Happy Feet

Dispelling the Myths of Flat Feet

By Kelly Burgess

Grace Mobley remembers when her son was a toddler and the doctor made him wear special shoes to "correct" his flat feet. "Jeff hated those shoes; they were so heavy and uncomfortable," Mobley says. "I felt terrible about putting them on him, but I didn't know any better back then; I assumed the doctor knew what he was doing."

Of course, a lot of things that people, even doctors, thought were true years ago have since turned out to have no basis in medical science. The supposed necessity to correct flat feet is one of them. Mobley, who has worked as a shoe salesperson in a children's specialty shoestore for close to 20 years in the Pittsburgh area, now knows that the only thing a toddler needs is a well-fitting pair of shoes for when they go outside. Everything else is just a myth.

All infants and toddlers have flat feet, says Dr. James Thomas of the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Arches do not begin to form until about age 3 and may not fully form until age 10 or later. After that, flat feet fall into one of these two categories:

• Flexible Flat Feet: The foot appears normal when sitting, but when the child stands up the arch comes down and flattens. This is the most common type of flat feet.
• Rigid Flat Feet: Also known as tarsal coalition, it's a congenital condition where two or more bones that are normally separate are fused together. It can limit motion and cause pain and rigidity in the foot.

Although neither of these conditionsis a concern in toddlerhood, it certainly doesn't hurt to be aware of them and to understand them so you can watch for problems as they grow.

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