Treatment:

Once your health care provider has examined your child, no treatment is needed for flat feet that are not causing any pain or problems walking.

• Your child's feet will grow and develop the same, whether special shoes, shoe inserts, heel cups, or wedges are used.
• Your child may walk barefoot, run or jump, or do any other activity without making the flat feet worse.

In older children and adults, flexible flat feet that are painless and do not cause problems with walking do not need further treatment once a health care provider has evaluated them.

If you have pain due to flexible flat feet, the following may help:

• An off-the-shelf or custom-made orthotic (arch-supporting insert in the shoe)
• Special shoes

Rigid or painful flat feet require evaluation by a health care provider. The treatment depends on the cause of the flat feet.

For tarsal coalition, treatment starts with rest and possibly a cast. If this does not improve the pain, surgery may be needed.

In more severe cases, surgery may be needed to:

• Clean or repair the tendon
• Fuse some of the joints of the foot into a corrected position

Flat feet in older adults can be treated with pain relievers, orthotics, and sometimes surgery.

Expectations (prognosis):

Most cases of flat feet are painless and do not cause any problems or need treatment.

Some causes of painful flat feet can be successfully treated without surgery, but surgery is the last option to relieve pain in some cases.

Patients who need to have surgery often report improvement in pain and function.

Complications:

Flat feet rarely cause any complications except pain.

Possible problems after surgery include:

• Failure of the fused bones to heal
• Foot deformity that does not go away
• Infection
• Loss of ankle movement
• Pain that does not go away

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if you experience persistent pain in your feet or your child complains of foot pain or lower leg pain.