Can I have high arches and flat feet at the same time?

Both my static and dynamic podometry tests show high arches, but when I stand, my feet rotate inward (pronation), and my arches don’t look high at all. All textbooks saying, that high arch is oversupination. A podometrist told me I have flat feet and need insoles with supination. Now I’m confused—how can I have both flat feet and high arches at the same time?

Is it possible that my arches are actually normal, but due to inward rotation, the lateral side of my foot arch becoming higher while the medial side of arch - lower?

Photos of my feet and podometry scan.

standing position

standing position

Digital gait and static scan

I’ve had this chilblain consistently for around 18 months now, it has never disappeared and I’m now starting to get them on my right foot also. Is there anything I can do from home? I am currently being investigated for Lupus and recently found out that this could tie in with that. Even when my feet are warm the colouring remains the same. Any advice would be appreciated as I’m new to all of this.

30F, 48kg, 152cms if that is relevant.

I’ve been experiencing persistent pain in the metatarsophalangeal joint of my big toe for quite some time. I’ve had tests such as MRI and X-rays, and all the doctors (orthopedists, rheumatologists, and podiatrists) have said everything looks normal. I haven’t been diagnosed with arthritis or any obvious bone problems.

My symptoms include:

Pain in the metatarsophalangeal joint of the big toe (the "belly" of the toe).

Visible (although small) fluid in the MRI in the area of pain.

Pain increases when walking, becoming unbearable after a while.

When it’s at its worst, the pain radiates up the leg, passing through the knee and going up to the inner thigh.

Rest and ice temporarily relieve the pain.

Consultations and exams I’ve already done:

Orthopedists (3 doctors) → Said that my foot looked normal and the exams didn’t show anything significant.

Rheumatologists (2 doctors) → Confirmed that I don’t have any rheumatic disease.

Podiatrist → No real solution for my case.

Tests conducted:

MRI and X-rays, no signs of fractures or major structural changes.

Despite all these consultations, no doctor has been able to diagnose the cause of my pain. Some possibilities I’ve considered are nerve compression or peripheral neuropathy, but no specialist has suggested seeing a neurologist.

Questions for the community:

Has anyone gone through something similar or knows of any similar cases?

What type of specialist should I see next? Could a neurologist be the best option?

Is there any more specific test I should request to investigate the cause of the pain further?

Do you know any doctors or clinics specialized in this type of issue (preferably in Europe, as I’m willing to travel for treatment if necessary)?

I’m desperate to find a solution, as the pain is significantly limiting my life. Any suggestions or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you everyone!

Há bastante tempo que tenho uma dor persistente na articulação do metatarso do dedo grande do pé. Fiz exames como ressonância magnética e raio-X, e todos os médicos (ortopedistas, reumatologistas e podologistas) disseram que está tudo normal. Não tenho diagnóstico de artrite ou qualquer problema ósseo evidente.

Os meus sintomas:

• Dor na articulação metatarsofalângica do dedo grande do pé (a "barriga" do dedo).
• Líquido visível (embora pequeno) na ressonância magnética na zona da dor.
• Dor aumenta ao caminhar, tornando-se insuportável após algum tempo.
• Quando estou pior, a dor alastra pela perna acima, passando pelo joelho e chegando até à parte interna da coxa.
• O repouso e o gelo aliviam temporariamente a dor.

Consultas e exames que já fiz:

• Ortopedistas (3 médicos) → Disseram que o meu pé estava normal e que os exames não mostravam nada de significativo.
• Reumatologistas (2 médicos) → Confirmaram que não tenho nenhuma doença reumatológica.
• Podologista → Sem grande solução para o meu caso.
• Exames realizados → Ressonância magnética e raio-X, sem sinais de fraturas ou grandes alterações estruturais.

Apesar de todas estas consultas, nenhum médico conseguiu diagnosticar a causa da minha dor. Algumas hipóteses que tenho considerado são compressão nervosa ou neuropatia periférica, mas nenhum especialista me sugeriu um neurologista.

Perguntas para a comunidade:

1. Alguém já passou por algo semelhante ou conhece casos parecidos?
2. Que tipo de especialista devo procurar a seguir? Será que um neurologista pode ser a melhor opção?
3. Existe algum exame mais específico que deveria pedir para investigar melhor a causa da dor?
4. Conhecem médicos ou clínicas especializadas neste tipo de problema (de preferência na Europa, pois estou disposta a viajar para tratamento se necessário)?

Estou desesperada para encontrar uma solução, pois a dor está a limitar muito a minha vida. Qualquer sugestão ou experiência que possam compartilhar será muito bem-vinda!

Obrigada a todos!

