Topic: Flat Feet

[ARCtrooper225]

Hi, I really want to start doing Parkour (training first, of course). But I have flat feet. I'm told that because of this, I will never be able to run fast, and something I've noticed is that even if I'm sitting on something elevated 4 feet (my feet would be dangling only 2 feet from the ground) when I hop off and land, I get a shock sent through my foot, ankle and leg, and a sharp stinging in my foot and ankle that stays there for a few minutes, I hope this wouldn't hinder what I can accomplish, but I'm assuming it will. Any thoughts?

[Rockwell]

I'm flat footed aswell, ive never heard of it hindering running though.
Take it away people who know what there talking about...........

[Rahlyn]

I don't know if it will really hinder you, but one thing you can do to help is to go buy some arches for your shoes.  they'll form your feet into the correct arches and eventually can help your feet stay that way.  You can usually find them anywhere there are shoes being sold.

[ARCtrooper225]

For the past few years I've really only been wearing skate shoes (Airwalk and DC) which I know are the worst for flat feet and running in general, and I plan on buying Merrells hopefully this month, anybody have good experiences with these shoes?
Also, thanks to those who answered

[JBF28]

I have flat feet about as bad as u can have them.  They won't hinder your running, but they will wreak havoc an your balance because they throw your entire body out of alignment.  For the shock in your landings, make sure you ALWAYS land on only the balls of your feet.  As far as shoes go, try to buy them in store, and from a store where the salesmen will actually help you.  What you want to look for is a stiffer gray rubber in the inside midfoot, its much more supportive.  Also, if your getting nike's look for the foot bridge.
The best shoe that ive worn that will make your foot right without orthotics is the nike equalon.  They are well worth the money and will be better for your whole body in the long run.
let me know if ya got any other questions

[ARCtrooper225]

Thanks, but for the shock, I usually land on the balls of my feet (which i assume is the mass before the toes). I will definitely look into the Equalon.

[Muse_of_Fire]

There is conditioning you can do to strengthen your arch. Whether this will change the shape of your foot significantly, or "cure" you of your flat feet, I don't know.

Here are a few exercises you may want to try:

1. Stand on a small towel that is laid out flat on the floor. Use your toes to grab and scrunch the towel under your foot bit by bit. Repeat until the towel is all scrunched under your foot. Then use your toes to gradually push the towel back out flat again.

2. While sitting, flex and point the feet. Be sure when you point that you are pushing the top of your ankle towards the ceiling, pulling your heel high towards your calf, and reaching your toes long, so that you are pointing the whole foot and not just "clawing" the toes. Can also be done with a Theraband for more resistance.

3. Rise up onto the balls of your feet, as high as you can, and then lower the heels slowly.

4. Sitting in a chair with feet together, lift the heels as high as you can. Then, keeping the ankle stable, use just the toes to "push the floor away from you" (you will actually go onto tiptoe). Relax the toes, but keep the heels high and the ankle and arch solid. (Your foot at this point should look like a Barbie doll foot... pre-formed so she can put her high heels on, you know?) Keep repeating the action in the toes for several reps.

Hope these help.

[Charles Moreland]

Fleet Feet and get professionally fitted for a shoe. But as said, flat feet will not hinder running speed or form greatly for that much. If you are still relatively young you could possibly look for some orthotics and attempt to create a small lasting arch, but this honestly not too big a deal.

Good luck.

EDIT - Muse I trust your knowledge of the feet better than anyone on here, but I've always been told those conditioning exercises help very little if at all. Is this false?

[Muse_of_Fire]

It depends what you mean by "help." As mentioned, I don't think they will change the shape of his foot or "cure" the flat feet, but they will strengthen the muscles and tendons that support the bones of the foot.

As it happens, there are two types of "flat feet," flexible and rigid. Flexible flat-footedness is generally not a problem; sort of a general variation in foot physiology among the population. Rigid flat-footedness must be treated with surgery as the foot is not able to perform its job in this case.

Orthotics and inserts may make things more comfortable, but they won't "cure" flat-footedness and IMO do nothing to strengthen the feet.

All I know is that the exercises I've described are what we do for our pre-ballet and beginning ballet classes to help dancers develop the necessary foot articulation and strength necessary for ballet. I have definitely seen these exercises develop beautiful ballet feet in my younger students; however it should be noted that at their young age, their feet are in the process of developing an arch naturally, so the exercises are merely enhancing something that nature would probably do just fine without them. The purposes of the exercises at that age are to simply strengthen in a ballet-specific way, and also to develop coordination and articulation of the foot.

Some of the more "advanced" exercises (e.g. on the chair, with the TheraBand, and with the towel) are a pretty standard part of pre-pointe conditioning which you will see in almost any ballet school. Some of the ladies in company have also done these exercises as part of a PT regimen following treatment of injuries such as stress fractures in the metatarsals, etc.

