At first glance the shape of a human foot doesn't make a lot of sense. Our feet are designed to support our weight, so it would seem sensible if that weight was spread over the whole surface of the foot. It isn't, though; it all goes at the front and back, while a big bit in the middle is raised off the ground. It seems like it would be better to distribute our weight over the whole area.
Of course, that would be true if all we did was stand still the whole day. We don't though; we walk around, and sometimes even run. That changes things a bit. Every time you take a step - and the average person takes over 8,000 every day - the foot that hits the ground has to take a force equal to about four times your body weight. With the average American male now weighing 190 pounds that's quite a bit of force, and it has to be cushioned somehow. Think of how a car's shock absorbers work; every time you hit a bump they compress, and that turns a short, sharp impact into a slower, gentler one. The total force is the same but it's spread over a longer period, so it's never too much for your joints to handle. Well, those raised areas in the centre of your feet are your arches and they're your body's shock absorbers.
With every step you take the arches collapse, so that the sharp jolt of your foot hitting the ground is spread out and slowed down into a slower, gentler force. The bones and muscles in the center of your foot act just like the springs and dampers in your car. All children are born without arches - a condition known as flat feet, for the obvious reason - but at the age of two the feet begin to change shape and usually, by the age of about six, the arches are fully formed. This doesn't always happen though; in fact in about one person in every six the arches never form and the feet stay flat.
For many years it was thought that flat feet increased the risk of leg injuries, so people with this condition were often barred from working in the military or emergency services. In the 1980s, though, the Israeli military carried out a study into the risks and found out that in fact this isn't always the case.
It turns out that there are two types of flat feet. Flexible flat feet still allow the bones and muscles to move with each step; while there are no arches to collapse, the center of the foot can spread slightly and this has a similar shock-absorbing effect. Rigid flat feet are different, though; they don't soak up the impact and this places a lot of stress on the body, particularly the joints of the feet and legs. People with this type of flat feet do indeed have a higher risk of injuries.
So, can anything be done about it? Actually the answer is yes. If you suffer from flat feet and find that you suffer pain in the legs and feet after walking for any distance, the answer could be orthotic insoles. Specially shaped to suit your feet, good orthotics can even out the weight distribution and help your body to work better at absorbing the stress of walking.
Getting custom insoles for flat feet used to be an expensive and slow process, involving visits to a podiatrist and messy plaster casts. Technology has made it a lot easier though. It's now possible to order them online simply by taking three photos of your feet and uploading them; these, plus your answers to a simple questionnaire, are used to build a 3D model of your feet with image recognition software, which is sent to a 3D printer to make a perfect replica in ABS plastic. This replica can then be used as a mould for custom insoles.
Of course, that would be true if all we did was stand still the whole day. We don't though; we walk around, and sometimes even run. That changes things a bit. Every time you take a step - and the average person takes over 8,000 every day - the foot that hits the ground has to take a force equal to about four times your body weight. With the average American male now weighing 190 pounds that's quite a bit of force, and it has to be cushioned somehow. Think of how a car's shock absorbers work; every time you hit a bump they compress, and that turns a short, sharp impact into a slower, gentler one. The total force is the same but it's spread over a longer period, so it's never too much for your joints to handle. Well, those raised areas in the centre of your feet are your arches and they're your body's shock absorbers.
With every step you take the arches collapse, so that the sharp jolt of your foot hitting the ground is spread out and slowed down into a slower, gentler force. The bones and muscles in the center of your foot act just like the springs and dampers in your car. All children are born without arches - a condition known as flat feet, for the obvious reason - but at the age of two the feet begin to change shape and usually, by the age of about six, the arches are fully formed. This doesn't always happen though; in fact in about one person in every six the arches never form and the feet stay flat.
For many years it was thought that flat feet increased the risk of leg injuries, so people with this condition were often barred from working in the military or emergency services. In the 1980s, though, the Israeli military carried out a study into the risks and found out that in fact this isn't always the case.
It turns out that there are two types of flat feet. Flexible flat feet still allow the bones and muscles to move with each step; while there are no arches to collapse, the center of the foot can spread slightly and this has a similar shock-absorbing effect. Rigid flat feet are different, though; they don't soak up the impact and this places a lot of stress on the body, particularly the joints of the feet and legs. People with this type of flat feet do indeed have a higher risk of injuries.
So, can anything be done about it? Actually the answer is yes. If you suffer from flat feet and find that you suffer pain in the legs and feet after walking for any distance, the answer could be orthotic insoles. Specially shaped to suit your feet, good orthotics can even out the weight distribution and help your body to work better at absorbing the stress of walking.
Getting custom insoles for flat feet used to be an expensive and slow process, involving visits to a podiatrist and messy plaster casts. Technology has made it a lot easier though. It's now possible to order them online simply by taking three photos of your feet and uploading them; these, plus your answers to a simple questionnaire, are used to build a 3D model of your feet with image recognition software, which is sent to a 3D printer to make a perfect replica in ABS plastic. This replica can then be used as a mould for custom insoles.
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