Since a week ago I got pain/discomfort/tightness from my right foot arch, but not near the heel like with plantar fasciitis. It’s just below the ball of the foot and it comes and go with walking. It’s not sharp, but more annoying. What could it be? I really can only find information about PF but that’s concentrated at the heel of the foot.

Hey everyone. I’m a daily walker and have had intermittent bruising here for a few weeks. On Monday I went for a 4 mile walk and since then the bruising has been much more prominent and the area more tender. It hurts to walk. I went to urgent care today and the x-ray didn’t show any fracture (the PA read it- the radiologist has yet to). They gave me a boot and crutches and said stay off it until it feels better. I guess I’m curious what is happening here if not a stress fracture? Walking is a big part of my mental health management so I’m a little worried but also want my foot to heal

I have a fun habit of catching my toes on things constantly (about four times a week and as recently as four hours ago) and nearly tore my Achilles three years ago but apart from that I’ve had no real injuries to my foot. This bruise has appeared once before and has cropped up again today. Any ideas?

Asking to see if different shoes etc is required

I work in a shop and wear steel toe shoes on concrete floors most of the day. I wore the same pair of boots for about 5 years and never had any foot issues. About one year ago I started noticing my boots felt tighter with the same socks, and started to get pain behind my pinky toes and along the outside of my foot almost back to my ankle. Right foot is worse and the pain sometimes runs up my leg, like a tingling nerve pain.

My brannock size has increased by about 1 full size and I have had to replace most of my shoes. Even with wide toe box shoes like Keen (original fit last) and Jim Green (JG last, which they consider a EEE width), I am still getting pain. My big toe has plenty of room and I can splay my toes out while walking. My pinky toes do contact the sides of the shoe but my toes don't feel like they are crammed together.

I recently did a 6 mile hike in the Keens and there were times when the pain was noticable, but it would come and go. There were also times where it felt like the 4th toe on my right foot was getting rotated externally. When trying to claw the ground while walking or trying to push my big toe into the ground, it seemed to help when I could maintain it.

I have tried many different shoes, but even when I have plenty of toe room in front and enough side room to splay my toes, I am still developing this pain. Shoes with a wider toe box definitely help, but it feels like any amount of restriction leads to pain. Going up to even bigger sizes just adds length and instep volume that lead to other fit problems. I have not yet tried barefoot shoes. I considered myself to have high arches in the past and tended to prefer shoes that had a lot of arch support. My feet were always on the narrow side of a D width as well.

Do I have a foot function issue? What caused my feet to grow so much? Do I have some underlying foot / leg weakness? Is this a result of wearing steel toes 5 days a week for 5 years? I am under 35 if that matters.

Anyone had the Zadek procedure for Insertional Achilles Tendonitis? Looking for information about post op recovery. What was your experience? I work in Youth Ministry and need to figure out how long I will be out of commission!! Any helpful hints/suggestions for recovery?

Has anyone had tibial neuropathy and be willing to share their journey? My second toe has been very swollen and itchy, it hurts to bend it. I can’t stand for extended periods without feeling a burning pain on the bottom of my foot. And when I wear shoes with too much arch support it feels like I’m walking on bruises. My doc says i have tibial neuropathy. I want to get a second opinion still, but has anyone had experience with that healing process before? Were your symptoms at all similar?

Hi guys. So I have had this problem for years and I have no idea what it is. So basically if my shoes are bit more narrow or If I walk for long distances I start to feel this pain in my fourth toe accompanied by a click every time I put weight on the foot. I can feel the click right at the joint (red circle) and as it clicks there is pain and a numbing or tingling sensation from the base of my toe right to the tip (the blue line). If I'm not putting weight on the foot the pain stops but I can still feel the tingling sensation if my joint has clicked really hard while I was walking. That tingling/numbing almost feels as if my toe is a foreign object attached to my foot and not an actual toe. After a day or two it's all gone and I can walk normally again until the next time I take a very long walk or wear particular shoes. I don't think it's a morton's neuroma as I feel the pain,clicking and tingling only in my fourth toe and not at the ball of my foot. I feel no pain on the ball of my foot, no "stepping on something" sensation. The problem seems to be in the joint that I have pointed on the picture.

Active 36F. Broke ankle this summer and did 6 weeks in a boot. First treadmill walk after boot removal resulted in significant pain under big toe and ball of foot. Only rest and stiff soled Shoes resolved it. Came back with a vengeance 2 Months later. In an extremely poor judgement I decided to spend an hour “massaging” my tendon/foot. That was 6 weeks ago and I haven’t been able walk walk since. FHL pain now intense in arch and feels like it’s ripping every step. I’ve tried shockwave and NSAID injection to no avail. Foot is visibly swollen and painful to the touch 6 weeks later. MRI confirmed flexor hallucis longus tensosynovitis.

