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Why you get Flat Feet-Fallen Arches-Tired Feet, explains Doc

Authored by Dr. Burton S. Schuler, Google+

Here is a popular blog I wrote almost 2 years ago, except I now include a video on the bottom of the page to help people under stand it better

Everybody knows or has heard of “fallen arches”. The million dollar question is: why do we get fallen arches or flat feet to start with?

The Why: Morton’s Toe (Long Second Toe) causes fallen arches and flat feet. Dr. Dudley Morton wrote passionately about the true causes of fallen arches, tired feet and weak ankles in his article of 1928, and his books of 1935, 1939 and 1952. He had no doubt that all of these problems were caused by a unstable first metatarsal bone. He said there was a loss of stability at the arch when you had hypermobility of the first metatarsal bone. This loss of stability will then cause the arch to fall, tilt or collapse inwardly because it has less support than normal in keeping the arch up.

He said that once this collapsing starts toward the inside part of the foot, then a chain reaction begins to take place that can cause many problems of your foot, heel and ankle. The muscles of the ankle will attempt to fight off this unnatural inward titling or collapsing of the arch. But if the abnormal forces put upon the muscles at the ankle and at the arch are too great, then these muscles will become strained and exhausted. They will then start to hurt in their attempt to prevent the arch from collapsing and to maintain the balance of the feet.

This unsuccessful battle of trying to prevent the arch from collapsing by the muscles of the ankle is also a common cause of tired feet and weak ankles. Chronic ankle sprains can also be caused by this acquired instability at the ankle joint due to its battle of trying to prevent the arch from collapsing. This straining or exhausting of the muscles can also cause spasms at night.The good news is that these problems can be easily treated with a toe pad or a shoe insert. In reality, true “fallen arches” are a rare thing. In spite of the fact that the term is now used to refer to several foot problems, in actuality it means a total breakdown and substantial deformity of the foot. This severe condition is, in fact, a truly uncommon occurrence in our time.

In other words if you do have hypermobility at the first metatarsal bone, you will have improper weight bearing, and in turn, will lose the stability needed in supporting the arch. This is the real reason why our arches fall causing flat feet.

How many times in your life have you heard the term “fallen arches” and had no idea what it really meant? Now, the next time you are sitting around with friends or family and someone mentions fallen arches, you can impress the heck out of him by saying , “Did you know that according to Professor Dudley Joy Morton, fallen arches are caused by the laxity of the plantar ligaments, causing a hypermobility of the first metatarsal bone, which affects the stability of the longitudinal arch?”

How a Morton’s Toe makes you hurt, or what goes wrong

In a perfect situation, Mother Nature makes the first metatarsal bone as long as or longer than the second metatarsal bone. “Mom” also designed the first metatarsal bone so that it would be able to carry twice the weight as the second metatarsal bone. However if the first metatarsal bone is shorter than the second metatarsal bone, then this proper lifting by the first metatarsal bone cannot take place This is because with every step, the second metatarsal bone will abnormally meet the ground before the first metatarsal bone does. When this happens, the first metatarsal bone is not able of doing its job of supporting most of the weight of the front part of the foot. The second metatarsal bone is now forced to not only to lift its share of the burden, but now is made to absorb the first metatarsal bone’s share, as well. This makes the second metatarsal bone do 100% of the work, when normally it would be doing only one third of the work. This puts a tremendous amount of abnormal stress on the second metatarsal bone. It is this “super stress” put upon the second metatarsal bone that starts the chain of events that can cause us to hurt all over. More important this stress also results in something known as pronation.

Here is a popular youtube video (about 45,000 viewing) about the Morton’s Toe)

About the Author: Dr. Burton S. Schuler foot doctor, foot care specialist, podiatrist of Panama City, Panama City Beach Fl , is a 1975 graduated of the New York College of Podiatric Medicine , and has been in private practice for over 38 years. He is an authority on the human foot and has written two books and hundreds of articles about the foot published in numerous podiatric journals publications and at www.FootCare4U.com. He is this country’s leading authority on the Morton’s Toe, ((Long Second Toe) and its associated medical and health problems and on the life of Dr. Dudley J. Morton,

His, first book about the Morton’s Toe, Why You Really Hurt: It All Starts in the Foot published in 2009 is the leading authority on the Morton’s Toe. and presently has over 7,000 copies in print, and sold has thousands of eBook copies ( Kindle) on Amazon. The book is published by the La Luz Press, Inc and is disturbed nationally by the Cardinal Publishing Group. Dr. Schuler’s next book about the Morton’s Toe, called the Morton’s Toe Book will be published in 2014 also by the La Luz Press.

In 1982, he published his first book, The Agony of De-Feet: A Podiatrist Guide to Foot Care. During his thirty eight year career, he has written for Collier’s Encyclopedia and has been interviewed by The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, and First in Women. Dr. Schuler has appeared on dozens of radio and television programs both here and aboard. He is a Diplomate of both the American Academy of Pain Management, and the National Board of Podiatric Examiners. Dr. Schuler is certified as a wound specialist from the American Academy of Wound Management. He has been a professional member of the American Diabetic Association for about 35 years. . His professional and civic accomplishments have earned his inclusion in the 1999-2002 Who’s Who in America (Marquis)