Print this Page
Use your browser print button to send a copy of this page to your printer.

Return to Pediatric Orthopedics page

• An absence of the arch that runs from the toes to the heel of the foot.

• Children can have flat feet at birth or can get it later in life from bone or ligament injury. This can be a familial trait. This means that if your child has flat feet, it may have been passed down from someone else in your family.

• Flatfootedness can be caused by loose ligaments or weak muscles in the foot. This type is usually flexible and asymptomatic. When a flatfoot is caused by a bony deformity (stiff flat foot), it often times will cause pain and may require surgery.

• In children with a stiff flat foot deformity, it is important to determine the cause. In those cases, X-rays and other tests can often help make the diagnosis. The treatment of this type of flatfoot is more complex and may require surgery.

• Flat feet are very common in children.

• If your child has flat feet, you may notice him walking with his ankles turned in. Your child may also complain about feeling especially tired after activities in which he or she did a lot of standing or walking.

• The goal of the treatment of flexible flat feet is to make sure the child can stand and walk efficiently. The physicians will probably suggest that your child wear shoes with a good arch support built in. We have found that "Nike" and "Reebok" brand shoes have a good arch support. Sometimes high top shoes can help control the ankle turning as well. Occasionally, special arch supports are needed to decrease the symptoms.

• It is important to realize that wearing a tennis shoe with a good arch will not make an arch develop on your child's foot. He or she will still have a flat foot when walking bare footed. There is no surgical or non-surgical technique available to dependably develop an arch in a flatfoot.