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• Lack of collapse in medial arch with loading
• A stiff medial arch that does not depress when loaded can cause the foot to roll laterally with gait (oversupination) and does not absorb forces properly
• can be congenital where some people inherit high aches from their parents/grandparents or can also be caused arthritis or injury to the foot.

If left untreated symptoms are often linked to the lack of shock absorption. If the foot is not shielding the body from ground reaction forces, the knees/hips/ and low back are faced with excess loading.

Forefoot pain and nerve impingement can result with uneven loading of the forefoot.

A high arched foot with lateral instability can be at greater risk of inversion ankle sprains, especially when exposed to sports where there is a lot of jumping or lateral side to side movement (basketball, football, tennis).

Solution

• High arches are a biomechanical issue that can lead to plantar fasciitis -see planter fasciitis solutions for exercises.
• Stretching the connective tissue of the foot and the calf muscles is generally suggested to increase range of motion.

Proper footwear selection is very important.  Avoid stiff shoes with hard soles because they do not offer the extra cushion needed with this foot type.  Shoes deemed “motion control” or “over pronation control” are not suggested because they will force the already laterally loaded foot into more inversion.  Instead look for a light weight, flexible shoe for “supination control” or “neutral cushioning”.  A high arch foot will require a deeper shoe so that the top of the shoe is not too tight on the foot.  With all foot types trying on the shoe in the store and walking is a must.