Flat Feet Specialists in Waxahachie, Corsicana & Ennis, TX
Award-Winning Podiatric Care For Flat Feet
Are you one of the many people who have flat feet or fallen arches? Does your child have flat feet? If so, you’re in the right place.
Living with flat feet can make simple tasks like walking suddenly become a painful challenge. Flat feet can also be the cause of your hip or back problems!
If you’re living with flat feet and curious about ways to improve your fallen arches, we can help! Family Foot & Ankle Centers offers award-winning flat foot care in Waxahachie, Corsicana & Ennis, TX.
Types of Flat Feet
There are two main types of flat feet: congenital and acquired. Congenital flat feet are present from birth and typically don’t cause a lot of symptoms. Acquired flat feet or fallen arches develop later in life from trauma or muscle imbalances. This typically causes pain and discomfort as the ankles start to sag inward.
Symptoms of Flat Feet
Many people with flat feet never experience symptoms. However, if you have flat feet and do experience symptoms, they may include:
- Fatigue in the feet as the ligament that supports your arch, the plantar fascial ligament, can become stretched and strained
- Abnormal pressure and discomfort in the knees and hip joints
- Pain and swelling of the foot arch, hip, knee, calf, lower legs, and lower back. A flat foot is poor at absorbing shock. The joints from the back down have to help absorb the shock
- Stiffness is a generalized symptom as the body weight is not distributed evenly
Treatment Options
No one should have to live with flat foot pain, and at Family Foot & Ankle Centers, we’ve helped thousands of people get back to living a pain-free life. Some common treatments for flat feet include:
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Supportive shoes– The simplest fix of all is purchasing a pair of shoes that will support your arches and help align your feet. You can also get orthotic inserts or arch supports to use with shoes you already own that may not offer arch support. These insoles can alleviate pain while correcting how you stand, walk, and run.
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Foot and ankle stretches–it is important to keep the calf muscles limber to allow the foot to remain flexible. Not only will stretching the muscles in your feet help relieve pain, over time it could help strengthen the arches in your feet. Exercises for flat feet can slowly improve your foot strength, leading to less pain.
- Icing and elevation– If you need a short term solution for temporary pain, try elevating your feet with an ice pack on them for 20 minutes. This can be combined with an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory such as Alleve. This combination should have you back on your feet quickly!
- Prescription anti-inflammatory medicine–this can help reduce pain and inflammation
- Custom orthotics– these shoe inserts are made to support your flat feet and and shock absorption while supporting arches
- Foot surgery– In severe cases, surgery may be required. Newer surgical procedures have greatly improved the treatment of flat feet.
Prevention of Acquired Flat Feet
To avoid developing flat feet, here are some tips to consider:
- Buy shoes with good arch support insoles
- Change your shoes every day. Switching shoes regularly is essential to ensure that your foot never adopts a certain shoe shape.
- Avoid wearing high heels as they place too much strain on the muscles of the feet and can alter your center of gravity and alignment.
- Watch your weight as carrying extra pounds puts more pressure on your feet and cause the ligaments to fail and the development of flat feet.
What About Surgery For Flat Feet?
If other treatments, which should always be tried first, are not successful, then surgery may be a viable option.
A common flatfoot procedure performed Family Foot & Ankle Centers is known as Hypocure. This surgical procedure helps to realign your ankle with your foot and requires just a small incision. You are back to normal activities within a few weeks.
A custom treatment plan to address your flat feet will be developed specifically for you by your Waxahachie podiatrist.
Experience Our Award-Winning Flat Feet Care in Waxahachie, Corsicana & Ennis, TX Today!
To receive help with flat feet for yourself or a loved one, schedule an appointment today by calling us at 972-597-4132 or by clicking here to use our convenient online form. We offer same-day appointments and have bilingual Spanish-speaking professionals on staff for your convenience.
During your appointment, our team will be happy to answer all your questions about our treatments, our office, our flexible payment options, and anything else you may want to know about us! Call today – we can’t wait to help you live your life pain-free!
As the premier podiatry centers in Waxahachie, Corsicana and Ennis, TX, our foot doctors and team at Family Foot & Ankle Centers also provide 5-star podiatry care to patients in our surrounding areas. We proudly serve patients in Navarro and Ellis counties and surrounding areas including Red Oak, Midlothian, Desoto, Cedar Hill, Lancaster, Duncanville, Arlington and Mansfield. The Foot Specialists at Family Foot & Ankle Centers are improving lives one foot at a time.