There may be a connection between having flat feet and having persistent tension-type headaches, according to the findings of a cross-sectional study published in the Journal of Rehabilitation Sciences & Research. Investigators aimed to determine if flat feet and tension-type headaches were related.

Overall, 61 chronic tension-type headaches patients (13 men, 48 women) and 61 matched controls were recruited. The major endpoint of this trial was the frequency of flat feet in both groups. The degree of neck impairment and the existence of myofascial trigger points in the neck and head regions in both groups were evaluated.

The relative contribution of demographic and clinical predictive factors to the tension-type headaches was assessed using logistic regression models and Pearson's chi-square test. The chi-square test revealed that tension-type headaches group had substantially higher unilateral or bilateral flat feet (x2= 17.5, degree of freedom [df] = 2) than the control group. According to further research, those with flat feet had a 4.32-5.05 times higher risk of developing tension-type headaches than those with normal foot posture.

Subjects with four or more trigger points had a 7.93 times greater chance of getting tension-type headaches than those with less than four trigger points. Subjects with a Neck Disability Index score of  ≥4 had an 11.96-times greater possibility of developing tension-type headaches than those with a score of <4. Therefore, an asociation exists between chronic tension-type headaches and flat feet.