What Is the Plantar Arch?

The metatarsal bone of the foot, the metatarsal bone by the ligament, the tendon together constitute a convex arched structure. The arch of the foot can be divided into a longitudinal bow in the front-back direction and a transverse bow in the inner-outer direction. The longitudinal bow can be divided into a medial longitudinal bow and a lateral longitudinal bow. The medial longitudinal arch consists of the calcaneus, talus, scaphoid, three wedge bones and the first to third metatarsals. This arch is higher and has greater elasticity, so it is also called elastic foot arch, which plays a role in cushioning shocks. The lateral longitudinal arch is composed of the calcaneus, the sacrum, and the 4th and 5th metatarsals. This bow is low and has poor elasticity, which is mainly related to maintaining the body's upright posture, so it is also called a support bow. The crossbow is composed of three wedge bones, the sacrum, and the back of the sacrum.

The metatarsal bone of the foot, the metatarsal bone by the ligament, the tendon together constitute a convex arched structure. The arch of the foot can be divided into a longitudinal bow in the front-back direction and a transverse bow in the inner-outer direction. The longitudinal bow can be divided into a medial longitudinal bow and a lateral longitudinal bow. The medial longitudinal arch consists of the calcaneus, talus, scaphoid, three wedge bones and the first to third metatarsals. This arch is higher and has greater elasticity, so it is also called elastic foot arch, which plays a role in cushioning shocks. The lateral longitudinal arch is composed of the calcaneus, the sacrum, and the 4th and 5th metatarsals. This bow is low and has poor elasticity, which is mainly related to maintaining the body's upright posture, so it is also called a support bow. The crossbow is composed of three wedge bones, the sacrum, and the back of the sacrum.

Chinese name

Arch

Foreign name

arches of the foot

Attributes

Foot bone

Definition

Arched masonry with cheekbones and cheekbones

Shape

Convex bow

Classification

Long and horizontal bows

Arch Support Structure and Function

The arch of the foot is arch-shaped, making the foot strong, lightweight, and flexible. It can withstand large pressures and cushion the vibration of the body during walking, running, and jumping. .

The maintenance of the arch of the foot, in addition to the connection between the bones, is mainly composed of the ligaments, plantar fascia and muscles located on the soles of the feet. The main ligaments are the long ligamentum ligament and the plantar ligament of the heel. Muscles include short plantar muscles and long tendons such as posterior tibial muscles, plantar flexor muscles, plantar flexor muscles, and peroneus longus muscles, if the soft tissues (ligaments, muscles, etc.) of the arch of the foot are congenital Poor or excessive soft tissue maintenance or fracture injury to the arch can cause the arch to collapse and flatten, forming a flat foot.

Arch flat foot

Flat feet are divided into pseudo flat feet and true flat feet. The characteristics of pseudoflat feet are normal arch and good motion performance of all joints. They have normal arch function in walking, running and jumping. The flat soles are mostly caused by the well-developed plantar muscles and the thicker soft tissues. . True flat feet are characterized by collapse of the arch of the foot, extremely limited movement of joints, weakened walking, running, and jumping functions, and sometimes accompanied by pathological symptoms of flat feet. For children and adolescents with imperfect development, we must pay attention to reasonable arrangements for work and rest, avoid standing too long or overloading, and strengthen the exercise of the foot muscles. Studies have proven that scientific sports have a good impact on the normal development of children's and adolescents' feet.

Effect of arch height

Studies have shown that: 1) People with high arches have lower ankle muscle strength, while those with low arches have higher ankle muscle strength. There was no significant difference in ankle muscle strength between the low arches and the normal arches. 2) The height of the arch will affect the muscle strength of the ankle joint, that is, the ankle joint plantar flexion, internal rotation and external rotation muscle strength will increase with the reduction of the arch height, but the arch height will not affect the athletic ability Make an impact.

Arch related diseases and treatment

1. Causes:

The most common causes of foot disease include posterior tibial tendon dysfunction, trauma to the bone ligament structure of the foot, abnormal development of the foot ligament, and neuromuscular disease. In recent years, more research has been done on acquired flat feet with posterior tibial tendon dysfunction in foreign countries. It is gradually recognized that its pathological changes involve five aspects of bone ligaments and tendons. Not only the posterior tibial tendon insufficiency, but also the triangular ligaments of spring ligaments. Damaged bone joint alignment or anatomical abnormalities.

For this reason, its treatment is no longer targeted at a single factor, such as performing a single tendon repair, a metastasis operation, or a single bone operation. The combined operation of turning to bone surgery and soft tissue surgery aims to restore the role of the five arch maintenance factors. Bone surgery provides static maintenance of the arch and provides a mechanical and anatomical environment for the normal function of soft tissues. Soft tissue surgery provides dynamic support for bone surgery and maintains the normal alignment of bone structures. Therefore, they can complement and support each other. Clinical practice has also proven that this combined surgery can achieve lasting and stable results. It is also not uncommon in the clinic to treat the calcaneal fracture with "the calcaneus is the common hind arm of the medial and lateral longitudinal arch, and its fracture can destroy the bone ligament structure of the normal arch and cause traumatic flat feet."

It is now generally believed that not only should the anatomical characteristics of the calcaneus be restored to restore the normal shape of the foot arch, but also the flatness of the articular surface should be restored to maintain the normal movement of the subtalar joint, thereby maintaining the normal movement and flexibility of the foot arch through the movement mechanism. The alignment and alignment of the hind feet must be corrected so that the tendons can function properly and reduce the formation of teratogenic forces, which plays an important role in preventing the occurrence of flat feet. "Sacral and medial sacroiliac joint fractures and dislocations can also cause The flat ligament structure of the medial and lateral longitudinal arch is damaged and active flat feet occur, causing changes in the weight characteristics and activities of the hind foot. This injury should also be anatomically reduced and additional support provided for the longitudinal arch of the foot. The scaphoid is located in the arch of the foot. The top of the foot is the most important bony factor of the medial longitudinal arch. It plays a key role in maintaining the vertical stress of the arch of the foot. The anatomical reduction of the scaphoid fracture will cause the joint instability and arch collapse, affecting the foot. Functional joints are of great significance to the structural shape and flexibility of the arch of the foot. Their fractures and dislocations should also be anatomically reduced to restore the length of the medial and lateral columns of the foot and avoid fusion to protect Maintain the coordinated stability of the joint to avoid affecting the arch flexibility and the dynamic and static stability of the arch. In short, in order to maintain the function of the foot for a long time, the above-mentioned structural damage should be given a correct understanding and appropriate treatment.