Flat feet are easier to identify than most people expect. You can check at home in under a minute using nothing more than water and a piece of paper. About 15.6% of the population has flat feet, so it’s common, and in many cases it causes no problems at all. But if you’re noticing foot pain, ankle soreness, or unusual shoe wear, your arch (or lack of one) is worth investigating.
The Wet Foot Test
This is the quickest way to check your arch at home. Wet the bottom of your foot and step onto a piece of cardboard, a brown paper bag, or any surface that will show your footprint clearly. Then step off and look at the shape.
If you have flat feet, the footprint will show the entire outline of your foot, with no inward curve along the inside edge. It looks like how a child would draw a foot: one solid, rounded shape. A normal arch leaves a visible gap along the inner midfoot, showing the heel and ball connected by a narrow band. High arches show only the heel and ball with little or nothing connecting them. Do the test while standing on both feet so your full weight is pressing down.
Check Your Shoes
Your old shoes tell a story about how your feet hit the ground. Flat feet typically cause overpronation, meaning your ankle rolls too far inward with each step. Over time, this creates a distinct wear pattern: the sole wears down in the middle of the heel or toward the inner edge (the big toe side). If you place your shoes on a flat surface, they may visibly tilt inward.
This twisting motion forces your toes to do extra work during push-off, which is one reason flat feet are linked to shin splints and knee pain. If the inner edges of your shoe soles are noticeably more worn than the outer edges, that’s a reliable sign your arches are low or collapsed.
The Tiptoe Test
Stand barefoot in front of a mirror or have someone watch from behind. When you’re standing normally with both feet flat on the ground, look at whether an arch is visible along the inside of your foot. If no arch appears at all, you likely have flat feet.
Now rise up onto your tiptoes on one foot. If an arch appears when you do this, you have what’s called flexible flat feet. The arch is there, but it collapses under your body weight. This is the most common type and is usually less concerning. If no arch appears even on tiptoe, you may have rigid flat feet, which is less common and more likely to cause symptoms.
Difficulty performing a single-leg heel rise at all, where you stand on one foot and come up onto your toes, can signal a problem with the tendon that supports your arch. If you simply can’t do it or feel significant pain trying, that’s worth getting evaluated.
The “Too Many Toes” Sign
Have someone stand directly behind you while you’re barefoot on a flat surface. In a normal foot, they’ll see one or two toes peeking out on each side. With flat feet, the heel often angles outward relative to the ankle, and the forefoot shifts outward too. This makes more toes visible from behind, typically three or four on the outer side. Doctors call this the “too many toes” sign, and it’s a quick visual indicator of arch collapse.
Where Flat Feet Cause Pain
Many people with flat feet have no pain whatsoever. But when symptoms do show up, they rarely stay limited to the arch itself. The most common complaint is pain along the inner ankle, where the tendon that holds up the arch runs. Shin splints are also common because the lower leg muscles overcompensate for the lack of arch support. Some people feel it in their knees, hips, or lower back, since flat feet change the alignment of everything above them.
If you’re experiencing pain in any of these areas and can’t pin down another cause, checking your arches is a good starting point. Pain that worsens with activity, especially walking or running, and improves with rest is a typical pattern.
Flat Feet in Children
Nearly all babies and toddlers have flat feet. The arch doesn’t fully develop until around age 6, so flat feet in young children are normal and expected. For kids who don’t develop an arch by that age, treatment still isn’t necessary unless the foot is stiff or painful. Most children with persistent flat feet function perfectly well.
Signs worth having a pediatrician check include foot pain, sores or pressure areas on the inner side of the foot, stiffness, or limited range of motion in the foot or ankle. In rare cases, teenagers develop a rigid form of flat foot caused by bones in the foot being fused together. This type does need medical attention, but it’s uncommon.
Who Is More Likely to Have Flat Feet
Certain groups are more prone to flat feet. A large review of over 16,000 people found that men are more likely to have them than women. Obesity more than doubles the likelihood, which makes sense since extra weight puts more downward force on the arch. Flat feet can also develop later in life from wear and tear on the arch-supporting tendon, particularly in people over 40 who spend long hours on their feet.
When a Home Check Isn’t Enough
The wet foot test, shoe inspection, and tiptoe test are reliable for identifying flat feet in most cases. But if you’re experiencing persistent pain, noticing your arch collapsing more on one side than the other, or finding it difficult to rise onto your toes on one foot, imaging can provide a clearer picture. Standing X-rays allow measurement of specific angles in the foot’s bone structure that confirm how far the arch has fallen and whether the surrounding tendons and ligaments are involved. This level of assessment matters most when pain is present or worsening, not for flat feet that aren’t causing problems.