surface.

The flat foot in the adult

The causes of flat foot in adults are divided into two broad categories:

• Evolution of untreated congenital flatfoot (adult flexible flatfoot)
• Flatfoot secondary to posterior tibial muscle dysfunction or fractures, tendon tears, rheumatoid arthritis, neuropathy (such as in diabetic foot) or myopathy.

The child’s flat foot

Basically, two clinical forms of flat foot in children can be distinguished: one is called infantile lax foot, it depends on the fact that the muscular development of the foot does not coincide with the age of the child. In these cases, theuse of orthotics and appropriate physiotherapy help restore normal anatomical relationships and recover the correct physiology of the foot. The second, called developmental genetic flatfoot, is a deformity that tends to progress and become disabling over time; it is accompanied by valgus of the calcaneus (i.e., the calcaneus is carried outward) and/or medial slippage of the internal arch (the foot tends to slide inward in its dorsal and central part) with medialization of the talus. In the latter case , treatment is only surgical. An evaluation of the foot can be done around three to four years of age: if there are other cases of flatfoot in the family, it is necessary to evaluate the child more carefully because you may be dealing with the second form. Then there are “functional” forms of flatfoot, secondary to other abnormalities: obesity and overweight, muscle weakness, neurological diseases, incorrect postural habits, and inappropriate footwear.