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Heel and arch painGuide

Overpronation

Overpronation means your feet roll inwards too much, and it's often linked with flat feet. If it doesn't hurt, it usually needs no treatment. If it does, supportive shoes, lower-leg stretches and exercises, and sometimes insoles are the usual first steps, and a podiatrist can help find the cause.

Reviewed by Andrew Schox, BSc(Hons) PGradDipPod MPodLast reviewed 27 October 2026 7 min read

Jump to a section
  1. 1. What is overpronation, and how common is it?
  2. 2. What can cause it?
  3. 3. How is the cause found?
  4. 4. What helps first?
  5. 5. What helps if that isn't enough?
  6. 6. Will it get better, and can I stop it coming back?
  7. 7. When to see a podiatrist

At a glance

  • Overpronation means your feet roll inwards too much. It's linked with flat feet (low or no arches), but the two aren't the same thing.
  • Painless flat feet don't need treatment. In children, flexible flat feet are usually a normal stage of growing.
  • If it hurts, start with simple steps: supportive, well-fitting shoes, lower-leg stretches and exercises, and sometimes insoles.
  • A podiatrist or physiotherapist can look for the cause by asking about your symptoms and watching you stand and walk.

What is overpronation, and how common is it?

Overpronation (also called excessive pronation) is when your feet roll inwards too much. It can wear shoes out quickly and lead to injuries. It's often discussed alongside flat feet, or "fallen arches", where your arches are low or missing and your feet press almost flat against the ground. The two are related but not the same, and most of the figures available are for flat feet rather than overpronation itself.

Flat feet are common in children and become less common with age. How common they are depends a lot on the age group and how they're measured. In typically developing children, a flat foot is normal up to about eight years of age. Children are born with flexible flat feet and gradually develop an arch during the first ten years of life.

What can cause it?

In children, the usual cause is a normal, flexible flat foot. A rigid flat foot, which stays flat, is rare. Flat feet can run in families. Other causes include arches that didn't fully develop, loose connective tissue (such as joint hypermobility), muscle and nerve conditions, injury to the tendons or ligaments, arthritis and extra body weight.

In children, a flexible foot may show an arch again when standing on tiptoe, while a rigid one stays flat. What a foot looks like doesn't tell the whole story: an unusual-looking foot can be painless, and a normal-looking foot can hurt. If a child's flat foot may be linked to a muscle, nerve or connective-tissue condition, a clinician needs to rule this out.

How is the cause found?

Mostly through a conversation about your symptoms and a hands-on examination that includes watching you stand and walk. A podiatrist, physiotherapist or GP can do this. Usual symptoms of flat feet are foot pain, shin or calf pain, pain or swelling on the inside of the ankle, and uneven shoe wear.

Scans, X-rays or blood tests are usually only needed if a condition such as arthritis is suspected. In children, footprint or pressure tests and X-rays are sometimes used to tell flexible from rigid flat feet.

What helps first?

If your feet don't hurt, you don't need treatment. If they do, the usual first steps are supportive, well-fitting shoes, weight loss if you're overweight, and stretches or exercises for the lower-leg muscles, which a podiatrist or physiotherapist can show you. Insoles made to support your feet are sometimes added, and a pharmacist can advise on pain relief. These steps won't change the shape of your feet, but they may ease the problems linked with flat feet.

For children, the evidence for insoles is weak, and there's no strong sign they change the arch. Even so, insoles may reduce pain in children and young adults with flat feet. A child with painless flexible flat feet needs no treatment or orthotics referral, and expensive custom insoles have no supporting evidence for them. Children with painful flat feet are directed to low-cost ready-made insoles with well-chosen shoes.

What helps if that isn't enough?

If pain continues despite following the advice, talk it over with a podiatrist. They may prescribe orthotic inserts and, in some cases, recommend surgery. It's worth asking whether inserts are worth trying and how you'll tell if they're working. For children, inexpensive ready-made inserts will usually do; custom-made ones are kept for foot pain and arthritis, an unusual foot shape, or no response.

Gait retraining (practising a different way of walking or running to reduce the inward roll) is also used. It should be tailored to you and guided by a qualified health professional, because shifting pressure towards the outside of the foot may raise the risk of a foot stress fracture and lower-leg overuse injuries. How well these options work for adults whose feet roll in isn't clear yet.

Will it get better, and can I stop it coming back?

For children, the outlook is generally good. Flexible flat feet tend to reduce with age as the arch develops, and only a small minority of children develop pain. Young children's flexible flat feet slowly improve with growth whatever footwear they wear. Excess weight is a clear risk factor for flat feet that persist in children.

For adults, how long it lasts and what stops it coming back isn't clear yet. A podiatrist can talk through what's likely for you.

When to see a podiatrist

Go to the nearest emergency department if your foot or ankle looks badly out of shape after an injury.

See your GP or a podiatrist the same day if:

  • you have foot or ankle pain after a fall or injury;
  • you have severe heel pain after an injury, or felt a snap or pop when you were hurt;
  • you can't walk on the foot after an injury;
  • you have diabetes and notice a wound, sore, blister or colour change on your foot, or signs of pressure or rubbing.

For urgent advice when it isn't an emergency, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222 (24 hours a day), or go to a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.

If you have diabetes with nerve damage, you can't feel pressure or pain, so check inside your footwear each time before you put it on. Don't try to treat a suspected broken heel bone yourself.

See a podiatrist or your GP if:

  • foot or ankle pain isn't improving after the first few days, is getting worse, or still causes problems after two weeks of self-care; do this sooner if you take steroids, biologics or other medicines that affect the immune system;
  • heel pain comes with tingling or loss of feeling in your foot, or you have diabetes;
  • both feet or ankles hurt with a lot of stiffness in the morning;
  • your child has flat feet with pain, signs of a muscle, nerve or connective-tissue condition, or a flat foot that persists or changes beyond age ten.

Common questions

Is overpronation the same as flat feet?

No, but they're related. Overpronation is when your feet roll inwards too much as you stand or walk. Flat feet means the arches are low or missing. People often have both, but you can have one without the other, so a podiatrist looks at how your feet move as well as how they look.

Will my child grow out of flat feet?

Often, yes. Children are born with flexible flat feet and develop an arch over the first ten years or so, so painless flat feet in a young child are usually normal. If your child has pain, or the flat foot stays or changes in an older child, it's worth having it checked.

Should I see a podiatrist or physiotherapist?

Either can examine your feet, watch you stand and walk, and advise on footwear and foot and lower-leg exercises. Your GP is also a good starting point. A podiatrist can also talk to you about insoles. Which you choose often comes down to what's available near you.

Is surgery ever needed for flat feet?

Only in some cases. Flat feet that don't hurt need no treatment, and painful ones are usually managed with supportive shoes, exercises and sometimes insoles first. If pain continues, a podiatrist can talk through your options, including whether surgery is worth discussing.

Further reading

Want to know more? Overpronation on Clindice

Reviewed by Andrew Schox, BSc(Hons) PGradDipPod MPod

Podiatrist

Reviewed 27 October 2026. Next review by 27 October 2027.

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This page is general information, not a diagnosis or a treatment plan for you. For advice about your own feet or legs, see a podiatrist or your doctor. In an emergency, call 000.

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