Flat feet are not a disease, but a flat arch. About 7% of people have this problem, and it basically does not affect them much in childhood.
How can you tell if your child has flat feet?
The easiest way is to sprinkle a layer of flour on the ground and let your baby step on it, then look at the soles of the feet that have stepped on the flour. Generally speaking, the inner edge of a normal foot should not touch the ground, so it will not be covered with flour, while the opposite is true for flat feet, as most or all of the soles will be covered with flour.
What are the dangers of flat feet?
A condition related to flat feet is called “flatfoot syndrome”, which is characterized by pain on the medial edge of the foot or heel pain, and weakness from walking long distances. The cause may be a muscle spasm or a structural abnormality of the bone. It is not only painful, but can also lead to limited movement and a chain reaction of other joints in the foot and even ankle, knee and hip joints, such as inflammation and deformation.
Five principles of flat feet correction methods
1, the appropriate exercise can reduce flat feet
Children’s feet to healthy development, exercise is very important. In recent years, the problem of children’s flat feet than in the 1980s rose about 20%, more obvious, one of the main reasons is the lack of exercise for children. Children should do more exercises, such as toe exercises, toe-grabbing glass ball exercises and bouncing exercises such as jumping rope and basketball, to improve the strength of the foot muscles and ligaments and promote the development of the foot arch. In addition, parents should also pay more attention to the children’s usual posture, especially children with “inward eight” feet or X-shaped legs, children who like to kneel and W-shaped sitting, parents should help them to develop the correct posture, so as to effectively reduce the sequelae of children caused by functional foot problems.
2, the correct choice of shoes can prevent the sequelae of flat feet
Each stage of children’s foot growth should have different care methods. Mr. Wu Kunying, a teaching consultant and adjunct professor of the Orthopaedic Prosthetics Program at Sun Yat-sen Medical College of Sun Yat-sen University, suggests that parents should select the right healthy shoes for their children, which is especially important for their healthy foot growth. Children wearing the right shoes and insoles can reduce the chance of foot sequelae and ligament damage. He added that healthy shoes should have the following elements.
1) A variety of arch supports to relieve arch fatigue and prevent the sequelae of flat feet;
2) A stiff heel cup to stabilize the heel bone and control the magnitude of rearfoot valgus;
3), the forefoot has different circumference options to prevent the forefoot from being too loose or too tight, increasing the comfort of the foot;
4), shaped midsole design, to help stabilize the foot shape and strengthen the support of the insole.
3.Choose shoes and socks with good warmth according to different situations
Such as cotton shoes, towel socks, both warm and comfortable, very suitable for small children to wear. Sneakers, rubber shoes and leather shoes are not good for warmth and heat dissipation, so they are not suitable. The size of shoes and socks should be slightly larger, and there should be a slight gap between the feet and shoes to facilitate air insulation and increase warmth.
4, often change and dry shoes and socks
Children are active, feet are prone to sweating, it is best to place insoles in the shoes to absorb moisture and sweat to reduce heat emission, and often change often sunshine, to ensure that the shoes are dry and warm. After the rain and snow days, shoes and socks get wet, to be promptly changed to the child.
5, every night with hot water to children’s feet
Every night before going to bed to insist on using warm water to wash the child’s feet, lie down and cover the feet. This can make the child’s feet to avoid getting cold, both to prevent colds, but also to help children fall asleep faster, to improve the quality of sleep is also very good.