Went from running 7 minute miles and playing tennis 4x week to basically being disabled. Have 2 toddlers to take care of. Help!

I had hammertoe correction surgery done on my 3rd toe in mid-November. The surgeon placed a screw in to straighten it. It's been ~10 weeks post-op. There is still pain at the area where the toe meets the foot. Also, my toe is elevated like it's floating. Is is normal to have pain this far out? Is the toe supposed to be floating? Recent xrays have shown the screw still sitting in the bone so doesn't explain the pain.

Video of me walking: https://imgur.com/a/RJJaFZx

I'm not a runner, just a guy trying to walk around during the day and feel okay. I've bad soreness under my feet, around the arches I guess, for decades. Standing still is hard for me, it kills my feet. I've tried every shoe on the planet, but always had terrible pain. Otherwise fun days have been impacted by the bottoms of my feet hurting so much.

I went to a podiatrist, and he made me custom orthotics because he watched me walk for three seconds and said I overpronate. The orthotics have a hard plastic heel that corrects my pronation, but still really hurts my arches and bottoms of feet.

Around this time, I then finally found a pair of shoes that feel great - Altras - and it solved the bottom of my foot pain. So that's great - bottom of foot pain solved.

However, based on this video, I clearly overpronate. And since he told me that, I've noticed that my left ankle has been hurting. I truly can't tell if my ankle hurts because of the overpronation or because mentally I've become hyperaware of it.

So that's the question: wear the new shoes without the orthotics (solves the foot pain but doesn't correct the pronation) or wear the orthotics (corrects the pronation but continues the foot pain)?

Been dealing with pain in each of my MTP joints on both feet for over a month now. Podiatrist has diagnosed it as metatarsalgia and prescribed anti-inflammatories, but it doesn't seem to be improving and the pain has basically reduced my activity to 0. Insoles with a metatarsal pad are the only thing that have made walking bearable, but still does not feel good so I'm only on my feet for necessary tasks. I'm told it is an overuse injury, but I was not doing much at the time it came on. The only thing in my life I can point to that may have been a cause was switching over to Altra Escalante shoes, as that coincided with the pain first coming on.

Any ideas what I might be dealing with? From online searching it seems like it could be synovitis or capsulitis, but none of these conditions seem to involve more than the second or third MTP joint. The pain is sharp when I walk, and dull when I'm laying around. Kind of feels puffy around the metatarsal head areas but no visible swelling.

I am a performance physiotherapist who sustained an ankle tear 1 month ago, one of my goals during my rehab was to share with other people that you rarely need surgery. I’ve been sharing my journey on my instagram, here is one of my videos https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFJTq2agM9Y/?igsh=MWx3OGlmZnIzbHRnZQ== 😀 or you can find me at martinphysio_performance

Hi. I wore a broken in pair of new balance basketball shoes for like the 7th time this past Wednesday (it's completely broken in) and a little bit into the night I developed severe medial malleolus pain. At the end of the night, I switched into my slides and immediately the pain dropped by 90%. The pain ONLY exists on contact (MM rubs against a shoe or I touch it). No pain at all on any movement/loading I. E. If I play barefoot or max jump, etc. I feel nothing.

Tldr: Has anyone experienced a medial malleolus contact pain? Pain only occurs on contact with shoes/touch/rubbing; no pain barefoot/super low tops/forward and back motion. Only on left side, not right.

Bad bad sprain March of 2023. When I try to run / bend into my foot / do ankle stretches, the spots in red tend to give off a pain. Doesn’t happen everytime but often enough. Maybe Tendonitis? Have been to the Dr twice and he recommended inserts (which do help but not fully) but said I am fine. Any idea? TIA

Lately I am having pain at the circled area on top of my foot at the front my the ankle. At the edge of where the foot meets the leg. It’s a sore bruised feeling that only comes with walking. Not when standing still or just rest. I only have it in my right foot. I have no idea what it could be. I have it in all my shoes. Even now when I lace the upper laces loose. I can get like 2 fingers on top under the upper lace and it still hurts when walking. What could it be?

I’ve recently started up school again and have to walk about 20-30 minutes between bus stops. I’ve noticed that when I first start walking, for the first 5-10 minutes I feel fine. But then as I continue to walk, my right side foot starts hurting. And it’s only my right foot. And the even weirder thing is, that if I continue to walk on it and push through (because what choice do I have, I need to get to class), my foot stops hurting.

I’ve never been one for exercising but I’ve never had trouble walking before. Usually it takes a few hours before my feet start to ache so this is new for me. I put a picture to help visualize where my pain is. Could I be walking on it wrong and it’s only just now presenting itself? Could it be my shoes?

Doctor wants to do ablation. Anyone have this done. What was your experience good and bad?