A foot with a low arch is a foot with a structure that collapses each step taken. The bones that make up the medial longitudinal arch of the foot are supposed to stay in a semi-rigid arch structure while walking.
When the structure is maintained during each step, then the muscles can contract and recover during movement. The ligaments can be stretched and then relax during movement. And the joints between the bones can give a little bit to allow the movement to occur without wear and tear on them.
However, when the structure of the medial longitudinal arch of the foot collapses during walking such as what happens in a foot with a low arch, the foot turns inward and more of the foot contacts the ground than what should happen in a normally arched foot. When the foot turns inward, this is called a hyper pronated foot. Normally when walking, there’s a small amount of pronation (turning the foot inward) but when the medial longitudinal arch of the foot collapses, the pronation is excessive (hyper pronated foot).
This extra amount of pronation in the foot causes a lot of stress to the foot muscles, ligaments, and foot joints. In fact, a collapsed medial longitudinal arch of the foot or low arch contributes greatly to the development of bunions, plantar fasciitis, metatarsal pad inflammation, and other foot conditions.
This is primarily because the alignment of the foot bones is incorrect. The foot is not operating ergonomically as it was built to operate. Once the low arch occurs, more of the foot contacts the ground as was stated previously. If more of the foot is contacting the ground, this places extra stress on the nerves of the foot. Now the nerves are being compressed to a greater degree than what would happen without a low arch.
And with more stress on all the soft tissue structures of the foot from the hyper pronated foot, you end up with tired foot muscles, tired out ligaments and stressed out joints of the foot. But the good news is that by lifting up that low arch, you can create a rejuvenation of the soft tissue structures of the foot.
The way to lift up a low arch is to use orthotics created to lift the arch. Thus, the orthotics for a low arch acts as a crutch or a brace for the foot. Once the low arch is restored to its normal placement, the ergonomics is restored. Your feet don’t feel tired anymore. Your endurance is enhanced because you aren’t wasting any energy that shouldn’t be spent by the foot muscles and ligaments.
Check out the wide selection of orthotics for a low arch at www.TheInsoleStore.com and make your feet happy today!
Don’t know what type of foot arch you have? Check out our “What Type of Foot Arch do I Have?” Video Today!