Pes valgus is a pathological malposition of the foot. The inner (medial) edge of the foot is lowered, while the outer (lateral) edge of the foot is raised. In addition, the heel is in an X-position, i.e. the heel appears bent outwards at the ankle.
The kinked foot often occurs in combination with a flat foot. The arched foot position is physiological in infancy and does not require any treatment. However, if the foot has not firmed by the age of 8 to 10 years and continues to sink inwards, treatment in the form of physiotherapy is necessary.
Cause of the kink foot
A snap foot can be either acquired or congenital. The infantile flat-foot is especially common. This is physiological for a certain time in childhood and is caused by the development of the foot.
Due to the not yet fully developed holding apparatus of the feet in children, they are forced to turn their feet inwards when they start walking. Unconsciously, they counteract this inward rotation and put the heel at an angle so that a kinked foot is created. If a twisted foot develops in the course of life, this can have various causes.
The reasons for this can be accidents, rheumatic diseases, spastic paralysis, infections or overloading of the foot in the case of unstable ligaments or massive overweight. Above all, however, weak ligaments in the area of the foot are the main cause of twisted feet. These cannot keep the heel upright, which causes the longitudinal arch to sink over time.
Due to the overloading of the feet in relation to the existing muscle power, the head of the ankle bone shifts inwards (medially). The heel bone is thus slightly displaced outwards. This makes the inner ankle appear stronger.
The ankle bone becomes visible below the inner ankle and thus acts like a double inner ankle. This is a clear sign for the presence of a snap foot. Due to this changed position of the head of the ankle bone, the entire foot is inclined in relation to the lower leg. The inner edge of the foot is also lowered.
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