Five questions to ask about your high-arched foot
Identifying whether there is an underlying cause for the shape of your foot is important since it may influence treatment. If you have high arched feet and answer yes to any of the following questions, you should consult your doctor for further advice:
- Is the foot painful?
- Is the foot changing shape?
- Is only one foot changing shape?
- Is there any numbness in the foot?
- Does your foot feel weak or unstable?
Answering yes to the final four questions in particular may warrant specialist referral to make sure that there is not a problem with your nerves or spine.
What should I do about my high-arched foot?
Most patients have no underlying cause for high arched feet and this usually leads to either no or mild symptoms. In such circumstances, there is no need for any treatment. When the shape of the foot starts to interfere with activities it may be necessary to:
- Modify or limit activities that aggravate symptoms.
- Wear more supportive shoes or other footwear.
- Use insoles which either change the shape of your foot or adapt to it depending upon whether the foot is supple or not.
Surgery is generally reserved for when these measures fail to control symptoms such as persistent pain or rubbing on the outer foot border, or if the foot is rapidly changing shape.
Do I need surgery?
Surgery is offered for patients whose symptoms cannot be managed conservatively or if the shape of the foot is rapidly changing.
In most patients, the main benefits are:
- Relief or improvement of pain and disability.
- Greater independence and activity levels.
- The outcome of surgery is usually good but it doesn’t mean that all the people who have the surgery will be completely symptom free.
