Flexible Flatfoot And Adults: Surgery May Be For You
If you've suffered from flexible flatfoot throughout your lifetime, surgery may be the only solution for it. Although most children don't require treatment for flexible flatfoot when they're young, some children do. The children who don't receive treatment for their condition may experience serious problems with their feet as adults. Learn more about flexible flatfoot and how surgery can treat the condition below.
How Does Flexible Flatfoot Affect You?
Flexible flatfoot develops when the soft tissues in your foot's arch collapse and deform during childhood. The collapsed tissues cause the bones in the heel and ankle to become loose and misaligned. The deformities can become worse as you age.
Flexible flatfoot can make wearing certain types of footwear, playing sports, and other activities difficult for some people. The condition can also cause other problems to occur in the foot, including drifting toes, hammer toes, and bunions.
Although corrective shoes can help reinforce your arches when you stand, the footwear can't correct the deformities in your feet. In this case, surgery may be the most effective treatment option for you.
How Does Surgery Treat Flexible Flatfoot?
Flexible flatfoot surgery is one of the options open to you. The minimally invasive surgery allows a podiatrist or surgeon to realign the tissues in your heel and ankle. The treatment also adds support to your arch and toes.
Doctors use special stainless steel pins to correct flexible flatfoot. To place the pins properly, surgeons create a small slit somewhere near the bones in your heel and ankle. Once doctors secure the incision site, they insert one or more pins between your ankle and heel bones. The pins immediately force the bones to move closer together within the foot.
Most flatfoot surgeries don't take long to complete. Unless you need to additional work completed on your feet, you should be able to leave the treatment site as soon as surgeons clear you for release. If you need pain medication to help you relax or get through your recovery, doctors may write a pain medication prescription for you.
Try to rest your feet once you arrive home. Doctors may also give you a list of things you can do at home to help your feet recover properly. If you encounter any problems with your feet later, contact a podiatrist immediately.
Contact a podiatrist, like those at Medical Foot Solutions and other locations, online or by phone to learn more about flexible flatfoot surgery and how it can help you today
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