While there is not a lot you can do to prevent this condition occurring, apart from keeping up gentle exercise and not over eating, there are things you can do to prevent any further pain or damage. Make sure your shoes are not too tight, you may even need to wear a half or even full size larger shoe than you normally would. Your feet will need extra support and shock absorption too. You can purchase specially designed orthotic insoles or shoes that will provide this extra support. Cracks or fissures usually appear on outer edges of heels when the skin on these parts is dry and thick. They found that participants who had a limb-length inequality of two centimeters (0.8 inch) or more were more likely to develop osteoarthritis in the knee. They were also slightly more likely to develop osteoarthritis in the hip, but that association was not as strong. The researchers’ work was published last year in The Journal of Rheumatology. Their findings are consistent with another study, published in 2010 in Annals of Internal Medicine, that examined 3,026 people between the ages of 50 and 79. That study, too, found that participants with at least a one-centimeter difference in leg length based on X-ray measurements were more likely have osteoarthritis in the knee. When looking for a great fitting pair of cowboy boots it is important to understand that cowboy boots do not fit the way other shoes do. Be sure to do your cowboy boot shopping (and any kind of shoe shopping) after lunch since feet expand throughout the day. It is also important to have your feet measured by the shoe salesperson. Cowboy boots purchased in the morning will end up being too tight by the end of the day. If you purchase them after a long day of work, the opposite is true; they will be much too loose in the morning. Spot on. It even mentions the back pain. Anyway, I googled some more the other day whether I could regain the arches. Well apparently I can - what a relief. Some massaging or practice can help regaining the arches. Practice such as picking up things using my feet or walking properly. I also found out that walking barefooted could actually help too. I love walking barefoot, no problem there ;). For example, another method includes marking a person's leg with ink at the joints in order to detect under- or over-pronation movements. For lots of individuals, over-pronation doesn'tpose a real problem, specifically for younger people. However, improperfoot function caused by over-pronation will cause a variety of issuesincluding plantar fasciitis , heel pain, heel spurs, metatarsalgia - even knee pain and low back pain! Orthotics correct the problem of over-pronation and can help lessen or get rid of many common aches and pains caused by flat feet and other ailments of the foot. Orthotic insoles are not expensive,costing between $30 and $40 per pair. Purchasing a pair of orthoticinserts can be a worthwhile investment in your health, because they canalso help avoid many future biomechanical problems.