Fallen Arches, Flat Feet, Weak Ankles and the Morton’s Toe
Everybody knows or has heard of “fallen arches” or flat feet. The million dollar question is: why do we get fallen arches or flat feet to start with?
The Why: Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) causes fallen arches and flat feet. Dr. Dudley Morton wrote passionately about the true causes of fallen arches, Flat Feet tired feet and weak ankles in his article of 1928, and his books of 1935, 1939 and 1952. He had no doubt that all of these problems were caused by a unstable first metatarsal bone. He said there was a loss of stability at the arch when you had hypermobility of the first metatarsal bone. This loss of stability will then cause the arch to fall, tilt or collapse inwardly because it has less support than normal in keeping the arch up.
Once this collapsing starts toward the inside part of the foot, then a chain reaction begins to take place that can cause many problems of your foot, heel and ankle. The muscles of the ankle will attempt to fight off this unnatural inward titling or collapsing of the arch. But if the abnormal forces put upon the muscles at the ankle and at the arch are too great, then these muscles will become strained and exhausted. They will then start to hurt in their attempt to prevent the arch from collapsing and to maintain the balance of the feet.
This unsuccessful battle of trying to prevent the arch from collapsing by the muscles of the ankle is also a common cause of tired feet and weak ankles. Chronic ankle sprains can also be caused by this acquired instability at the ankle joint due to its battle of trying to prevent the arch from collapsing. This straining or exhausting of the muscles can also cause spasms at night. The good news is that these problems can be easily treated with a toe pad or a shoe insert. In reality, true “fallen arches” are a rare thing. In spite of the fact that the term is now used to refer to several foot problems, in actuality it means a total breakdown and substantial deformity of the foot. This severe condition is, in fact, a truly uncommon occurrence in our time.
