| Everybody knows, or has heard of flat feet or fallen | | | | However, if the abnormal forces put upon the |
| arches. The million-dollar question is why we get flat | | | | muscles at the ankle and at the arch are too great, |
| feet or fallen arches to start with. | | | | then these muscles will become strained and |
| The why is a medical condition known as a Morton's | | | | exhausted. They will then start to hurt in their |
| Toe, first written about by Dr. Dudley J. Morton in a | | | | attempt to prevent the arch from collapsing and to |
| 1928 article in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery | | | | maintain the balance of the feet. This unsuccessful |
| and his books of 1935, 1939 and 1952. He had no | | | | battle of trying to prevent the arch from collapsing |
| doubt that Fallen Arches, Flat Feet, Weak Ankles and | | | | by the muscles of the ankle is also a common cause |
| Tired Feet all were caused by an unstable bone in | | | | of tired feet and weak ankles. Chronic ankle sprains |
| the foot. He said there was a loss of stability at the | | | | can also be caused by this acquired instability at the |
| arch when you had this unstable bone. | | | | ankle joint due to its battle of trying to prevent the |
| This instability of the bone was known as | | | | arch from collapsing. This straining or exhausting of |
| hypermobility of the first metatarsal bone. This loss | | | | the muscles can also cause spasms at night. |
| of stability will then cause the arch to fall, tilt or | | | | The good news is that these problems can be easily |
| collapse inwardly because it has less support than | | | | treated with a toe pad or a shoe insert. In reality, |
| normal in keeping the arch up. Once this collapsing | | | | true "fallen arches" are a rare thing. In spite of the |
| starts toward the inside part of the foot, then a | | | | fact that the term is now used to refer to several |
| chain reaction begins to take place that can cause | | | | foot problems, in actuality it means a total |
| many problems of your foot, heel and ankle. The | | | | breakdown and substantial deformity of the foot. |
| muscles of the ankle will attempt to fight off this | | | | This severe condition is, in fact, a truly uncommon |
| unnatural inward titling or collapsing of the arch. | | | | occurrence in our time. |