What is Medial longitudinal arch is supported by- and explain in detail?
Ans. is 'a' i.e., Plantar fascia Arches of the foot* The arches of the foot are well known features of the foot. There are two longitudinal arches, i.e. medial longitudinal arch and lateral longitudinal arch.* In addition there are two transverse arches, i.e. posterior transverse arch and an anterior transverse arch.* The medial longitudinal arch is the most important and is primarily affected in pes planus and pes cavus.# This arch is formed by the calcaneus, talus, navicular, three cuneiforms and medial three metatarsals.# Flattening of the arch is common and is assessed clinically.# The medial arch is supported byi) Spring ligament which supports the head of the talus.ii) Plantar fascia: Both these act as a tie beam.iii) Abductor hallucis and flexor digitorum brevis which act as spring ties.iv) Tibialis anterior which lifts the centre of the arch. This muscle also forms a stirrup like support with the help of peroneus longus muscle.v) Tibialis posterior adducts the mid-tarsal joint and supports the spring ligament.vi) Flexor hallucis longus extending between the anterior and posterior ends also supports the head of talus.vii) Flexor hallucis longus* The lateral longitudinal arch is formed by calcaneum, cuboid, 4th and 5th metatarsals. It is rather shallow and gets flattened on weight bearing.# This arch is supported by long plantar ligament, short plantar ligament. Plantar fascia acts as a tie beam.# Flexor digitorum brevis, flexor digiti minimi and abductor digiti minimi act as tie beam.# Peroneus longus, peroneus brevis and peroneus tertius support this arch.* Posterior transverse arch is formed by three cuneiforms and cuboid. This arch extends across the sole in a coronal plane. It is only a half arch, the other half gets completed by the other foot. This arch is supported by the ligaments binding the bones. It gets specific support form the tendon of peroneus longus as it extends form the lateral side to the medial side of the sole.* Anteior transverse arch also lies in coronal plane. It is formed by the heads of five metatarsals. During weight bearing, the metatarsal heads flatten out.# This arch is supported by intermetatarsal ligaments and the intrinsic muscles of the sole. The transverse head of adductor hallucis holds the heads of metatarsals together.