Hi Esther/Everyone,
I recently went to the podiatristy, and he told me that my very flat feet were the result of posterior tendon dysfunction, and that the stretching of ligaments had caused my foot to deform into a "forefoot varus" where the medial border is the foot is elevated when it is properly in line. He says that while other types of flat feet can be approached with hip strength, soft tissue work etc, that we really have to work from the ground up with this one with orthotics (expensive ones too!). THis really is disheartending to me, I feel like the 8-Steps would really allow me to stop my pain if only I could form the kidney bean shape with my left foot, which would allow me properly balance and assure a proper gait. I've been thinking about having surgery to correct the deformity first, but I was interested in your opinion.
-Simon
I recently went to the podiatristy, and he told me that my very flat feet were the result of posterior tendon dysfunction, and that the stretching of ligaments had caused my foot to deform into a "forefoot varus" where the medial border is the foot is elevated when it is properly in line. He says that while other types of flat feet can be approached with hip strength, soft tissue work etc, that we really have to work from the ground up with this one with orthotics (expensive ones too!). THis really is disheartending to me, I feel like the 8-Steps would really allow me to stop my pain if only I could form the kidney bean shape with my left foot, which would allow me properly balance and assure a proper gait. I've been thinking about having surgery to correct the deformity first, but I was interested in your opinion.
-Simon
1 min 28 sec ago
09/10/2008 - 8:36pm
I am strongly biased towards conservative interventions before surgery. This can't be easy for you to sort out...
14 years 8 months ago
08/19/2009 - 2:48am
14 years 4 days ago
05/24/2009 - 11:03am
6 years 5 months ago
09/16/2008 - 4:29pm
Surgery should be a last resort. Thanks for the great link aynurk - I'm a big fan of the marksdailyapple.com blog. I would definitely recommend checking that out if you haven't already. And I just wanted to add a bit of personal experience. I have recently begun going on walks and hikes through grass, dirt, and other natural surfaces barefoot and have improved the muscle strength in my feet quite a bit. Sand is the best if you happen to live near the ocean, but most natural, textured surfaces are great to walk on. And doing the exercises on page 211-212 in the Exercise Appendix of 8 Steps would also likely be very beneficial.
Maya