A flat foot is one whose arches flatten, or roll inward, under your weight. The foot has three arches that share the load, so when they sink, weight spreads unevenly and the joints above adjust to make up for it. Dr. Kalay looks at how you stand and walk before recommending anything.
Sounds familiar?
Your feet are the base everything else stands on. When the arches give way, the body shifts above them one link at a time. We’ve mapped the whole chain, from the arches to the spine, on our custom orthotics page.
01
Three arches carry your weight together. When one or more of them flattens, the foot rolls inward with each step, and the ankle rolls in with it.
02
As the foot rolls in, the knees turn inward and the shins twist with them. The pull carries on up through the thighs and hips, so each step lands less evenly.
03
With the legs turned in beneath it, the pelvis can tip forward and pull the spine along. The lower back takes the extra pressure, which is one way collapsing arches end up as back pain.
Flat feet that don’t hurt or hold you back usually need nothing at all, and sometimes a store-bought insert is enough. They’re worth an exam when foot, knee or back pain keeps coming back, or when your work keeps you standing all day. A foot that has only recently gone flat, or flat feet on one side only, are worth having checked by a medical doctor.
If your exam points to something orthotics can’t help, Dr. Kalay will say so and point you to the right kind of care.
If the exam shows your feet are part of the picture, care starts at the base: a steadier foot, then the joints that have been making up for it. Your evaluation decides whether orthotics make sense for you.
For the arches
Built from a scan of how your own feet carry your weight and a look at how you move, not from a shoe size. They don’t cure an underlying condition. The aim is to steady your base, which may ease the strain that travels up into your knees, hips and back.
How it worksFor the pelvis and spine
Collapsing arches can tip the pelvis and pull the spine with it. When the exam finds your hips or lower back compensating, adjustments work there, and orthotics may help them hold.
How it worksWhere every plan starts
A consultation and exam to find the cause, then a plan you understand before care begins. Your first consultation is complimentary.
Reviewed by
Dr. Gurj Kalay, DC
Doctor of Chiropractic, Palmer College of Chiropractic West (2014)
General information, not medical advice. Your own exam decides your care.
No. Flat feet that aren’t causing pain or problems usually need nothing, and sometimes a store-bought insert is enough. They’re worth an evaluation when foot, knee, hip or back pain keeps coming back, or when your work keeps you on your feet all day.
They can. When the arch collapses and the foot rolls in, the knees turn inward and the pull carries up through the thighs and hips. That extra strain can show up as knee or hip aches, often alongside lower back stiffness.
The shoes you wear most are a good clue: soles that wear down faster along one edge often mean your feet aren’t landing evenly. You may also notice your ankles rolling in with your feet. An evaluation shows it directly, by watching you stand and walk and mapping how your weight spreads across each foot.
Posture and gait come first: we watch how you stand and walk, and how your ankles, knees and hips line up with your spine. Then you step onto a scanner that maps how your weight spreads across each foot, and Dr. Kalay walks you through the color map it draws before anything is recommended.
An evaluation of how you stand and walk, and custom orthotics made from your own scan, on Century Park Drive. The clinic serves Yuba City, Marysville, Live Oak, Gridley, Plumas Lake, Olivehurst, Wheatland and Colusa.
Call or book online. Your first consultation with Dr. Kalay is complimentary.
New patient? Send the new patient form and the team will contact you to set up your first visit.
New patient special437 Century Park Dr Ste A · Yuba City, CA
