Overpronated foot and its associated problems:
Pronation is the usual inward or downward movement of the foot during walking that serves to absorb force and disperse stress in different joints to minimize its effect. If there is a loss of the arch of the foot or flat feet (loss of the medial arch of the foot), there is a risk of overpronation. The second reason for overpronation is a lack of inversion range. Inversion of the foot is defined as lifting off the medial part of the foot such that the bottom of the foot points inward (middle). The third reason for an overpronated foot is hip internal rotation. Which can result in knee Valgus and subsequently collapsing of the foot medial arch, resulting in flat feet and overpronation. Because of an overpronated foot, your knee, hip, and spine compensate, and as a result, all of your joints become misaligned.
Foot overpronation can cause:
Knee discomfort, hip pain, chronic lower back pain, plantar fasciitis, heel pain, shin splints, bunions, iliotibial band syndrome, Achilles tendonitis, stress fracture in the foot, Patello-femoral pain syndrome, and other injuries are common in patients who overpronate or misalign their joints.
Prolonged walking on uneven terrain also, walking barefoot can cause overpronation of the feet. Having Ligament, Tendon, or Joint Disease, which can be congenital or the result of an injury or overuse.
PHYSIOTHERAPY TREATMENT FOR OVERPRONATED FOOT:
- Wear arch-supporting shoes. Don’t walk around barefoot.
- Foot orthotics and insoles (foot orthotics are special shoe insert that keeps into shoes for extra arch support and helps to reduce the influence of ground forces while walking).
- Strengthening activities for the arch and surrounding muscles, such as
- thera band exercises (perform elevation and supination), medial arch lifting exercises, duck stand, and toe curls.
- Knee muscle strengthening exercises include short and long arc quadriceps movements, squatting variants, lunge variations, knee curls, and VMO strengthening.
- Gluteal muscle strengthening exercises include clamps, bridging, quadruped hip extension, and standing hip abduction.
- Lower back muscle strengthening- Cat and Camel exercises, Superman movements
- Toe curls.
- Stretching techniques include close-chain calf stretch, open-chain calf stretch, and plantar fascia stretching.
- In addition, the Plantar fascia muscle is released with a tennis ball.
- Also, Chiropractic manipulation.
- Cryotherapy, thermal treatment, combo therapy, the Super Inductive System (SIS), and other therapeutic methods.
