Flat Feet Specialist

Rocky Mountain Foot & Ankle Center

Foot & Ankle Surgeons located in Wheat Ridge, CO & Arvada, CO

If you have flat feet, sometimes called fallen arches, you’re at risk of foot pain and other more serious foot and ankle problems. Matthew Paden, DPM, FACFAS, Dustin Kruse, DPM, MA, FACFAS, and Brett Sachs, DPM, FACFAS at Rocky Mountain Foot and Ankle Center in Evergreen and Wheat Ridge, Colorado offer customized treatments to support your feet, alleviate pain, and prevent complications. Call the nearest office, or book an appointment online today.

Flat Feet Q & A

What are flat feet?

Your foot should naturally arch along the inside of your foot between the ball of your foot and your heel. However, congenital deformities and excessive stress on the muscles, tendons, and ligaments can cause your arch to collapse.

One of the easiest ways to see if you have flat feet is to look at your footprint when you get out of the shower or a pool. A normal footprint looks like a kidney bean with toes. A flat footprint looks more like an oblong pancake with toes. If you have high arches -- another foot deformity that can affect your gait and cause pain -- only a thin line connects the print left from your heel and the ball of your foot.

It’s possible to have flat feet and not experience any symptoms. However, you may have foot pain and swelling, particularly in your ankle and along the bottom of your foot.

What causes flat feet?

You can inherit the flat feet deformity, or your arches can collapse later in life due to weakness or damage to the tendons that hold the arch in place. Some of the risk factors for flat feet include:

Being overweight or obese
Foot and ankle injuries
Diseases like diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis

What problems do flat feet cause?

If you have flat feet, you’re more likely to overpronate, which means that your feet roll too far inward when your foot strikes the ground. This alters your foot’s ability to absorb shock effectively and can cause pain in your foot, ankle, and throughout your legs and lower back. A poor gait can also lead to issues like bunions and hammertoes.

How are flat feet treated?

If flat feet are causing your pain, the podiatrists at Rocky Mountain Foot and Ankle Center offer therapies and orthotics to improve support to your foot, improve your gait, and relieve your pain.

In most cases, your podiatrist will prescribe custom orthotics, molded to the specific contours of your feet to support your feet and ankles and reduce overpronation.

You’ll also have physical therapy to learn exercises and stretches that keep the muscles in your lower legs, ankles, and feet strong and supple.

If you’re living with foot pain, call or schedule an appointment online today for expert diagnosis and care.

What we offer