can foot supination be corrected

Foot eversion is often caused by the collapse of the arch. Imagine that when the medial arch collapses, the inner side goes down, and the foot naturally turns outward!

The medial side of the foot originally has good support. When the medial arch collapses, the foot turns outward, and the heel bone and Achilles tendon also turn outward. From the back, it looks like this:

From the medial side of the foot, it looks like this:

The distance between the medial side of the foot and the ground is very close, or it directly touches the ground.

A normal arch should be one to one and a half fingers' distance from the ground.

As mentioned earlier, foot eversion is related to flat feet, so we can correct flat feet.

Functional flat feet can be corrected. We have done many cases, let's take a look.

Next, let's see how to correct foot eversion and arch collapse:

The first step is to strengthen our anterior tibialis muscle.

The anterior tibialis muscle can dorsiflex and invert the foot, and it also supports the arch.

We can do resistance dorsiflexion to strengthen our anterior tibialis muscle. Besides the anterior tibialis muscle, the extensor digitorum longus and extensor hallucis longus also contribute to dorsiflexion and toe pointing.

To avoid using the extensor digitorum longus and extensor hallucis longus during exercises, we should slightly invert the foot before dorsiflexion.

During rehabilitation training, patients should perform maximum resistance inversion and dorsiflexion, hold for ten seconds, do five to eight repetitions, and repeat two sets. After this, when they step on the ground, they will notice their arch rising.

The second exercise is to strengthen the posterior tibialis muscle group.

This includes the posterior tibialis muscle, flexor digitorum longus, and flexor hallucis longus.

We need to know that the flexor digitorum longus, flexor hallucis longus, and posterior tibialis muscle function to plantarflex the foot (pointing the toes) and then invert the foot (turning the sole inward). So, when strengthening, we should not dorsiflex the foot but rather plantarflex and then invert it.

Perform resistance exercises in this position, hold for ten seconds per set, and do five to eight sets. After strengthening, walking on the ground will also show an elevated arch.

The third exercise is called short foot exercise, known in English as 'shoot fit.'

Besides the anterior and posterior tibialis muscles, there are small muscles in the sole that are crucial for maintaining the arch.

Some people suggest towel-grabbing exercises, but this is a misconception. When grabbing a towel, the toes curl inward, but inside a shoe, the toes should be flat. Curling the toes inside a shoe can lead to hammer toes or claw toes, which are undesirable shapes.

What we need to do is elevate the arch while keeping the toes flat.

Short foot training means making the foot shorter. Imagine fitting a size 41 foot into a size 40 or even 39 shoe. The foot must press firmly against the ground, elevating the arch to make the foot smaller.

As shown in the image, the arch rises, and the foot becomes smaller and narrower, with the big toe pressing firmly against the ground.

Hold each position for 30 seconds, do 6-8 repetitions, and complete 3 sets.

After completing the first three steps, you will notice a significant improvement in your arch!

The fourth step is to walk on sand to comprehensively train the foot and ankle muscles.

Alright, have you learned it?