Q: When i cosulted a foot doctor he told me that i am having flat feet like Charlie Chapline. The pain is felt when I walk with shoes or sandals. He suggested for the time being I use a shoe insole. what is your opinion. As I mainly use chappals, how can i use insoles? Pl advice.

A:You mention that you have pain in the curves of your foot. While subsequently you mention that you have flat feet. There seems to be a contradiction here. Normal feet have arches or the curves. When these collapse you haveflat feet. You do not have the curves of this foot in flat foot. If your pain is on the flat of your foot i.e. the under surface of your foot; the pain could be on your heel or under the fore part of the foot or in the middle of the foot.Pain of flat foot occurring in an elder patient is usually seen on the under surface of the foot. This pain normally is somewhere deep inside foot and corresponds to the site of joints of the arches of the foot. So, it is unlikely that you have pain from flat foot.Assuming I am wrong and your pain is because of flat foot alone, using insoles will not help as whether you use an insole or do not use an insole load bearing on the arthritic joint will cause pain. The only remedy for this is a surgical intervention. However, if your pain is from a condition called plantar fascitis which is a far more common condition then you could benefit from:1. a course of anti-inflamatory drugs2. a sorbo / microcellular shoe insole or if there is no relief from either of the two a local injection of steroid under local anesthetic could help.If you feel confident you could go along the lines that I have suggested or seek the help of an orthopaedic surgeon.