Foot deformities should not be taken lightly!

When it comes to physical health, the "unknown" feet may be the most easily overlooked. In fact, foot health is related to the health of the whole body, especially when the bone morphology or muscle structure of the foot is abnormal, it will have a serious impact on our walking function. Medically, this abnormality is called foot deformity. There are many types of it. The characteristics of different types and the impact on the body and life are quite different, which must be taken seriously by everyone.

"Flat feet" is one of the common types of foot deformities, which is mainly manifested by the collapse of the longitudinal arch of the foot or the disappearance of its elastic function, causing the patient's foot bones to deform, the foot muscles to gradually atrophy, and the foot ligaments to spasm. Flat feet in adults can cause heel pain and easy foot fatigue.

Flat feet are divided into two types: postural flat feet and spastic flat feet. Postural flat feet have no obvious abnormalities in appearance. The main symptoms are redness, swelling and pain in the feet after walking or working, accompanied by swelling of the dorsum and sole of the foot. The symptoms disappear after rest. Spastic flat feet often occur in adolescents and are mostly caused by improper or neglected treatment of postural flat feet. The main manifestations are severe pain, walking in a figure-eight manner, eversion of the foot and limited abduction function. Over time, the heel will gradually widen, the heel and sole will evert, and the navicular tuberosity of the foot will completely collapse, causing serious obstacles to the patient's walking. As the deformity gradually deepens, the patient will experience stiff feet and completely lose the ability to walk.

Once flat feet are diagnosed, surgery can be performed to correct the foot deformity and restore the arch structure to normal.

"High arch foot" is also one of the common foot deformities, and its main feature is the abnormal protrusion of the longitudinal bones of the foot. There are many types of high arch foot: the first is simple high arch foot, which refers to a fixed plantar flexion deformity in the forefoot structure, resulting in an increase in the inner and outer longitudinal arches of the foot; the second is inversion type high arch foot, which is mainly manifested by a normal outer longitudinal arch of the foot, but an increase in the inner longitudinal arch of the foot, resulting in irregular weight bearing in an inversion posture of the foot to relieve pain when walking, and eventually forming an inversion deformity of the hindfoot; the third is heel-walking high arch foot, which refers to a fixed plantar flexion deformity in the forefoot and a dorsiflexion deformity in the calcaneus, which in turn has a serious adverse effect on the walking function; the fourth is plantar flexion type high arch foot, which is a more serious foot deformity, in which the patient's front bones, calcaneus and ankle joints all have plantar flexion deformities.

"Congenital hallux valgus foot" is the most common type of congenital foot deformity, characterized by excessive dorsiflexion of the dorsum of the foot, and the eversion of the foot bones, which limits the plantar flexion ability of the foot. Congenital hallux valgus foot is mainly caused by the fact that the foot of the fetus is in the dorsiflexion position for a long time in the mother's body, making it impossible to move the foot. As the patient's age increases, the spinal nervous system will be constantly pulled by the deformed nerves of the foot, causing the foot deformity to recur easily after treatment. Therefore, after treatment, it is also necessary to pay attention to rehabilitation work.

"Congenital vertical talus" is characterized by a protruding talus of the foot, the inability of the calcaneus to bear force on the ground, and the abduction and dorsiflexion of the front bone structure of the foot. Congenital vertical talus often leads to equinus deformity of the calcaneus and dorsal dislocation of the navicular bone of the foot to the talus, causing more serious movement dysfunction in patients.

"Hallux valgus" is also known as hallux valgus deformity in medicine. It is a common foot deformity, mainly manifested by inversion of the first metatarsal and hallux valgus. In layman's terms, the big toe deviates outward by more than 15° and encroaches on the position of the second toe, running under the second toe.

Treatment of hallux valgus is divided into two stages:

The first stage is rehabilitation treatment, including manual therapy, exercise therapy and physical factor therapy. Manual therapy can loosen the proximal interphalangeal joint, increase the range of motion of the inversion joint and relieve pain; exercise therapy can stretch the soft tissue on the outside of the interphalangeal joint, reduce the resistance to inversion, strengthen the inversion muscle strength, improve the functional stability of the front part of the foot and exercise the proprioception and movement control ability of the ankle and foot joint; physical factor therapy can relieve pain and promote injury repair.

The second stage is surgical treatment. If rehabilitation treatment cannot relieve the symptoms of hallux valgus deformity, surgery (including traditional surgery and minimally invasive surgery) is recommended for correction. There are many surgical methods, but no one surgical method is suitable for all hallux valgus patients. The choice should be based on the patient's specific situation.

Author of this article: Qingquan Mianyang Orthopedic Hospital Foot and Ankle Department