Fallen Arches

[Dollie]

My friend has a sore foot when she walks on it, but it gets better when she rests. It is the middle underneath part of her foot and she says could it be 'fallen arches.' We both have heard the expression but don't really know what it means.

[Celtigra3]

She could have plantar fascites. That can be really sore. I think you can get cortisone injections for it. I had it and the only thing that cured it was rest. Fallen arches are when the foot is completely flat when resting on the floor, hence flat feet where people walk like a duck. It generally doesn't cause pain, but plantar fascites does (I think that is the spelling).

[rosyrussell]

I think my mum had something like this. She went to her doctor who prescribed her some special insoles for her shoes which relieved the pressure and stopped it from hurting completely.

[chazza]

Fallen arches can be very painful and can run in the family (as in ours although i was one of the lucky ones!).

The arch area of the foot can be very painful, as can the legs and back, as the posture can be 'thrown out' as a result of flat feet.

[Impret-Sir]

Chazza is completely right, I have what an ortho doctor described as "the flattest feet he had ever seen" and they caused me all the symtoms she(?) describes, and it was agony, not just in my feet, but in my legs and lower back.
I was prescribed arch supports to wear in my shoes as rosyrussell says, and the problem was cured, practically overnight! The relief was indesribable. I now have to wear these in my shoes all the time, which is a bit of a drag in the summer, (cant walk barefoot for more than about twenty minutes), but otherwise im sorted.

[astronaut]

Dollie, how old is your friend? The reason I ask is because I have the condition known as Plantar Fasciitis (Heel Spur) and it has increasingly gotten worse with age. To not be able to do the sports and even simple long walks can change ones life. Look in www.sportsinjuryclinic.net to give your friend an insight of what the condition is about. She must seek treatment rightaway before further damage is incurred. The injections are extremely painful and one wonders if it is worth the additional agony, it can take months to be taken seriously for this condition, time spent at hospital can be off putting but in 20 or 30 years down the line, she will be glad she took this course of action.

[Dollie]

Thank you one and all for your advice and suggestions. And Astronaut - thankyou for the link - my friend is 21 and we have looked at the website and the pics on there as well. She is going to docs on Monday as she is no better really, and realises she now needs to investigate further.

Thanks again. Dollie