Knock knees may cause flat feet
On our blog you may have read articles about flat feet (What can I do about my flat feet? and How to deal with fallen arches). However, flat feet are an ailment that is caused by several different factors. Among them, for example, are poor footwear, overloading the legs or poor posture. Knock knees are another factor. What causes this and how can this problem be resolved?
Causes of knock knees
Why do you have knock knees? In most cases, it is due to the inward rotation of the femur joints in the hips. As a result, your knee joints also point inwards, and the shape of your legs when viewed while standing resembles the letter X.
However, this is not a purely aesthetic defect. The poor rotation of the joints in the hips can lead to poor posture and a change in the centre of gravity when standing and walking. This can affect your feet, but also your knees as well as your hips or spine.
Knock knees are not just a problem for adults or the elderly, but can also appear in children. The sooner the problems are resolved, the less they will affect other parts of the body.
What do knock knees have in common with flat feet?
If you have knock knees, then, when walking, the weight is transferred mainly to the inside of the feet. In some cases, this can be recognized in the wear on your shoes. Due to such a walk, the longitudinal arch is overloaded forming a flat foot or fallen arch. Some people consciously transfer their weight to the outside of the foot when walking, but this does not solve the problem. On the contrary, it can do more harm than good.
How to resolve the issue
In this situation, it is necessary to focus on two main factors. The actual flat feet themselves and then their cause – knock knees. In the case of flat feet, you may also feel pain, pressure or pins and needles in the toes. Without a doubt, you will want to get rid of these phenomena. We will primarily look at conservative treatment. It consists of a regime of measures and an active approach. The regime of measures includes, for example, wearing suitable footwear or losing weight if you are overweight.
You can also help by walking barefoot on stones or other uneven surfaces – thus activating the muscles in the foot. A physiotherapist can recommend a lot of active exercises, so pay one a visit. To supplement the exercise, it’s possible to increase the circulation in the feet with an alternating bath (cold and warm water) or by wearing foot alignment socks, which will also stretch your feet and toes.
The good news is that knock knees can be resolved without surgery. Instead, a conservative treatment can be used. This primarily focuses on active exercise and rehabilitation. Here a physiotherapist specializing in the lower limbs will again be able to help you. Through active exercise and a suitably chosen course of physiotherapy, it is possible to improve the position of the hip joint and gradually get into the habit of standing with the correct posture. This can then lead to a reduction in the chain reaction of ailments, such as flat feet or knee or back problems.