I'd be curious to see what you've read/heard about these types of exercises, though. Perhaps I'm missing something (certainly wouldn't be the first time!)

[ARCtrooper225]

Thanks alot guys, this is very helpful and filling me with hope

[Charles Moreland]

Ah ok, Muse. Well I can clearly see the benefit they may make in such an activity as dancing professionally. But my misunderstanding was on the topic at hand and the relevance of those exercises to running. These exercises should also help in this situation:

Barefoot -

Walking on the outside of the feet
Walking on the inside of the feet
Pideon toe walking (toes in)
Duck walking (toes out)

Shoes -
Walking on the heels

These exercises help balance and build strength in weaker muscles key to proper form all around the foot and shin. Accompany with a proper stretching routine then you should see faster times with a better stride and lesser chance of injury (shin splints, plantar fasciitis, ankle sprains, that whole lot).

My comment was towards running specifically, but I can definitely see some use in the exercises you described and may provide some support/relief. I'm positive you could take a man down with just your toes   

[Muse_of_Fire]

In terms of "sports-specific" exercise I can see where you're coming from. I'm thinking, though, that the exercises I suggested specifically do target the muscles supporting the arch of the foot and develop coordination necessary for foot articulation. When you consider how the foot flexes through the stride and pushes off at the back of the stride, the "towel scrunch" and the flex-and-point would be very sports-specific for running.

As I understand it, Chad, the exercises you suggest are more geared toward ankle stability and shin conditioning than specifically foot conditioning. I think they would still be beneficial in terms of stabilizing the foot and coordinating it to work with the ankle, but I am not seeing how they address the foot directly. I am concerned with how the knee and hip fare with these exercises as well. Also, in my experience pigeon-toed walking and duck-walking should be functions of the hip joint, not of the ankle, to be done safely.

Again, I have no formal physiological training here so I may be missing some key concept, but those are my thoughts.

As to taking a man down with just my toes... watch yourself, mister.

 

[ARCtrooper225]

Another question came to mind, for all those who are flat-footed, are you duck-footed as well?

[Josh Maciel]

Trust me having flat feet does hinder how fast you run because after doing stuff for awhile with out my arch supports I get an unbearable pain throughtout my legs...especially my calves. But when you first start there wont be a difference...you will only be hindered after a lot of training without a good arch support...which thankfully I have now because I hadnt had one for a long time and the pain was catching up to me...i still need to let my body repair itself tho...its gonna take some time but ill feel so much better

[Charles Moreland]

In terms of "sports-specific" exercise I can see where you're coming from. I'm thinking, though, that the exercises I suggested specifically do target the muscles supporting the arch of the foot and develop coordination necessary for foot articulation. When you consider how the foot flexes through the stride and pushes off at the back of the stride, the "towel scrunch" and the flex-and-point would be very sports-specific for running.

I absolutely agree.

As I understand it, Chad, the exercises you suggest are more geared toward ankle stability and shin conditioning than specifically foot conditioning. I think they would still be beneficial in terms of stabilizing the foot and coordinating it to work with the ankle, but I am not seeing how they address the foot directly. I am concerned with how the knee and hip fare with these exercises as well. Also, in my experience pigeon-toed walking and duck-walking should be functions of the hip joint, not of the ankle, to be done safely.

I'm not actually arguing your point just pushing out some more exercises that will help with his ability to run in general. Ankle stability and shin conditioning are two things that are very necessary for a runner and will help keep him/her safe from self-imposed injury via improper form. These exercises helped me significantly as I have very mild flat feet and they've been done for years and coached for years by high level running coaches.

As to taking a man down with just my toes... watch yourself, mister.

 

*sadface*

[/quote]

[JBF28]

yeah muse all those exercises do help.  I've been doing them for a while and it has helped with the pain i used to get in my arches.  They definitely don't cure it though.  I would recomend orthotics only because they help keep you balanced.
 
To Chad, the exercises you got are good, but with flat feet, according to my foot doc, barefoot is detrimental. (I'm not sure bout this)

I'm flat footed but not duck footed to whoever asked that... I do have an accessory bone though  ... like where my arch should be i have some extra bone thing

[Muhammad]

one of the guys on the OSUPK crew has flat feet, and what he does is to make sure he always has good shoes. he gets rid of his shoes every six months and gets a new pair, which seems to help him considerably. it's the arch support. it has to be good. after six months or so, the shoes start to lose their support ability.

[Charles Moreland]

 
To Chad, the exercises you got are good, but with flat feet, according to my foot doc, barefoot is detrimental. (I'm not sure bout this)

And then they get amazed when all these third world runners win all our marathons...

[JBF28]

tru dat chad

also muhammad is right... spending the extra money on shoes to buy a good pair every three to six month is totally worth it.  you will tell a huge difference.
like i said just go try on those equalons, they have great support.

[Muse_of_Fire]

Good advice all around, Chad. +1