Kate Barrow A progressive worsening of a flat foot or dropped arch in an adult is generally termed posterior tibial tendon dysfunction as well as adult acquired flatfoot and could have serious implications if not noticed early and taken care of. This is more frequent in older in addition to overweight adults. The principal concern is how the posterior tibial muscles that are given the task of supporting the arch of the feet are no longer effective at undertaking that, hence a progressive flattening of the feet happens. In addition to a collapsing in the arch of the foot there is commonly increasing pain and discomfort in the arch of the foot and also the rearfoot. As the posterior tibial tendon dysfunction moves along, further walking will become significantly harder and is very fatiguing.
There are actually traditionally 4 steps involving posterior tibial tendon dysfunction how the condition advances through with 1 being the initial phase and 4 being the end phase that only surgery can fix. There is certainly a bit of difference of opinion of the staging with this with some variability among health professionals and some reliability concerns. Having said that, stage one is usually managed with foot supports and exercises plus some medication for the pain. Stage two characteristically requires a lot more aggressive and supporting foot orthotics, continuing using the exercises as well as higher amounts of pain alleviation treatments may be needed. Both stage 1 and 2 will benefit from high top supportive footwear. Long term weight loss plans can also be likely to be beneficial. When this doesn't halt the progression and the foot is proceeding towards a stage three, then there's increasing possibility that reconstructive foot surgery is probably going to be required. Because of this it's very crucial that there be more aggressive conservative treatment of the foot when it is still in stage 2 to end the progress.
An extremely frequent treatment for adult acquired flat foot as it continues to stage two is the Richie Brace. This Richie Brace has been commonly used and it has been demonstrated to be really successful at halting the development with this problem and staying away from the need for surgical treatment. Surgical interventions are frequently successful, but there is however usually a left over level of impairment left over since the surgical treatment generally does require the fusing of some important joints and the transfer of muscles attachments to other parts of the foot. The Richie brace is a blend of an aggressively made bespoke foot orthoses with an ankle foot orthotic with struts to support both sides of the joints at the ankle. The bespoke foot orthotic is crafted from a plaster cast or optical scan on the foot with the foot held in a fixed alignment. The aim of the foot orthoses portion of the Richie Brace is to attempt to hold the foot in this corrected position. The struts that get added up the side of the ankle are articulated at the ankle joint allowing motion to happen at this joint. Those struts are then held on by Velcro on the lower leg to help support and enhance the impact of the foot orthotic. If the advancement of adult acquired flat foot can be ended using this, then surgical treatment is generally prevented.